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A representative from Ghana's Community Information Centres (CIC) in Tamale visited several telecentres in the Kerala State in India at the end of 2009. The visit was part of a 10-day study tour.

Agbenyo John Stephen, coordinator of the IICD-supported Community Information Centres (CIC) project, was one of 15 ICT professionals from 15 African countries who visited India to learn from their experience in using ICT for development through telecentres.

The tour was sponsored by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). Mr Koda Traore, Programme Coordinator ICT4D at CTA, said, "African countries can learn immensely from India's experience in utilising ICT technologies for community development and empowerment." The aim was to give delegates first-hand exposure to how more than 2,200 telecentres in Kerala operate, and adopt some of these practices in their own countries.

In Kerala, the telecentres are set up through public-private partnerships and offer a variety of services in areas such as agriculture, e-governance, education and e-payment.

IICD supports ten telecentres - Community Information Centres - in the Northern part of Ghana. These centres serve as electronic libraries where people from remotely located areas can access information on farming, education and healthcare. IICD also provides strategic advice to the Ministry of Communications, who is constructing 230 centres throughout Ghana.

For more information on the study tour to Kerala, India download the Report of African Study Visit to India in PDF format.

Source: iicd.org