At the Beyond Access 2012 Conference, the Busia Community Library and Maria’s Libraries team from Kenya developed an interactive digital book initiative so that mothers could read to their children in their local languages.

In 2013, a consortium of community libraries and international library nonprofits implemented the Mama Mtoto (Mother Child) Storytime project in four libraries throughout Kenya. This project used locally published storybooks to teach mothers to read to their children. The goal of the program was to instill a love of reading in children at a young age, and to support mothers with low literacy in their efforts to support their children’s education. Unexpectedly, Mama Mtoto has had a number of other results. Mothers reported that their self-esteem increased, and that their children and their families began to view them differently.  Because each week the mothers were given a book to take home, each household became a mini-library in its neighborhood.

But the program also brought about a number of additional challenges faced by the group of young mothers and young children that Mama Mtoto could address if the library redesigned the program slightly. For some of these challenges, the library was able to adapt the program as it progressed. For example, many of the participants did not feel comfortable reading in either of the national languages, English and Swahili. But there are far fewer children’s books in the local languages—for the community libraries this project was implemented in, these languages are Kimaa, Samia and Kiteso. So, in the course of the program, each participant recorded an oral story from her community. The stories were published in English, Swahili, and the local languages.

But some of the lessons learned led us to reconsider the program more broadly. Some of these lessons include:

• At home, children speak the local language. However, when they arrive at school, they are  taught to read in English or Swahili. Being taught to read in a language they don’t  understand means that children in Kenya’s schools often lag behind for several years.
• Many mothers would have liked to participate, as they are eager to bond with their  children over education goals, but they did not have enough literacy to participate in the  program.
• While there is capacity to develop local language books, there is no sustainable means to publish  and distribute local language books.

At the Beyond Access Conference in Washington, DC, the Busia Community Library/Maria’s Libraries team developed a digital book idea to address these challenges. The digital book will allow readers to enter a new language into the book. This means that, for example, if the book is published in English and Swahili, librarians can translate the book into the language that is spoken in their community. Further, the book will include interactive and audio features that will allow program participants with low levels of literacy to prepare their pre-school age children for school. Over the course of the next year, a team at Oregon State University will develop the digital book. The Busia Community Library will then work with the mothers in Busia to test the book, ensuring that it is developed alongside their priorities and their skills.

Mekong ICT Camp is a biannual training workshop on ICT for citizen media, community health, and civil society development in the Mekong sub-region.

In Cha Am, a quiet resort town 250 kilometers south of Bangkok, Thailand, more than 60 NGO workers, human rights activists, bloggers, and technology enthusiasts of all stripes from the Mekong region gathered for the third annual Mekong ICT Camp. Wendy Rockett, Senior Program Officer at The Asia Foundation, and Ngo Thi Quynh Van, from the Nghe An Provincial Library in Vietnam, attended on behalf of Beyond Access. Librarians from Laos and Myanmar also participated. The excitement of the group was palpable in the first few days as everyone settled into the rhythm of the camp and got to know their co-attendees.

The theme this year was “Data Data,” as the Camp focused on the tools available to accurately assess development issues using publicly available data, to package data for public consumption, and to measure impact. The camp was divided into two components: “Info-Activism” workshops, providing intensive training on data analysis methods, and “ICT for Community Development,” which introduced its participants to data-driven fundraising strategies and OpenStreetMap, a powerful mapping site.

What may perhaps be the most promising outcome of the camp is the establishment of cross-national relationships between participants. In a spontaneous session near the end of the last day, camp organizers asked the attendees to gather into country groups and list current and emerging issues, as well as a wish list of potential partner organizations. Clearly evident were the commonalities in the challenges the Mekong countries face, the most cited being corruption, migrant populations, and information and internet access issues.  Participants came with the hope that ICT could help them tackle these issues, and because of the camp, the glimmerings are emerging of a multifaceted network that could be a powerful force in propelling development in the Mekong region.

Jagodina Public Library Director Vesna Crnkovic accepts the WSIS Project Prize in access to information and knowledge at a ceremony in Geneva on May 13. The prize was awarded for the library’s Agro-Lib-Ja project, which supports farmers in rural areas.

Beyond Access Member Jagodina Public Library in Serbia recently won a WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Project Prize for its Agro-Lib-Ja project in the access to information and knowledge category. Library director Vesna Crnkovic accepted the award at a ceremony on May 13.

Supported by EIFL’s Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP), Agro-Lib-Ja has connected farmers to government agricultural agencies and other sources of support, primarily by boosting farmers’ ICT skills so they can access information and opportunities online. One key component of the program is an online farm produce market, where farmers market and sell their products. The library also increased its stock of books on agricultural topics and partnered with government agricultural agencies to offer lectures by agriculture experts. In the project’s first year, librarians recorded 1,175 visits by farmers to use the internet; 1,249 visits to hear lectures; 1,655 visits to use agricultural books and other materials; and 6,158 hits on the Agro-Lib-Ja website, according to the 2011 EIFL-PLIP  impact assessment on the project.

