A plataform to resolve telecentre training related constraints

 

The telecentre.org Academy seeks to create a system that supports the learning and capacity building of grassroots workers, master trainers and others associated with bridging the ‘digital divide’ across the world, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries, through the telecentre movement. It reflects the current trend of global coalition building (which is one of the UN Millennium Development Goals) to accelerate the pace of development through the use of various information and communication technologies (ICTs).

 

The Academy aims to build the human capital needed to support such efforts. It seeks to achieve this by investing in large scale, national level, open and continuous learning programs by promoting the ‘Creative Commons’ approach. Within the telecentre.org Academy framework, it would encourage sharing of resources and best practices; promote the development of collaborative curriculum and learning practices; and set world-class accreditation and certification standards.

 

It is envisaged that the actual training programs would be led and managed by telecentre networks, academic institutions and governments at the national or regional level; and these, collectively, would constitute the global telecentre.org Academy.

 

Existing national/regional telecentre training pilots and programs across the world

 

This initiative is not an isolated, manufactured idea. It is the culmination of various telecentre training pilot and curriculum development programs underway in diverse parts of the world, including Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Under the guidance of telecentre.org, these efforts are experimenting with various methods and techniques for developing ‘Common Curricula’ in a participatory way to promote online collaborative learning.

 

The telecentre.org Academy is an extension of these activities, which are preparing the ground for common training programs at the international level. Moreover, several countries in these continents are in the process of scaling up their telecentre movement to disseminate its benefits to all sectors of society. They will require a vast number of trained staff to manage these telecentres and their present resources are not sufficient to train the human capital needed for this purpose.

 

With 50,000 telecentre managers participating in networks across the world at present and an expected twenty-fold growth over the next three to four years, it is urgent that a flexible and cost-effective training program be designed in order to ensure that this global investment in human resources not be squandered. To ensure this, it is essential to create a global framework to support and promote open, continuous and collaborative learning, capacity building and curriculum development for telecenter-based staff and volunteers. By doing so, the telecentre.org Academy and its national chapters will become the place for acquiring knowledge and enhancing skills for efficient management of telecentres around the world, thus increasing their sustainability and longevity of the telecentres involved.