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objectives
> consultative forum > ict
policy > open research > multimedia
> lessons
The E-NABLE project was implemented from 2005 to 2007.
The project strategy had five complimenting elements that build
strongly towards an inclusive policymaking process as well as gather
feedback from urban and rural community groups. The project included
the establishment of an ICT consultative forum of civil society
organizations that effectively engaged in the ICT policy formulation
process.
The project also carried out research and produced
information primers used as part of the resource material in raising
awareness amongst civil society actors about various ICT policy
and practice issues. Some of these information primers have been
very useful to policy makers themselves and the private sector.
The project included activities that engaged and encouraged community
groups to create and disseminate local content using several, relevant
ICT tools, and various methodologies including the Open
Knowledge Network (OKN) concept.
The following describes the achievements which were
expected within the E-NABLE Project's five objectives:
• Establish an ICT consultative
forum
A consultative forum of thirty-five civil society organizations
interested in ICTs was established. The activities of this large
group were moderated by a core group of six champion ICT driven
organizations; SAFIRE, MWENGO, MISA, Practical Action, World
Links and Kubatana. The core group met
three times during the reporting period providing guidance to the
project. The consultative forum met five times during the reporting
period to share experiences and strategize on how to input into
the national ICT process.
The face-to-face meetings followed on line discussions
of the D-group. These forum meetings were the only vehicle available
for CSOs, private and even public sector players’ inputs into
the national ICT policy process.
The D-group is accessible at www.d-groups.com/policy.
Since its establishment, several private and public sector players
from inside and outside Zimbabwe joined the discussion group to
input into the ICT Policy and E-Strategies Formulation process.
The policy consultative forum debated policy issues and made policy
recommendations on technological and socio-economic issues emanating
from the process.
• The ICT Policy
and E-Strategies Formulation Process
The ICT Policy and E-Strategies Formulation Process was in three
phases:
a) e-readiness survey done by National University of Science and
Technology (NUST),
b) e-publicity period and
c) policy and strategies formulation and drafting phase.
The E-nable project team members participated during the multistakeholder
meetings held in Harare.
The ICT Policy seeks to establish a National ICTs Authority (NICTA),
whose role is to foster and coordinate the development of ICTs and
the National ICTs Regulator that will see the functions of the Media
and Information Commission (MIC), the Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe (BAZ) and the Post and Telecommunications Regulating Authority
Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) converge into one body. Responsible authorities
are busy crafting bills to push these new bodies through parliament.
There is critical need for the consultative forum created as mentioned
in 2.1.1 to continue the lobbying, advocacy and information dissemination
role within the ICT policy arena.
• Open research
and dissemination of primer reports
The reason for the research and documentation component of the project
was to compile accurate information and knowledge based on issues
related to ICT technology and policy issues of Zimbabwe from an
empirical and tested context. The information primers produced from
this output empower CSO stakeholders in the consultative forum to
make informed choices of matters related to ICTs.
The project produced ten research primers namely:
• ICT Policy Frameworks: A Comparative Analysis of the AISI,
COMESA and
their relevancy to Zimbabwe ICT Policy development;
• License exempt wireless fidelity (WiFi) technology on the
2.4 and 5 GHz frequency band in Zimbabwe: An understanding and recommendations
for WiFi policy and strategies from a civil society perspective;
• Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) And pro-poor policies:
a civil society perspective in Zimbabwe;
• Voice Over Internet Protocol in Zimbabwe (VoIP):An understanding
and recommendations for VoIP policy from a civil society perspective;
• Refurbished Computers in Zimbabwe: An Option on Policy Considerations;
• Free and Open Source in Zimbabwe: An understanding of FOSS
for ICT policy; The Creative Commons licensing model -A case of
“Some rights reserved” in Zimbabwe ;
• Mobile for Development;
• Data collection, GIS & Remote Sensing;
• Communication Technology in Development
• Engage in Information Society processes at national, regional
& international levels
The persuasion for including this output stemmed from
the fact that CSOs in Zimbabwe were not well coordinated in their
participation in national, regional or international Information
Society issues. Under this output, the CSO caucus group discussed
under section 2.1.1 met and shared experiences and received presentations
from members that attended ICT related workshops in the region and
internationally.
One notable meeting was the report back session by
five members that attended Tunis 2005. These gave personal accounts
of their experiences in Tunis, what their expectations were and
their views on the way forward for Zimbabwe in relation to ICTs
for development. The organizations that presented at the WSIS session
were Connect Africa, SAFIRE, World Links, Kubatana, Ministry of
Science and Technology, and MISA.
• Multimedia communication
channel for the project
This output developed an ICT driven project communication and networking
channel that included a website and an e-discussion community of
practice. The project organized face-to-face meetings of the consultative
forum under this output. The project also produced a publicity brochure
and two indoor posters. The E-nable project launched in July, coordinated
CSO responses to the policy making process by employing the multimedia
channel for communications.
Due to technical problems, the project was not able
to publish the e-newsletters. The EKOWISA website contains all publications
and presentations produced through the E-nable Project. It also
contains discussion forums, which are periodically used for involving
grassroots communities in discussing topical issues.
Lessons Learnt
and Intended Follow up
• The Project implemented within a shrinking space for civil
society activism had fewer CSOs taking part than expected. An internal
evaluation revealed that if the Director of the CSO did not appreciate
ICT issues, they prevented the information officers and related
staff from attending ICT related meetings. The evaluation revealed
that Zimbabwe has more ICT projects at community scattered in other
cities outside Harare. This calls for the project to focus on these
as well as working at policy level
.
• An evaluation done by the project showed that The ICT Policy
formulation and implementation process is a very slow process. Working
with policy makers requires a lot of patience and re-planning. Many
policy makers may promise to attend meetings and do not bother to
turn up or even send an apology. There is need to increase the advocacy
and lobbying activities of the project.
• The challenge becomes doubly difficult considering the restrictive
laws on information sharing. The project team constantly has to
battle with questions like ‘is what you are doing with the
communities i.e. encouraging them to share information to improve
their livelihood within the bounds of the law? Does AIPPA classify
community communication projects as journalistic activities? The
project activities concentrate on providing information so communities
can make informed decisions about every aspect of their lives. There
is need for more activities that equip community groups to analyze
their situations and create information and communications activities
that address their felt needs.
• A lot of effort and time is spent securing approval at various
levels provincial, district, ward, village when planning to implement
rural and even urban community related projects. The trust building
process consumes enormous patience and requires a lot of diplomacy.
EKOWISA has been successful in entering new ground simply because
the communities themselves would like to engage in communication
activities as these are not new to them (World Links) has been working
in the areas that we have targeted so far.
• Communities may have such questions like; what and how are
you going to use the information? They need to be convinced and
be internally driven about information sharing and as a facilitating
CSO, EKOWISA has to explain this in ways that build trust and confidence
among the target group. This is greatly helped by handing over the
operation, planning and execution of the projects to the community
members themselves.
• Very few CSOs are currently using ICTs effectively. This
means that we still have to use the traditional method of communication
like telephones, fax and even letters to communicate. There is a
lot of scope in working with CSOs in the area of ICTs especially
as we focus on the role of ICTs in meeting the MDG goals and even
in addressing CEDAW and Beijing +10.
• Several CSOs seem to have slowed down their activities due
to the NGO bill. The hyperinflation environment makes CSO activities
very expensive. The dual exchange rates push costs of services and
commodities up, eroding the value of donor funds.
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