Information Society Watch

June 2006, UNDP Europe and the CIS

A practical guide to establishing a telecottage, as well as a valuable source of experiences and lessons learned, this report was prepared by members of the telecottage movement. The Hungarian experience is used as a reference point throughout the report.

2003, A. Badshah, S. Khan and I. Garrido (eds), UN Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Task Force

This publication, commissioned by the UN ICT Task Force/UN Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Task Force, is a compilation of the various models of information kiosks being tested and deployed around the world, as well as insight from experts in this field about the different key components necessary for success.
Note: This resource is close to 9 MB

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May 2, 2007, UNESCO

The state government of Kerala through it's state wide ICT project Akshaya with support from UNESCO is going to create community portals in the local language (Malayalam). The portal will comprise vital information such as government schemes,information regarding agriculture, business ventures,products,local job vacancies, educational details,health information, legal rights and so on.

2006, Rajendra Kumar and Michael Best, The Journal of Community Informatics

In a study of social diffusion of telecentreuse in rural south India, the authors find that these centres are being used only by a relatively small proportion of the village households despite their having been in operation for well over a year. Based on a survey of the telecentre users, they find that these users are, in general, young, male, school or college students, relatively more educated, belong to relatively higher income households, and come from socially and economically advanced communities.

November 9, 2006, Athar Osama, Scidev.net

The author contends that serious problems of development must first be confronted before the potential of ICT for development can be fulfilled. Despite the many examples of 'successful' projects, mainly in India, the myths of ICT in development abound.

December 2004, John Paul, Digital Dividend

In a country where rural telecommunications infrastructure has traditionally been installed only through licensing obligations, n-Logue Communications Ltd. has created a for-profit business model designed to affordably meet the latent demand for rural connectivity. n-Logue aims to fulfill its stated mission of "significantly enhancing the quality of life of every rural Indian" by setting up a profitable network of wirelessly-connected Internet kiosks in villages throughout India.

February 2006, D.C. Misra, Dr. N. Vijayaditya, National Informatics Centre

This paper provides an account of some of the major initiatives undertaken by National Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with Indian government in the area of Development Informatics, particularly touching the rural domain. NIC has been spearheading the application of ICT to streamline government functioning across the length and breadth of the country, and right down to the grassroots level.

February 2006, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Anuradha Ramachandran, Sangamitra Ramachander, Information Technology in Developing Countries

This article looks into the impact of rural internet kiosks and attempts to assess how much has been collectively learned in India regarding physical connectivity, availability of computers and equipment and the business model used to scale up processes.

2002, Raul Roman and Royal Colle, Cornell University

This paper looks at the obstacles to community participation in telecentre operations and suggests some approaches that have the potential to increase participation, especially that of women. Cultural barriers pose a serious problem to ICT access, and the authors cite their work in India on training women’s self-help group members, as a worthwhile means of promoting their empowerment.

2003, Kelby Johnson, Thesis

This thesis explores the interrelationship between gender, telecentre design and women’s accessibility to information and communication technologies (ICTs). The author posits that taking gender into account in the design of telecentres can improve the diffusion of gender-sensitive telecentres, consequently increasing women’s access to ICTs and their contribution to Africa’s information society.