WSIS Project Prizes are awarded to recognize outstanding achievement in implementing WSIS outcomes, including the WSIS goal of building an inclusive, development-oriented information society.

EIFL Director Rima Kupryte accepts the WSIS Project Prize in the Capacity Building category from Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

On May 13, EIFL was awarded a WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Project Prize for its work toward the WSIS goal of building an inclusive, development-oriented information society. The prize was awarded in the capacity building category for EIFL’s Public Library Information Programme (PLIP), which supports innovative public library programs in developing and transitioning countries that use ICT to improve the lives of people in their communities. More than 9,000 people around the globe have benefited from EIFL-PLIP programs, including people in several communities served by Beyond Access Members.

• Masiphumelele Public Library in South Africa provides ICT training and job-seeking skills training to youth living in an impoverished settlement near Cape Town, where youth unemployment is estimated to be as high as 58%. With the EIFL-PLIP grant, the library trained 15 people to support the ICT students and then trained 1,540 beginning and 48 intermediate students. It also provided 35 youth with career and  job-seeking skills training.
• Kawempe Youth Center in Uganda, supported by Beyond Access Members Kampala Public Library and Kampala City Council Authority, has trained 90 young people to use computers, to start small businesses, to manage their money and to look for jobs and and income-earning opportunities online.

EIFL was one of 18 prize winners selected from among 280 projects nominated from 64 countries.  The world’s largest annual gathering of the ICT for development community, the WSIS Forum 2013 was attended by more than 1,500 delegates from more than 140 countries, including  government ministers, ambassadors, CEOs, and civil society leaders.

Visit EIFL’s website to learn more.

The report includes photos, stories, statistics and background information on EIFL’s many programs, which support open access to information, improving ICT infrastructure, and more.

Read the report in full.

Ho Regional Library in Ghana has pioneered a mobile library service with mobile ICT lab to bring practical computer training to youth who otherwise wouldn’t have access.

Last month, The Guardian hosted an online panel about how information and communications technology (ICT) can work for social justice and development, raising key points about projects centered on ICT. It’s true that tech skills are key – boosting women’s computer and Internet skills improves their economic opportunities, ICT training makes youth more competitive in the job market, and unemployed adults often need basic computer and internet skills both to search for and apply to jobs and also to become more qualified for those positions. But as some panelists pointed out, tech isn’t everything. Communities need more. And in many cases, libraries can provide those other, vital components to a successful project.

Inspired by The Guardian’s summary article on the panel, here are a few points to keep in mind when incorporating tech into any project.

1. Local focus, context and sustainability: Working with local libraries to precisely determine community needs ensures the best approach is used, especially if ICTs are to be part of a project. Libraries are uniquely positioned local institutions, and librarians are invaluable assets in assessing community needs because they are exceptionally attuned to the public’s day-to-day information needs. In many communities, people are already invested in and enthusiastic about their libraries, and this means that any project – tech or otherwise – that includes a public or community library as a partner is likely to last and thrive.

2. Tech should be about people: This idea is closely linked to context and local focus. Digital divides are real, and so certain technologies might not work in certain communities. If illiteracy is a problem, as in Bhutan where adult illiteracy rates near 47%, then an SMS program is not the best way to target adult farmers seeking agricultural information. However, it might be the perfect solution to reach young people who seek job opportunities. Basing projects in technology that the target group is already comfortable with boosts the likelihood of success. Still, people often need training in even the most basic ICTs. Most importantly, it’s not just about helping people access technology, but about using the most effective tools available to help people improve their lives.

3. Access to ICTs is essential, but it’s not everything: Providing a community with computers won’t be helpful unless the public knows how to use them. Accessible, useful content must also be available. And people may need help figuring out how to use that content productively. Community organizations like libraries can get involved in each of these steps. They can offer ICT training, partner with other organizations to start up resource websites, and provide space, training, and other services so people can better use their knowledge and skills to boost their opportunities and improve their lives.

Read The Guardian’s article Making ICTs work for social justice and development to learn more.

School children near a READ Center in Bhutan. Youth often have many more opportunities to learn ICT skills than adults.

Bhutan’s timeline is unique: formal education was introduced there in 1960, Internet and TV were introduced in 1999, and democracy was introduced in 2008. Because of this timeline, Bhutan faces unique ICT integration challenges in rural areas of the country.

Beyond Access has been working with READ Bhutan and the Bhutanese ICT group Athang to assess ways to improve the quality and reach of ICT resources available to populations in regions where READ centers are located. READ Bhutan operates five community library resource centers across the country.  At each center, a wide range of information resources can be found, such as children’s books written in Dzongkha (the local language), public debates on women’s empowerment, posters of agricultural information, photographs of local festivals, and computers with free internet access. The centers are often paired with a needed community service, such as tractor leasing or a child day-care center, which serves as an innovative sustainability model.

