Public access venues and community empowerment in Mozambique: a social representation study

Abstract

This article uses the theoretical construct of Social Representations to investigate howCommunity Multimedia Centres (CMCs) -venues that offer public access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to underserved communities -are perceived by communities in Mozambique, and it discusses how the local population understands these venues as means to foster community empowerment and socio-economic development. In total 113 participants took part in the study, from six CMCs in different towns of Mozambique. Participants were represented from three different social groups, according to their use of the CMC: staff members, users of both CMC components -telecenter and radio -and radio-only users. The article analyses the Social Representations' structure, using a Prototypical approach.Findings show that CMCs are seen by local communities as places at which they can receive and exchange information, and also as learning spaces, with the telecenter part focused on the delivery of ICT training and the radio component engaging with educational activities and services in a broader sense. Furthermore, CMCs are perceived as places dedicated almost exclusively to children and young people. The results of this study can help policy makers, practitioners, funding agencies and other relevant stakeholders to improve Mozambican CMCs and leverage their community empowerment potential. 2

Mapping participation in ICT4D: A meta-analytic review of development communication research

“…ICTs have facilitated the production and dissemination of knowledge, furthered time-space compression and made civic participation more accessible. Numerous studies suggest that ICTs extend the 'invitation' of marginalized communities into the existing social capital and structures, and enable citizens to 'create' their own spaces for participation (Archambault, 2011;Dasuki et al, 2014;Rega & Vannini, 2018). Moreover, ICTs have been a major driver of the global-national development scheme, the expectation being that ICTs can help alleviate the complex problems caused by social exclusion and inequality, given that the citizens have adequate access to ICTs and necessary skills to navigate them (Schulte, 2015).…”

“…However, the dominant tendency of ICT4D practice and research alike has been to focus on new technology as innovation over the role of communication (Servaes, 2014). More problematic is this inclination toward 'technology' over 'communication' even when numerous studies point to the dialogic communication processes afforded by ICTs in terms of enabling community-level participatory approaches as an alternative to top-down one-size-fits-all model (Dasuki et al, 2014;Rega & Vannini, 2018;Tacchi, 2012). ICT4D researchers generally recognize its potential to facilitate democratic and participatory communication, particularly as a means to empower marginalized groups.…”