An exciting first day at the European Telecentre Leaders Forum

[Christine Prefontaine]

The European Telecentre Leaders Forum started today in Riga, Latvia. The Latvian Information Technology and Telecommunications Association (LIKTA) — the event's host — is ridiculously well organized. Registrations went smoothly and, along with the regular papers and swag, we even got Latvian history books and Black Balsam in our welcome kits.

Professor Imants Freibergs, LIKTA Board Member and President of the Latvia@World initiative, welcomed us to Riga. After a few more introductions from telecentre.org and Microsoft our facilitator, Alison Hewlitt, led us in a speed-dating session. This was a welcome change to the typical go-around-the-room-and-say-who-you-are-and-where-you-are-from. We each selected a fellow participant, shared with them for three minutes, and then moved on and repeated the process. I was able to meet four different people: an energetic young woman working with youth in over 70 districts throughout Turkey, and several people from Education for an Open Society (EOS), a Romanian organization that, among other activities, provides e-skills for employability training to people who have lost their jobs.

Next, Krassimir Simonski, from iCentres Bulgaria, gave an overview of the development of the Telecentres.Europe network over the last year, highlighting the volunteer task force's achievements: more and better communications, the development of a strategy, a mapping of e-skills projects Europe (which also includes potential network partners, their areas of expertise, and ways they may contribute), engagement with the European Commission on e-skills, the development of project ideas, a survey of potential members, and the preliminary work on a knowledge-sharing website.

Gabriela Barna, Director of EOS, then gave her vision of the current state of the network. "I want us to take a moment to reflect on why we are doing this," said Gabriela. "This work is only relevant if it is relevant to everyone. We are project managers, telecentre managers, grassroots workers, and high-level workers. Everyone has something to bring and will have something to take home. We are united by a common commitment, we have a direction and a strategic framework, we have support and enthusiasm from prospective members, we have opportunities in the larger environment, and we have resources to build an online presence and vibrant knowledge-sharing space. Let's do this together and share everything we've got. We've reached the bridge now let's cross it together. Please, I invite you to embark on this journey."

Gabriela then provided a vision of a way forward: "In the short term let's engage and define what the network can and should be for us. Think about these questions over the next two days: How do we want to share knowledge? How do we foster connections that support our work? What do we want from our network? How do we want to participate and contribute? This is our chance to get our network right and make it useful for us."

Gabriela emphasized long-term opportunities: more voice to collective work, a stronger telecentre movement, increased individual capacity, more resources, and the ability to make a difference. "We can create a knowledge base that the EU can use," she said. "We can offer it to them and say 'This is what is going on in our projects and our countries. Take it. Use it.' Then the EU strategy will be more relevant for us and for our countries." Gabriel noted that an EU representative would be attending tomorrow's sessions — a huge achievement for a nascent network — and explained that there is a lot of interest in Telecentre.Europe's activities: "Not only the EU, but companies through their CSR programs are interested in this work. We are generating interst and so let's grab the opportunities and generate more resources."

Gabriela finished the session by asking participants to spread the word. "Talk to your partners. Tell them about what we are doing and invite them to join us. I hope that there are lots of chances for each of you to learn from your peers here. Ask around. Maybe someone has done what you are planning to do and you can leap ahead."

Then Alison invited participants to co-create the agenda for the rest of the meeting. People put their ideas on brightly colored cards, provided the group with a short explanation, and placed them on the wall in a grid with time slots. Each of these would become a session, led by the initiator of the idea. There was a palpable sense of enthusiasm and ownership.

The rest of the day was devoted to participants' sessions. Participants sat in tight circles, intent on each other, sharing, asking questions. Along one wall of the room the organizers set up resource tables and a documentation centre with computers and printers. Alison provided session leaders with report-out templates, which we will review tomorrow.