ICT4D Research Weblog

Ok, I know I haven't been too good at updating that blog - please excuse my tardiness... The reason is that nothing much interesting has happened regarding my thesis work since my return from South Africa.

I transcribed all my interviews to be able to better work with them and then started to write on the actual thesis paper. The Introduction and the Theoretical Part are finished already, also almost the whole chapter on the national level, where I describe the political (ICT) framework of South Africa.

Next week, I will present my prelimenary findings at the ICT4D Postgraduate Symposium organized by the ICT4D Collective at Royal Holloway, University of London on September 14 and 15, 2006. The presentation will be online here at the end of next week.

Posted by Nikos at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My last week in Pretoria was packed with various interviews, with stakeholders of both ADP and tuXlab.

The time in Pretoria was a very effective time, and although only having two weeks for the amount of interviews planned, I managed to conduct most of them.

I am especially grateful for the great support I received from the ADP team. They not only took the time to speak with me, but moreover, they showed great interest in my work and supported me by suggesting more people to speak with and by helping me arrange meetings with them.

Posted by Nikos at 06:08 PM | Permalink

June 16, 1976: Hundreds of young people die in Soweto, the biggest township near Johannesburgin, in a violent turnout of a peaceful demonstration against the Bantu Education System which leads to further demonstrations and riots throughout June 1976.
"Many consider the riots an event which signified the beginning of the end for apartheid. The effects of the riots echoed across the country. After the riots, many black citizens were awakened to the reality of apartheid, and started to resist, while some white citizens also withdrew their support for the government." (cited from Wikipedia article).

Today, June 16 is "Youth Day", a national holiday in South Africa.

June 16, 2006: 30 Years later, around 60 people, most of them under 20 and from different disadvantaged communities around Johannesburg meet in a bank office in one of the fanciest malls of Johannesburg.
Coming from different forthcoming tuXlabs, they will get whole weekend of training, including the set-up of a computer lab and the use of the various software that comes with a tuXlab. Different sponsors, including a bank, a computer distributor, an internet service provider, are also there to present their contributions, for example a bunch of new computers or a life-long internet connection for the affected tuXlabs.
And again: it's the young people who impress me most: their deidication to learn, their dedication to improve their situation, to overcome the "Economic Apartheid" that is still present in South Africa, their dedication to also help others through what they are doing and not only themselves. And the tuXlabs help empower them to do so.

Posted by Nikos at 11:21 AM | Permalink

Yesterday, I was able to attend the launch of a tuXlab, the "Ikamva Youth tuXlab", in Khayelitsha.

I was very much impressed by the activists of Ikamva Youth, not only because of their very professional organization of the "launching celebration". Moreover, it was great to see how young people and especially youths from disadvantaged communities were able to actually change their living conditions to the better and to get support from outside partners (here: the Western Cape Provincial Government, VIA Technologies, tuXlab and others...).

Of course, a computer lab in a library is only a small step on the road to appropriate living conditions. Showing that the youth of Khayelitsha has been able to achieve that, however, makes me more optimistic about the fact that much more can be achieved...

Posted by Nikos at 12:03 PM | Permalink