Evaluation of UNESCO’s Community Multimedia Centres Final Report
Creech, H.; Berthe, O.; Assubuji, A.; Mansingh, I.; Anjelkovic, M.
A Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) is a community-based facility
offering both community radio broadcasting and telecentre services. This hybrid approach is believed to provide significant support to community development by strengthening economic opportunities through information and training. Moreover, through access to and exchange of knowledge, views and beliefs, CMCs strengthen social inclusion, public participation, education, agriculture, health and other factors necessary for healthy and sustainable societies. This UNESCO initiative is in its fifth year of operation, with 39 pilot CMCs established in communities across Latin America/Caribbean, Africa and South Asia.
This evaluation assesses what can be learned from the pilot phase that will both
strengthen the CMC model and improve UNESCO’s programming for future CMCs, in particular through the scale-up initiative.
Major findings from the evaluation include:
Their contribution to improving quality of life through access to information is confirmed. Equitable and expanded access to ICTS is promoted in many ways, such as subsidized training for special, marginalized groups, close work with schools, small businesses and the independent sector or providing information to more remote communities through radio.
Longer term benefits are already being realized within individual communities, such as the gradual removal of barriers to social inclusion, the stimulation of poverty alleviation through access to knowledge of better health, resource management and agriculture practices, through the establishment of listeners clubs as self help groups, and the creation of new livelihoods opportunities.
The evaluation identifies the following success factors for CMCs: building on an existing facility and communication channels; ownership and/or long term community commitment; good integration of radio and telecentre components; an orientation to development; diversification of content to meet community needs, including promotion of local culture; access to tools and expertise developed by UNESCO and others; diversification of revenues, including capacity to approach local/national governments for delivery of services and the international donor community for project funding.
The evaluation points to several recommendations of which include:
To become sustainable, CMCs need more training from UNESCO Headquarters and field offices in longer term strategic, technology, and financial planning, in particular full cost analysis. CMCs should be encouraged to develop a hybrid approach to financial planning, that includes income generating activities, possibly the selling of shares and memberships (the cooperative model) and not-for-profit programs and services that could be supported by organizations hosting the CMC, governments and donors. Skills for approaching governments and donors should be developed.
UNESCO Headquarters should accelerate efforts with its member states to create an enabling policy environment for ICT4D. Key national policy issues include: stable charges for rural connectivity; provision of reliable, affordable energy supply; easier licensing for community radio stations; ensuring freedom of the press; advancing egovernment so that CMCs can provide access to government services to their communities; committing to the use of CMCs as a matter of policy for the delivery of agriculture, health and education extension services; and integrating development courses into tertiary computer, engineering and other technology oriented educational programs.
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