Telecentre.org

From Researching Virtual Initiatives in Education

telecentre.org is Telecentre.org is a global programme, managed by Telecentre.org Foundation, that supports the establishment and sustainability of grassroots level telecentres.

Its 'About us' page states: These telecentres – public places of access to the Internet and other digital technologies that help promote personal and social development – offer crucial services, skills and opportunities to people living in remote and rural locations around the world.

Since its launch at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in 2005, the telecentre.org programme has been instrumental in setting up telecentre networks in more than 40 countries. It has also facilitated the establishment of the Telecentre.org Academy, a knowledge-sharing and training programme for telecentre operators across the globe.

Telecentre.org Foundation Initially administered by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the programme is now managed by Telecentre.org Foundation, an independent, non-profit, non-stock international organisation registered in Manila, Philippines.

The IDRC remains one of our main funders along with Microsoft and the Philippine Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). The programme continues to be implemented through a multi-stakeholder, collaborative model at all levels of its operations.

Vision and Mission

Telecentre.org Foundation pursues a vision of securing “digital opportunities for poverty alleviation at the grassroots” in underprivileged communities around the world.

Our mission is to empower telecentre stakeholders with capacity, linkages, content, services, knowledge assets, and partnerships, to strengthen and sustain telecentres as tools for socio-economic growth and development.

Our work strategy

Our strategy involves five key elements:

• Deepening existing networks, and helping develop new ones. These involve strengthening networks as channels for service delivery and policy advocacy;
• Organising and facilitating knowledge-exchange activities for telecentre practitioners at regional, national, and global levels via in-person and online modes;
• Building a sustainable Telecentre.org Academy that empowers one million telecentre operators, network leaders, and social investors via curriculum and standard development, accreditation, and certificate programmes;
• Providing advisories and applied research support to the government and private sector in domains where telecentres have an important role to play (e.g. health services, education, disaster management, local governance, agri-business, etc.);
• Developing needs-based, pro-poor services and campaigns that enhance community skills, and amplify the voice of the grassroots communities.

A few of our core activities

With the help of stakeholders and members, we organize and implement such projects as:

• Global mapping of telecentres, networks, and resources
• Telecentre management courses (at certificate, diploma, degree, and MBA levels) through the Telecentre.org Academy
• Events, campaigns, and pro-poor technology fairs in and across Latin America, Francophone and Anglophone Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, Eurasia, and Asia-Pacific
• Multi-lingual websites, community portals, online multi-media library, local knowledge banks, helpdesks, webinars, discussions, and online events
• Telecentre magazines, newsletters, and sustainability studies
• Research and development (R&D) support to public, private sector, and donor agencies
• Exchange visits, travel scholarships
• Global Forum on Telecentres'

Telecentre.org has regional networks in Latin America & the Caribbean, Asia, Russia, Middle East & North Africa, Africa and Europe

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