Janet Frances Asaba is an information scientist in CABI, based in Nairobi. In this video interview Janet describes how although CABI doesn't explicitly focus on Local Content it is an integral part of their approach to their work. A summary of the interview is below for those who can't easily play the video.
CABI promote both externally generated content and Local Content from extension workers, researchers and farmers themselves, especially during their programme of Farmer Field Schools. They capture the content in various forms and re-package it for wider distribution. Jane emphasises the importance of sharing content that is often known only to a small group of people, such as scientists or researchers, that can be of wider use. She uses the example of work around Cassava Brown Streak disease where they gathered material - experiences and practices - from stakeholders including farmers, researchers, and scientists in order to prepare multi-media training materials.
But even these materials aren't used wholesale, for distribution. As Jane says, "people have their own indigenous solutions that have been tried and tested for a long time and they are comfortable using those solutions" And when, in working with livestock specialists in Tanzania, they were distributing their materials extension workers and others pointed out the gaps in the materials and suggested new solutions from their own experiences. So Jane emphasises that, "there is content out there that can be collected and properly organised and disseminated" and which would be more easily used because the source is trusted. Jane suggests we should rise to the challenge of finding, collecting, re-packaging and disseminating Local Content.
Jane then describes their work with other stakeholders on the development of KAINET, Kenya Agricultural Information Network. 'Harvesting' from other collections, KAINET will be a repository of relevant content. KAINET will provide an opportunity to promote and share Kenyan research, research which has been going on, as Jane says, "for over 100 years". Yet many people don't even know what is happening in other research institutes, while KAINET will also be a global resource for people interested in Kenyan research and content.
My last post included a video interview with Dr Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary of the Kenyan Govt. ICT Ministry, talking about how why he sees the Local Content as key to our future. But I didn't include a summary of what he said, This excudes those on slow Internet connections since they can't easily view the video. With apologies, here is a summary:
Dr Ndemo talked about how we are now able to collect and store information which in the past has been orally passed from generation to generation. By storing it in a better way we can be able to preserve our knowledge. Dr Ndem is especially interested in engaging young people, particularly those who are unemployed, and training them in the use of modern technologies so they can collect the information.
Dr Bitange Ndemo is the Permanent Secretary to the Kenyan ICT Ministry. He has been spearheading the roll-out of infrastructure and capacity in Kenya to capitalise on the opportunities provided by the new undersea cable providing high-speed Internet access.
Cleopa Otieno and Charles Ogada of KenTel (and the Ugunja Community Resource Centre) together with James Nguo of ALIN and Pete Cranston met Dr Ndemo to talk about progress on the Digital Villages programme and the role of Local Content in Kenya's development.
As he explains in this clip, Dr Ndemo is a keen advocate of the key role of local content in Kenya.
About ALIN
The Arid Lands Information Network, (ALIN) is a network of community development workers established in the year 2000 by James Nguo a Development Communications Specialist to continue the activities of RITA-ALIN previously based in Dakar, Senegal. ALIN promotes knowledge exchange activities targeting over 2000 grassroots Community Development Workers (CDWs) drawn from non-governmental organizations, community- based organisations as well as government departments. These are the people who act as a source of information and knowledge for the rest of the community out of duty or social responsibility.
Information Support
For the past 20 years, ALIN has been publishing and disseminating information on a wide range of topics on livelihoods issues with concentration on agriculture production techniques, environment and market information. These products include journal regular journals such as Baobab, books, videos, CD-ROMs.
To facilitate better knowledge management, ALIN has integrated Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) at the community level through the establishment of digital centres known as Maarifa Centres where community members are able to access modern ICT facilities and services such as real time market information, knowledge on agricultural practices, e-Government services, climate change adaptation messages and e-Education among others.
Capacity building
ALIN has invested in peoples’ skills through community-based trainings such as workshops, meetings and exchange visits. These have enabled community members to learn through exposure resulting in replication of ideas across regional and national borders.
To promote local level networking, we have clustered members in the same geographical regions into grassroots networking nodes known as ‘Focal Groups’. These groups form the entry points of ALIN into the community. The Network works through several Focal Groups across the eastern Africa region.
Youth in Development
Since the year 2006, ALIN has been running a Graduate Volunteer Program with the purpose of giving young graduates a chance to gain experience required by the job market while serving the community. The graduates are initially trained and deployed at the Maarifa centres to support information and knowledge exchange activities.
I will add more on how ALIN is using i-Pods for information dissemination at the local level
James Nguo
Cleopa Timon Otieno, whom I wrote about in this blog previously has opened a blog on Maneno. It's called Local Content and you can access it here. He has updated my story about the Kenyan ICT Board, describing how last year the Board invited local developers to create new content applications with the support of a 312 million Kenyan shilling (US$4.1 million) grant. The full article is here
At a conference yesterday called Reboot Britain it was striking how the language, themes and issues raised are similar to those we have been talking about in conversations and conferences about Local Content in other parts of the world. Local Content seems to be one of those issues that keeps surfacing, which makes this research more timely.
First, though, I always find it interesting to be reminded how large are the digital divides in 'developed' countries. Approximately 25% of British adults never go online and the data shows, as might be expected, that the poor people, with low education levels are the least active - and therefore connected to online Government services. Older people are also much less active, though that is changing quite rapidly.
ReBoot Britain focused around themes including improving eGovernance (empowering citizens and democratising services); social entrepreneurship; eHealth, especially at a local level; and the role of ICT in local action or campaigns. This last issue is where people are talking about HyperLocal content and activity.
There are a number of projects around the UK where people have developed, often voluntarily, complete web resources for their local communities. In some cases, where the organisers are politically engaged, these web platforms are being used to gather support for local actions, to publicise inefficient or corrupt local government, polluting local industry and citizen action to improve the conditions of the places where people live.
One of the best examples is to do with one of the poorest areas of London, Kings Cross. Talk About Local is a project that has grown out of the King's Cross site, and has a growing list of similar sites across the UK.
These sites provide all the information you could need about living in a locality, but are alos popular where they help counter the fragmentation of traditional community structures as people move around a lot but also because of the distance between local government, traditional media and ordinary people who can't find ways to pressure for changes they want. Exactly the case that Cleopa Otieno put to the Kenyan Permanent Secretary of ICT.
Many of these sites started as blogs, an immediate cross over with active African blog communities. Kenya Blogs webring has 687 links and members of sites like Afrigator and Afriblog continue to grow.
Are there examples of similar local information sites in East or Southern Africa, which aren't newspaper of radio offshoots?
Interesting Internet Market study from the Communications Commission of Kenya. The quote above comes from the section listing key factors in growth of Internet services. The example they give is when the Ministry of Education released the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education results via the web in March 2007 the Internet traffic increased drastically as shown in below.
The full report is here
The importance of promoting local content is recognised by Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communication. Cleopa Timon Otieno is the Director of RuralNet Communications, a youth owned social enterprise that operates in West Kenya. He has been talking to the Permanent Secretary about setting up a web service that will provide information about Kenya's towns and villages.
ALIN has been working for over ten years in Information & Knowledge Sharing with grassroots communities. James Nguo, ALIN's Director, was interviewed by Peter Ballantyne at the IAALD conference in July 2008. In this clip James explains how ALIN works with youth, connecting ICTs and local communities.
ALIN was one of the founding members of the Open Knowledge Network (OKN). In this clip he explains how ALIN was engaged in the Open Knowledge Network (OKN) and the continuing legacy.
