AfrikLinks and telecentre.org Launch French Edition of the Telecentre Times

[telecentre.org]

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — AfrikLinks and telecentre.org will launch L'Heure des Télécentres, the French edition of the Telecentre Times newspaper, on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, at 11:00AM in the telecentre.org Village, within the Global Knowledge Partnership's GK3 event in Kuala Lumpur.

L'Heure des Télécentres, which will be produced quarterly AfrikLinks in partnership with telecentre.org, will highlight the experiences, challenges, and learning of telecentre operators throughout West Africa, focusing on providing practical solutions to day-to-day issues.

Aminata Maiga, AfrikLinks President, led her team in the creation of the newspaper, which included Timothé Keita, Mohamed Ag Acharom, Fousseiny Sanogo, and Levy Dougnon, President of Mali's FETEMA network. "We learned a lot producing this newspaper," said Timothé, "and it allowed us to create and strengthen ties with many other telecentre activists in the region and across Africa."

Filifing Diakité, a journalist associated with the International Institute for Communication and Development, tapped his network and connected AfrikLinks with Fousseiny Sanogo, who helped the team with research, writing, and editing.

"The biggest challenge was to get people to contribute," said Timothé, AfrikLinks ICT Manager. "But now that the first issue has been published we're confident that people will see the value of sharing knowledge and send us their stories." Timothé's favorite story is about Sekou Doumbia, a traditional healer from Kagamba, Mali. "Mr Doumbia is illiterate, but he loves to come to the telecentre to use the Internet. He even promotes the centre and convinced a local teacher to visit. This proves that the Internet is not just for intellectuals. Even people who have not been to school and cannot read or write can take advantage of ICTs."

The AfrikLinks team drew a lot of inspiration from the English edition of the Telecentre Times, produced by UgaBYTES in Uganda. "This shows that the creation of a global network is possible," said Sulah Ndaula, Executive Director of the UgaBYTES Initiative. "Good ideas and content can flow from one network from another, cutting across language barriers. People are taking the initiative to translate. And sometimes the useful part is just the basic idea. People can pick ideas from different places and transform them into something unique. This has been a great achievement for UgaBYTES and the Telecentre Times."

AfrikLinks was founded in 2005 by a group of young ICT4D activists in Mali. It has quickly become a regional leader in the use of information and communication technologies for sustainable development, providing training, monitoring, and technical support services. Since its inception, AfrikLinks has established AMTIC (Association Malienne pour la Promotion des TIC), the first association to dedicated to promoting the use of technology for development in Mali. They have also helped Mali's Community Learning and Information Centers (CLICs) — supported by USAID and Microsoft Unlimited Potential — to learn together and strengthen outreach to their communities. In December 2006, with support from telecentre.org, AfrikLinks created the Fédération des télécentres du Mali (FETEMA), which it supports through workshops, events, and a technical support helpdesk.

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