In March 2013, Beyond Access visited Bhutan, where the team visited READ centers, met with international and local organizations, and conducted informal focus group discussions with Bhutanese school children, farmers, and women’s groups designed to assess the most pressing information needs facing communities near READ centers. One of the team’s key findings was the challenge that illiteracy created in designing ICT services for rural communities in Bhutan.

As formal education is relatively new to Bhutan, the adult illiteracy rate is near 47.19%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. In rural areas this rate climbs further and the majority of adults are illiterate. Furthermore, the population of illiterate adults is a sector with some of the most urgent information needs. For example, illiterate farmers are dependent on market prices for their crops on the days they travel to an auction. How can ICT systems and services, largely developed for a western audience with high literacy rates, be made useful for these people?

As for youth, there are many more opportunities for ICT in information science classes as well as through other youth-related projects. However, the price of internet remains high and schools often can’t afford to provide internet access, except when internet skills are taught as part of the lesson. There is a significant role for READ centers in providing youth access to internet and information as well as equipping them with practical computer skills. As the instructional language in Bhutan’s schools is English, this provides a unique opportunity for ICT programming, as there is already so much content available on the internet for English speakers.

Bhutan’s only public library, located in the country’s capital city, Thimpu.

Bhutan has two population sectors with very different information realities, and training that works for youth in a rural community will be lost on adults. Since the two populations are so different, ICT integration methods and teaching must be tackled differently for both groups. The Beyond Access team also focused on innovation arising from a family of illiterate parents with literate children.  When a parent receives a text message, they typically have their child read it to them.  So while illiteracy is a challenge, a text message announcement of a READ Center program on crop rotation can still reach its target audience.

Trainings can be designed around a parent-child partnership. A mother brings her literate daughter with her to the training, and they both work together to learn how to make a Skype call to the son working in India. One service in strong demand in rural communities is the recording of oral histories. Communities are excited at the possibility that an elder may tell a tale at a READ Center story night while a team of youth record and later distribute CDs of the history. Innovative ICT programing such as these examples can bridge the illiteracy divide in rural communities and bring meaningful services to a sector of the population with pressing information needs. Beyond Access is excited to work with READ Bhutan on some of those innovations

• Friends of African Village Libraries, Burkina Faso
• Malawi National Library
• Kampala Public Library and Kampala City Council Authority, Uganda
• Nghe An Public Library, Vietnam
• Malang Public Library, Indonesia
• Mongolian Libraries Consortium, Mongolia
• Federico Gonzalez Suarez  and Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Ecuador
• Biblioworks, Bolivia
• Biblioteca Pública Municipal Felipe Guerra Castro del Ayuntamiento de Monterrey, Mexico
• Mariamulata Lectora, Colombia
• Biblioteca Popular Infantil de Coronel Suarez, Argentina
• Biblioteca Pública Municipal “Manuel Rosé,” Las Piedras, Canelones, Uruguay

These Beyond Access Members were selected based on their experience partnering with governments and development organizations to meet community needs in education, health, agriculture, increased economic opportunity, or civic participation. In addition to attending Beyond Access Regional Conferences throughout 2013, members will also be eligible for grants to support local initiatives and strengthening partnerships with government partners.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting detailed profiles of each of the members and their work.

The Conectandonos Peru event connected more than 20 people interested in boosting digital inclusion in Peru.

BA: Can you tell us about the Conectandonos Peru event?

RY: The main idea behind the event was to enhance the networking and exchange opportunities among young people using social media for social change. These activities aimed to develop leaders with online presences to share experiences and knowledge with others in their communities.  The conference also deepened the conversation about the need for greater diversity and representation in Peru’s digital spaces.

BA: What was the most important thing you learned at Conectandonos Peru?

RY: What I’ve found most interesting was the software Audacity, which is an audio editor that can be used to produce and create podcasts for social change. I also liked Google’s Maps tool, which allowed me to create my own maps that show the National Library’s activities. This will allow us to make our website more interactive. Also, I enjoyed meeting people who work in different development and social change areas, such as those who work with underserved communities to increase community awareness of reproductive health, to bridge the digital gap, and more.

BA: What are the main challenges in the area of access to technology in Peru? How does the National Library work to bring change to this area?

RY: One of the main challenges in Peru is to bridge the digital divide in terms of access to information. The highest concentration of new technologies is centralized in the capital and neighboring cities and it is not evenly distributed. For this reason, it is key to develop libraries. They must contribute to bring both physical and digital information to the population that lacks it. The National Library and the National Library System, with the support of Beyond Access and other institutions, are working to open and to improve these information centers in places where these problems are common.

One of the main challenges in Peru is to bridge the digital divide in terms of access to information

BA: What types of activities does the National Library develop to address digital literacy?

RY: The National Library delivers different trainings in each of Peru’s departments to increase the capacity of librarians or people in charge of libraries in these cities. Some projects include workshops on digital literacy, which aim to bring librarians closer to the new digital tools, social networks, and production and creation of new web content. The National Library has a multidisciplinary team that develops these activities. For example, we recently delivered a workshop on digital literacy to 45 people in Tacna, Peru.