Larry,
> Either way, it would be good to get beyond traffic volumes and user
> counts to document the impact of the Net.
Yes, but a minimum threshold and organisation of user population is
required to have a measurable impact.
Funredes considers at the light of the situation that, in the Caribbean:
- It is more than urgent to initiate programs of sensitization and users
training,
- User organisation is a key priority for NGOs,
- Any action must be made together with a fast migration path towards
full Internet capacity and first sensitization to the global priority
of building Caribbean infostructure (WWWs, gophers etc).
- The situation of commercial IPs calls for a rapid process of
negotiation with them, before it becomes too late to have them
recognize the specifity of the research and NGO market segment
(Dominican Rep. may serve as regional model in that area).
- All skills necessary to meet the precedent objectives must be
trained in special dense programs.
To be consistent with this statement, Funredes have taken and
lead the following initiatives:
- We are completing a 2 months effort, within the framework of
our project Telesinergy, which has reached, with the cooperation
of AACR (commercial IPs), REDID (National Research Network) and
FUNREDES, several objectives:
-Integral intense Internet training of 11 students (as their Masters
exercise), from the 3 more important universities. The training had
various components: technics, using, supporting users, social and
economical impact, communication skills and tools, information
organizing. These young profesionals are going now to fill key
positions in the 3 respective institutions and follow-up the
projects they have started during the training (including migration
TCP-IP for REDID) without loosing the cooperation spirit which
is at the foundation of the "telesinergetic" project. One of them
will go back to the main university to reinject what she learnt.
-Tight the link between commercial and non profit IPs within the
frame of mutual benefit actions.
-Reinforce the Internet infrastructure of the commercial IP and
create the ones of REDID and FUNREDES.
-Reinforce the Internet infostructure of the commercial IP and
create the ones of REDID and FUNREDES.
-Organize a permanent level of public activities so that to
sensitize varios sectors (environment, health, education, goverment,
regional cooperation, gender).
FUNREDES provided the architectue and general coordination of the
project, AACR the funding, and an excellent consultant from Venezuela,
with a real global vision, was hired for execution (Cesar Ramos).
I will send you a paper on that sucess story for next edition of
"On the Internet" as we had already discussed.
- Opening of the listserv CANGONET (Caribbean NGO Net) as a tool
for the coordination of a grassroot meeting of NGOs from all the
Caribbean for Networking. Main goal: "empower the NGOs" and
establish profiles of priority actions so that to reinforce the
funding agencies (including, of course, OAS) in listening the needs
FROM THE FIELD. Target date mid 1996. I will get you involved and
wish you can help us for collecting the required budgets.
Before I conclude this week-end exchanges, two questions:
a- Have you had any feed-back from the CUNET people?
b- Do you mind if I gather our exchange in a single file and
offer it as complementary to <
gopher.psg.com>, with the subject
title: "Online discussion on CUNET user figures"?
Saludos,
Daniel Pimienta
.