‘Development needs a problem-solving approach’

Walter Fust, who recently retired from his position as Director-General of SDC and GKP Executive Committee Chair, envisions a knowledge safety net where human values go beyond the statistics of the Gross National Product (GNP). He acknowledges telecentre.org’s work in enabling people to benefit from the transformative power of technology. Here are the excerpts from the interview. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been a pioneer in catalysing international development. Could you explain in brief what exactly you do at SDC, for the digital inclusion around the globe and name some of them? The digital divide encompasses many dimensions, from a lack of access to infrastructure to a lack of capacity to utilise emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) for improving the quality of lives. At the heart of the SDC approach, lays the human dimension and the programmes of support reflect this people-centred, demand-driven approach. In addition, Switzerland has played a historic role at the global level during the two World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS). During this effort, a substantial contribution was made to include the development dimension through focusing on people-centred approaches within the technologically dominated proceedings. Notably, Switzerland, and the SDC ICT4D unit remains a key actor within the implementation of WSIS. What were the key lessons you have learnt while working for international development, which you would like to share with our readers? Over the past 15 years, it has been my experience that sustainable development is only possible if it is done by the people, for the people. In other words, development must be people-centric, inclusive, and demand-driven in addition to including business-type thinking to problem solving. What are the key differences between the developed and developing nations’ approaches towards using ICTs for development? Unlike the different approaches, the SDC approach in using the transformative potential of ICT as a tool for development goes beyond infrastructure and hardware, but focuses on the human dimension within ICT4D, namely the software component. In other words, a focus is given on the “C” within ICTs, namely capacity building and content. In addition, SDC believes in a demand-driven rather than supply-driven approach through a problem-solving lens with a strong emphasis on embedding each solution in the context-specific and appropriate setting. It is the people and the needs of the people that come first not the other way around - in short, people before technology. What inspired you to work with telecentre.org, as one of the three lead investors of this initiative? From the onset, telecentre.org addresses a specific need within the global telecentre movement that is currently embracing the powerful possibilities of providing people with access to information and knowledge; provide people with the new opportunities and perspectives and fundamentally empowering communities and individuals through knowledge Could you describe your vision, and identify how telecentre.org activities and vision fits into it? If you permit me an excursion into a visionary world, my vision is reflected within a knowledge society, where knowledge will help to shape a better world. Within this world, measurement of human value goes beyond the statistics of the Gross National Product (GNP). In the words of Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, “We must never be afraid of thinking the unthinkable if we want the unthinkable to become reality”. Hence within this world, I am envisioning, knowledge is the safety net in trying to think and do the unthinkable. Within this vision, the concrete telecentre.org activities enable increased access to, utilisation of, and sharing of knowledge, hence transforming this vision into reality. What do you see as the innovative part in this engagement for the global network of networks that is known as telecentre.org? This innovative and dynamic network enables people to benefit from the transformative power of technology within their specific context. More concretely, the strength of telecentre.org is that it builds bridges across telecentre networks and communities to enable knowledge-sharing and putting in place an effective peer-to-peer support network around common issues and challenges. What are the main advantages or benefits of investing in telecentre.org programme? Access to knowledge starts with the creation of knowledge hubs that create opportunities by the people, for the people. telecentre.org plays a key role in strengthening the functioning of these knowledge hubs through targeted activities. Particularly powerful is the ability to link different communities together to share knowledge and exchange experiences, strengthening the individual capacities through this holistic approach. We could see your excitement during the recently concluded Telecentre Leaders Forum (TLF) at GK3 in Kuala Lumpur. Could you share that with the readers of this magazine? telecentre.org is a dynamic movement with the ability to capture, mobilise and unleash the individual potentials of each telecentre operator creating a powerful sense of belonging and community support. This energy and dynamism was clearly visible making this movement an important cornerstone of a world in which knowledge can be accessed by for many more opportunities and a better future. In your opinion, what would be the impact of Telecentre Leaders Forum (TLF) which had seen participation of 90 telecentre leaders, from 61 organisations and 42 countries? The TLF will make an important contribution towards a lasting impact of the telecentre movement. In particular and through the creation of a community of best practice, learning will be facilitated, specific know-how and do-how shared, the question of sustainability through validating different business models addressed and a contribution towards a more sustainable base of the movement achieved through diversifying the existing donor base. What do you think are the main challenges for the ongoing telecentre movement, and what should be their strategic approach to overcome these challenges? In my opinion, the following are overall challenges that telecentres and subsequently the telecentre.org movements is in need of addressing - Access; Capacity; Content (in particular the local/indigenous knowledge dimension); Sustainability (including financial). It is therefore evident that there is a clear need and role for the telecentre.org to tackle these challenges in their future work. . Will ICT4D remain an important area of development support in the coming decade? If not, what else will be the key development areas to watch out for? In my mind, there is no question about the increasing importance of ICT within development cooperation in the coming decade. The centrality of knowledge within development processes, whether social, political or economic, will undoubtedly further increase. In addition, climate change will become the defining human development challenge of the 21st century. Within this challenge, ICTs play key role, particularly with regards to adaptation. Lastly, the media with recent transformation through ICTs from a one-to-many to a many-to-many model can be a key ally in mainstreaming climate change and demystifying climate change into a common language to raise further understanding and political conviction. Source: GKP

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