Microsoft and the Ministry of Youth in Kenya are all set to establish digital villages in all provinces in the country.
The Digital Villages are expected to provide free ICT training and Internet connections to youths in the country, enabling them to explore the opportunities available on the web.
The venture kicked off recently when Microsoft presented the initial batch of 30 computers to the Ministry of Youth Affairs, which in turn handed them to district information officers in six provinces.
They were presented by Louis Otieno, Microsoft general manager in charge of East and Southern African region. Kinuthia Murungu, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Affairs, represented the Kenyan government. Mr Otieno said Microsoft is training personnel to manage the centres.
More computers are expected later in 2008.
The concept targets local communities, schools and business people wishing to acquire computer knowledge or explore opportunities through the Internet.
“We are need at least 200 computers to equip the first phase of the project,” said Mr Murungu.
He however noted that the centres need to have Internet connectivity to exploit the benefits of technology. The ministry, he said, is lobbying telephone service providers to support the programme by providing free connection.
The villages are expected to provide direct employment to 5,000 youths who will work at the centres in different capacities.
Internationally, the concept of such villages was introduced in 1996 by Intel when it invested $1 billion to launch them on six continents. The primary objective of the project was to help create public and private partnerships to stimulate development and promote local engagement in national governance.
In South Africa, the first digital centre was established in Soweto in 2001 with support from Microsoft and other donors. A web page on the Soweto centre notes that besides offering ICT training to the youth, the centres help bridge the information divide between the poor and the privileged elite.
Alongside training and supporting small businesses, such centres are also useful in supporting community programmes such as social meetings and cultural programmes within the community.
A manager of the Soweto Digital Village says the centre trained 500 youths in its first year, most of whom were poached by other better-paying commercial centres.
This trend has continued to deprive it of skilled instructors and managers but the management views it as the price it has to pay for running a successful project.
But over time, relevance has also been an issue and many of the centres have been unable to keep updated on new technology due to shortage of funds, a challenge that could well confront the concept in Kenya.
But the Kenya Digital Villages are expected to run as commercial ventures to be self-sustaining. Mr Murungu said the ministry is lobbying the government, non-governmental organisations and private business to use the facilities for research projects in rural areas.
This will help generate resources to manage and sustain the centres.
Among the areas that are expected to benefit from these facilities are research projects by government, corporate and others developing data on a wide range of programmes and business strategies.
The ministry is lobbying the government to use the Digital Villages as data collection and dissemination centres during next year’s population census.
“We want the state to take advantage of the villages and also the high computer skills among the youth for all future projects that require countrywide data collection,” said Mr Murungu.
Mr Otieno said the other challenge is to develop software that is relevant to the specific needs of the community at the different locations. While the project is expected to cater for academic and various business ventures that attract the youth, the focus may eventually end up on the creative arts where most of the youth entrepreneurship has been based lately.
Mr Otieno said success will be tied to the effectiveness of the copyright protection, which has to be in place for the youths to reap the full benefits of their creativity.
“While developed countries have patents to protect technology, our laws need to be effected to guard against exploitation,” he said.
There already exists a vibrant Internet culture in most urban centres in Kenya since the waiver of import duties on computers and accessories three years ago.
Source: Nationmedia
