India, 15 - 22 October 15 2004

Outcomes

Read Workshop Report ( PDF, 909KB)

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The 2004 South-South Exchange Travelling Workshop was hosted by a GKP member, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) from 15-22 October 2004.

Purpose

Exchange of development perspectives between village communities in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry in southern India and civil societies from developing countries with specific focus on ICT-enabled development.

Exchange of knowledge and experience between visiting participants from civil societies of developing countries and village communities of Pondicherry and Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu which are involved in many development programmes of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).

The participants provided a profile of their organizations and their work, and brought with them presentations (posters, photographs, audio cassettes, Power point presentations, short films, etc.). These materials were taken to all the villages where the workshop will visit and be exhibited to the community. Similarly, the villagers exhibited their materials to the participants.

In the past MSSRF have held a traveling workshop in the area of agricultural practices with experts from several Asian countries (Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan included) visiting their field stations and working closely with their farming communities. MSSRF found that in certain situations such workshops involving field visits and the local communities are far more productive than the regular workshops in seminar halls. In October 2002, MSSRF held the first South-South Exchange Traveling Workshop (with financial support from Hivos, IICD and IDRC) and in October-November 2003 MSSRF held the second South-South Exchange Traveling Workshop with financial support from GKP.

Participants

Programme officers and implementers of ICT-enabled development projects (NGOs as well as governments) from developing countries sponsored by GKP. The participants were familiar with IT and community development and would be in the position to make immediate use of what they learn in the workshop in their projects/ programmes. A few representatives of donor agencies also joined the group.

Past Experience

During October 2002, a similar programme was organized with support from HIVOS, IICD and IDRC. Twenty-one participants from 11 countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America participated in the workshop, including two representatives from donor agencies. The participants felt that the workshop enabled them to develop a perspective on modern ICT and rural knowledge management. Ms Julie Ferguson formerly of IICD (now Hivos) has written a detailed report on the workshop [IICD Research Brief No. 4, January 2003].
(http://www.ftpiicd.org/files/research/briefs/Brief4.pdf ).

As an immediate follow up, and with a view to sustaining the interest of the participants, an electronic discussion group (called C3Net) was formed. The list attracts about 25 postings a week. The experience helped some of the participants to start ICT based knowledge centres in their respective countries. Following up on a suggestion made by delegates from Africa, women in Nallavadu (a village in Pondicherry) have formed many self-help groups and started a few micro-enterprises. At the village meeting with the participants of the workshops, local women did not take part at all; they remained silent observers. It was thanks to the prodding from the African colleagues that they became emboldened.

The MSSRF team

M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India, hosted the Workshop. The team consists of Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, Mr S Senthilkumaran, and Dr Thamizoli, and the MSSRF staff and volunteers in the villages.

Methodology

Focused Group Discussion between the visiting participants and the village communities involved in ICT-enabled development and field visits. Villagers presented their experiences, and visiting participants shared their experiences with the villagers. Each participant was encouraged to talk about his/her experiences and to take an active part in the discussions. Learning by doing and interactive learning was preferred to formal lectures and presentations. For this reason, most of the workshop was held at MSSRF project sites and only a few sessions were held at MSSRF headquarters. Hence the need for a travelling workshop.

Concept

1. Learning from one anothers knowledge and experience in real world settings, especially about integrating skill empowerment, market linkages and multiple livelihood opportunities and the role of modern ICT in poverty alleviation.
2. Social, economic and financial viability of ICT-enabled development programmes with particular reference to the projects represented at the Workshop.
3. South-South exchange of perspectives and approaches on integrating ICT in development activities. Efforts were made to distinguish between genuine success and hype.

Process Documentation

The entire programme was captured and documented by a team of rapporteurs. A video document will be prepared as well.

Evaluation & Monitoring

The immediate results of the project would be assessed through

1. Conducting pre- and post-workshop surveys to find out changes in Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Aspiration & Practice (KASAP) with the participants
2. Dummy proposals prepared by the participants for new projects with estimation of financial viability

Output

1. The workshop will help the participants to better integrate modern ICT in their development projects.
2. It will give them a perspective regarding various technologies involved in rural ICT
3. It will help them to blend ICT in the local knowledge management process.

