Information Society Watch

2002, Ian Pringle and M.J.R. David, The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC)

In this paper, the authors present the UNESCO funded Kothmale Community Radio and Internet project in central Sri Lanka as a potential model for increasing rural ICT usage. Kothmale was unique in placing the internet project within a community radio resource, and this convergence of media led to increased local ICT capacity and also expansion in the community radio itself. Another important achievement of the Kothmale model was skill development in users, through extensive training and limited hand-holding techniques. The authors conted that this Sri Lankan model is applicable to other South Asian countries because of similar communications scenarios and political contexts. In these countries, metropolis and regional centres are witnessing rapid expansions in telecom and media sectors while telephones, electricity and clean drinking water are luxuries for many in the countryside. The authors stress that enabling rural ICT usage requires special efforts to create appropriate models for those who can neither afford the Internet access nor have the language capacity to understand the content.

Read full text