OK. I admit it. I am developing an obsession with positive stories about Africa! This is one of several recent articles documenting the leapfrogging of 'wired' telecommunications in developing countries. The prospect of 'wireless Africa' - and more importantly, of a more equitable distribution of the benefits of internet access - is looking more realisable every day, with the expansion of mobile telephone networks, development of cheaper, more rugged laptops, and now signs of competition between the different firms looking to install wireless broadband. (Several African governments and development agencies are also working to ensure these benefits can be accessed by poor and marginalised populations.) Maybe we can bridge the digital divide after all?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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5 comments:
I suppose a knee-jerk reaction to this story is "wouldn't it be better to spend the money on helping the 30,000,000 AIDS sufferers in Africa by providing cheap medication and clean water?" But then why should these things be mutually exclusive?
I hadn't heard of the wireless initiative before, but it seems allied to MIT's world-wide notion of "one laptop per child". You do need to be able to talk the language of computers (fast replacing English as the standard) in order to be able to get a handle on the world. So this is all good. But we need to see it in a wider context.
The last years of my working life were spent in the dark parts of the cave in the Midlands (UK), in an attempt to empower those who had fallen through the net by giving them the skills to help themselves. We worked in refuges, centres for homeless people and with people with drink and drug problems. Rather than ask "Would you like a laptop with wireless connection?" our first question was always "What would make you life better?" Sometimes the answer would be surprising (to an outsider). For instance, a Somali women's group wanted half a dozen sewing machines (and a bit of tuition) for their co-operative venture in order to make and sell traditional clothes at local craft fairs. A group at a centre for long-term unemployed people needed sets of tools and decorating equipment (and a bit of tuition) to help each other, in turn, to transform their own homes - and then go on to do the same for others.
I suppose in both these examples, wireless laptops would have been welcome, but certainly not crucial. The important thing is to make such projects relevant to where people are at. In other words, to make them educational projects rather than wireless laptop projects.
The wind-up $100 laptop seems just around the corner and I'm sure Africa is ready to be one gigantic "hot spot" - which is great - but all of this needs to go hand-in-hand with cheap medecines, clean water, and the local equivalents of sewing machines and paintbrushes.
Interesting thoughts Cobaltbuzz - thanks very much!
ALL things must be seen in their wider context. I agree with your suggestion that better public health and improved access to water and sanitation, and wireless technology, are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I think they may be complementary to an extent. There are a number of developing country initiatives I know of, in which cell phones or PDAs are used to report stockouts of medicines in local health facilities, or to alert regulators to the presence of fake drugs, for example. I am also working with some colleagues of mine in West Africa on the potential for telephone-based (and in the longer term, web-based) locally appropriate health advice, and we're looking at ways to ensure this can be accessed by all, not just those who have cell phones (though many people do).
You ask whether the 'money' wouldn't be better spent on health, water, skills and basic resources rather than on wireless technology. I think on the whole I'd agree with that - those are top priorities for national government expenditure and donor assistance across much of Africa.
However, in the case cited in this article, I think it's mostly a market response that is being talked about - consumer demand is generating a supply of wireless devices and this stimulates the necessary investment in basic infrastructure. The two go hand in hand. Except, of course, where there are insufficient consumers with purchasing power - so no market for devices, so no stimulus for investment. This is where public funding and/or private philanthropy may help - providing the support that can incentivise the private sector to move into 'unattractive markets', which can then help poorer people gain access to newer technologies...
Actually, this is as important a strategy (if not more so) for medicines, as it is for cell phones and computers.
E
I tend to agree with both of you here - obviously - in terms of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs - a wireless laptop with broaband connection is not at the top of list...
But since visiting Kenya in the early 90's I have always thought that, along with renewable energy, ICT would be a big part of the future for Africa.
I spent a night in a cabin out in Lokichokio and in between the sound of the radio operator chatting away in phonetics and swahili - I heard the sound of gunshot - which turned out to be be a dispute about cattle, with one nomadic tribe raiding another's herd.
It was at that point that I thought that the kind of inter-tribal misunderstandings that stunt Africa's potential for growth might be combated by inter-personal communication, along with the exchange of knowledge and access to medical and farming data etc would go a long way to helping things reach a sustainable level. I may have been a naive and optimistic teenager, but I don't think I was far from the mark..
A little add-on:
These are cool little laptops, coupled with some decent broadband connections they could help change the dynamics of developing countries, or at least open up some interesting doors for the children.
www.laptopgiving.org
Yes, Paul - thanks. These are the One Laptop Per Child laptops developed by MIT and co. From November 12, you can buy one for yourself (or your own child, nephew, niece etc) and buy one for a child less fortunate for only $399, I believe...
Someone write to Santa and let him know!!
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