Programme Activities

Day	Place	Activities	Focus
1	Pondicherry	Registration, Brief Introduction and explanation of the process of exchange of perspectives and facilitation of discussion in relation to the role of ICT in development programmes. Each participant is expected to describe his/her organizations perspective and experiences. The emphasis will be on what actually has been done and lessons learnt from the field.	ICT and development: Perspectives and approaches ICT and Poverty alleviation, Sustainable development, Biovillages, Information villages, Multiple livelihood opportunities
2	Pondicherry Villianur, Embalam, Kizhur	Discussion on Information Village in the hub and in two villages [Villianur, Embalam, Kizhur] Biovillage Programme (Powerpoint, 46KB) by S.Sudarkodi, Scientist, Biocenter, MSSRF Presentation on the use of ICT in development by the visiting participants Interaction with village communities	Role of locale specific information and local content in development Focus on government entitlements and healthcare delivery for the poor. Gender concerns Management of knowledge centres as public commons
3	Pillayarkuppam Veerampattinam	Discussion on Biovillage led by one of the village community [Pillayarkuppam] Presentation on Biovillage Concept by Rosario of Biocenter (MSSRF) (Powerpoint, 63KB) Presentation on "Women Empowerment through ICT Intervention in Knowledge Centers" (MSWord, 45KB) by Pakkialatchoumy, MSSRF Staff Presentation on the multiple livelihood opportunities by the visiting participants Visit to microenterprises and exchange of ideas between the participants and the village communities Mid-course discussion with key stakeholders such as senior officials of Govt of Pondicherry and field officers of different institutions such as milk cooperatives	Natural resource management and livelihood security Enabling the community to help itself Providing market intelligence to farmers Web-based information support for fishermen in coastal villages (Veerampattinam) Exchange of views based on the presentation by the visiting participants Building bridges with stakeholders and the government Replication and sustainability of ICT-enabled development
4	Thirvaiyaru	National Virtual Academy	Satellite-enabled information Access Partnership with experts and Connecting experts and the rural communities
5	Samiarpatti Sevenakkarian- Patti Sempatti	Training, Micro-enterprises and ICT - presentation by the village community Discussion on ICT and micro-enterprises with the participants Visits to information centres and micro-enterprises and discussions	ICT and horizontal transfer of knowledge ICT and marketing; rural e-commerce ICT and literacy: increased mobility and improved livelihood ICT and microenterprises development Multimedia data bases and farmer friendly training materials Application of ICT, climate prediction and cropping systems
6	Gandhigram Madurai	Partnership with Gandhigram University; An introduction to Panchayati Raj (Village self Government) Half a day of shopping at Madurai
7	Chennai	Group Discussions for synthesizing the experiences in the field Presentation and Synthesis Documentation	Discussion and preparation of presentation materials. Participants will compare their learning from the interactive sessions with their experiences in their home countries, and will attempt to develop a model for integrating the learning in their own programmes.
8	Chennai	Prof. M.S.Swaminathan on ICT and integrated development Valedictory and Certificate Distribution Summing up Departure	About C3 NetDiscussion on sustaining the network for continued learning from one another. Taking stock of the week-long Experience

 

About M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation - a GKP Member

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) was registered in 1988 as a non-profit Trust. The basic mandate of MSSRF is to impart pro-nature, pro-poor and pro-women orientation to a job-led economic growth strategy in rural areas through harnessing science and technology for environmentally sustainable and socially equitable development.

MSSRF is doing research in the following five areas: Coastal Systems Research, Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Ecotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture, Reaching the Unreached, and Education, Communication, Training and Capacity Building. The flagship project of the Informatics Group is the Information Village Research Project.

Apart from the headquarters at Chennai, the Foundation has many field centres in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Orissa.

The Foundation operates through the following pathways to agricultural and rural development: conservation and enhancement of natural resources, promotion of sustainable livelihoods, gender equality and voicing the voiceless as well as information and skill empowerment. Through the Hindu Media Resource Centre the Foundation promotes public understanding of science through media practitioners.

The Foundation is known for its emphasis on bottom-up participatory approach, which places people before technology.

Contacts:

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF)
III Cross Street , Taramani Institutional area
Chennai  600 113, INDIA
Phone: +91-44-22541229, 22542699, 22542698
Fax: +91-44-22541319
Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, Secretary, Mission 2007, MSSRF
S Senthilkumaran, Associate Director, Honda Informatics Centre, MSSRF