No internet hope for havenots!
Give Arthur Goldstuck his due, his latest Internet Access in South Africa 2008 Study is a formidable document. Well-done to World Wide Worx and CISCO who backed the study!
The good thing about studies like this is that it gives one a statistical departure point to implement strategies to right what is wrong. However the question is who will address the problems? Industry? Government? All of us?
In the study Arthur states that the Internet usage and activity boom of 2006-2008 will flatten in 2009, but easing of broadband limitations and international interest in 2010 will compensate for this. The haves will have more, while the havenots will only begin to be addressed. The Experience Curve shows that new users will still take 5 years to be integrated, meaning that the have-nots are more than ten years away from Internet integration.
For many years politician have been talking about bridging the digital divide. If anything the divide has increased. The focus was on providing broadband to the masses, a philosophy that is still supported by the ITU. It is all very well to provide broadband but if food on the table is your major headache who cares about broadband? There is of cause the argument that having access to the information highway one can improve your economic position because knowledge empowers!
In South Africa we now officially have moved away from the bridging divide scenario to “digital inclusivity”. Perhaps if we can be serious about what digital inclusivity really means we may perhaps achieve Arthur’s forecast that the havenots will be internet integrated in 10 years time.
Digital inclusivity focuses on teaching literacy (read and write) and computer literacy. Access to computers and broadband is also on the list of issues to be considered to achieve digital inclusivity but it is generally considered that once people are literate and computer literate market forces will take care of the rest.
The Chairman of Intel, Craig Barrett recently said at the launch of Intel’s support to the Nepad eSchools project that teacher training is the number one priority to achieve digital inclusivity. It is not just a question of the teacher being IT literate but teachers must be trained to use IT to make education more exciting
In this lies a challenge for us all. Give some of your time and expertise to your children’s school and help empowers our teachers.
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