By Tom S. Noda
Computerworld Philippines
March 3, 2010

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) said the Philippines is now set to lead other nations when it comes to rural informatics with today’s formal transfer in the country of the telecentre.org Foundation.

The telecentre.org which aims to improve the social and economic impact of grassroots telecentres around the world, was officially transferred from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), to the telecentre.org foundation – an independent, non-governmental organization based in Manila. It was in Canada where telecentre.org was housed and grown since 2005.

“To locate this global initiative in the Philippines is truly an honor that confirms our nation’s status as an emerging leader in rural informatics,” said Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, chairman of CICT.

Chua led the foundation’s launch at the New World hotel in Makati City together with its funders and partners, and expressed hope that people from the global telecentre movement remain committed and steadfast in the pursuit of effecting social change through ICT.

Chua said telecentres are public places where people can use computers, the Internet and other emerging technologies to help promote economic and social development. 

In 2005, IDRC, Microsoft, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, worked together to create telecentre.org. They claimed that after five years, telecentre.org have brought the benefits of the knowledge society to poor and isolated communities by making telecentres stronger and more sustainable.

“telecentre.org’s transfer to the Philippines represents success for us,” said Rohinton Medhora, vice-president, programs at IDRC. “It is also very much in keeping with IDRC’s mandate of building capacity in the developing world by housing and then transferring programs when they are able to function independently.”

For the last five years, telecentre.org and now the foundation, has worked with more than 200 telecentre networks and organizations spread across 70 countries to provide the support, tools, and opportunities that telecentres need to help people overcome poverty and create economic opportunities. And together, they have reached about 40 million telecentre users.

Akhtar Badshah, senior director, community affairs of Microsoft, said his company is proud of what telecentre.org has accomplished since 2005. “We look forward to seeing the initiative we helped create continue to make a difference in development through the new telecentre.org Foundation.”

He added the telecentre.org Foundation will continue to be a catalyst for the worldwide telecentre movement and work toward building an inclusive knowledge society.

“We will also work to deepen its engagement with the 200 plus telecentre network partners who have already helped make our global initiative a success. The foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of IDRC, Microsoft, SDC and the CICT,” Badshah said.

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