A CMC combines community radio by local people in local languages with community telecentre facilities (computers with Internet and e-mail, phone, fax and photocopying services). The radio - which is low-cost and easy to operate - not only informs, educates and entertains, but it also empowers the community by giving a strong public voice to the voiceless, and thus encouraging greater accountability in public affairs.
ICT Focus Areas:
Access / Connectivity
Cultural & Linguistic Diversity
eEntertainment
ICT Infrastructure
Local Content Development
Related Member States:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
Saint Kitts & Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Background:
UNESCO's International Initiative for Community Multimedia Centres (CMCs) promotes community empowerment and addresses the digital divide by combining community broadcasting with the Internet and related technologies.
The CMC programme offers a global strategy for addressing the digital divide in the poorest communities of the developing world and also among countries in transition. The CMC opens a gateway to active membership of the global knowledge society by making information and communication the basic tools of the poor in improving their own lives.
A CMC combines community radio by local people in local languages with community telecentre facilities (computers with Internet and e-mail, phone, fax and photocopying services). The radio - which is low-cost and easy to operate - not only informs, educates and entertains, but it also empowers the community by giving a strong public voice to the voiceless, and thus encouraging greater accountability in public affairs.
Design of Project:
Radio-browsing programmes:
Presenters search the web in response to listeners' queries and discuss, on air, the contents of pre-selected websites with studio guests.
Multimedia databases for development:
The CMC can gradually build up its own database of materials that meet the community's information needs.
Open learning:
The CMC exists to meet development needs in such areas as education and training, health and income-generation.
References:
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=1263&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29675&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/bfc/office-in-kingston/
