The care for end user and beneficiaries approach

The seminar consisted of four sessions:

1) The rationale for ICT for Managers: Presented by Lydia Anjiah, MS-TCDC documentalist, who stressed the strategic position of managers in inspiring use of ICTs in their organizations as well as leading strategic integration of ICT resources and their use, the acumen that qualifies managers as “hybrid” (definition by Michael Earl), and the fact that managers can influence investment in ICTs by organizations. Lydia noted that the potential of ICTs to enhance development initiatives is undermined by the inability of managers to make relevant decisions on procurement and training, yet they are strategically positioned to inspire increased use of ICTs in work places. She also shared bleak statistics on connectivity which are very illustrative of the digital divide.

How many million people are on-line?
World: 605.60
Africa*: 6.31
Asia/Pacific: 187.24
Middle East: 5.12
Europe: 190.91
Canada/USA: 182.67
Latin America: 33.35
Source September 2002: Nua Internet Surveys
* For Africa approx. 2 million are in South Africa

2) ICT use - Demonstrations: Herment Tesha, MS-TCDC ICT Manager/Trainer, demonstrated various ICT office solutions which were complemented by a tour of some of the centre’s offices, to experience the different ICT solutions. Participants also visited the crop marketing bureau website at www.bistanzania.com which was a clear demonstration of opportunities associated with ICT use and that ICT was already here!

3) Procurement Guidelines: Sharmila Bhatt, Director Learn-IT Dar-es-Salaam, delivered a session on procurement of ICT resources and training. Key considerations and tips on hardware/software/vendor selection were particularly appreciated. She also provided insight to new trends in technology as well as wireless infrastructure options.

4) Experience sharing: Christine Nantongo, MS-TCDC trainer, shared experiences on practical ICT use with emphasis on strategic integration to ensure that our development mission objectives are not compromised as we maximize on ICT opportunities.

Participants expressed concerns on accessibility to ICT in low-tech environments, in particular where there is no electricity. Cases were cited where ICT infrastructural problems have been dealt with practically, as well as other available practical solutions.

The 23 participants were drawn from NGOs (non governmental organizations and CBOs (community based organizations) in the following sectors: health, environment, agriculture, Crafts, community development, education local government and from MS-TCDC and the hospitality industry. All agreed that this was an exceptional seminar “Nobody ever told us that,...I have not been to a seminar like this” said Dr.Sheila Devane, a participant from the Arusha Community Mental Health Programme.

Soon after Elisha Mayallah (participant) went back to his workplace a wrote an article on the stakes of ICT in hotel management which appeared in Arusha times.

It is expected that the MS-TCDC-IICD collaboration will continue to create opportunities for ICT awareness as well as proficiency in ICT use for advancing development objectives of NGOs, CBOs and individuals in the region.

For more information on ICT projects in Tanzania visit IICD's website or MS-TCDC's website for cross cutting capacity building training information. For information on future ICT Training in Arusha email Ms. Lydia Anjiah at anjiahl@mstcdc.or.tz