The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Acacia Initiative - Communities and the Information Society in Africa

Regional Office for West and Central Africa, Dakar, Senegal

1. Presentation of the IDRC - Regional Office for West and Central Africa

The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the Canadian government to help communities in the developing world find solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems through research.

Among the first to open its doors was the Regional Office for West and Central Africa. Inaugurated in 1972, the "Dakar" office is now the nerve center for IDRC's operations in 24 countries within the region. Through the research it supports, the regional office aims to: increase grassroots participation; improve the competitiveness of local economies; develop local human resources; better manage the local environment and natural resources; bolster the region's scientific and technological capacity.

The Priority Issues

The research priorities of IDRC and the Dakar Office are defined by 6 themes:

• food security
• equity in natural resource use
• biodiversity conservation
• sustainable employment
• strategies and policies for healthy societies
• Information and communication.

2. The Acacia Initiative - Communities and the Information Society in Africa

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) are developing at a dramatic pace. Left unchecked, the "globalization of information" (the creation, access, and utilization of information on a global scale) will widen the information gap between developed and developing countries, further distance elites from the general population, and limit traditional social and economic development efforts. However, African communities can use ICTs to counter this trend and to take advantage of new forms of social organisation and economic activity resulting from the transformation to an information society. Approach The Acacia Initiative is an international program to empower sub-Saharan communities with the ability to apply information and communication technologies (ICTs) to their own social and economic development. The initiative aims to undertake the following: Discover and demonstrate how the benefits of ICTs can reach disadvantaged sub-Saharan African communities, and the women and youth in these communities, and can help them to solve many of their development problems Learn from Acacia's research and experimentation and to disseminate this knowledge widely Build international momentum and buy-in in order to widen the access to ICTs by rural and disadvantaged groups. Research Focus The initiative takes an integrated approach to addressing applications, technology, infrastructure and policy issues. What makes Acacia different from similar initiatives is its intention to tackle these issues with a community focus and to do so within an integrated framework that builds into the program a strong element of continuous learning. The involvement of community groups in defining Acacia's activities will ensure an appropriate emphasis on: Developing locally defined applications, services and networks Promoting innovative technical solutions to development challenges Investing in technologies related to telecommunication and ICT infrastructure And supporting the development of an appropriate policy environment.

For further information on the IDRC: http://www.idrc.ca