Telecentre.org is a global program managed by Telecentre.org Foundation that supports the establishment and sustainability of grassroots level telecentres. These telecentres—public places of access to the Internet and other digital technologies that help promote personal and social development—offer crucial services, skills and opportunities to people living in remote and rural locations around the world.
Our mission is to increase the social and economic impact of information and communication technologies in communities around the world by leading the global telecentre movement towards innovation, relevance, and sustainability; serving as a hub for knowledge sharing and collaboration among telecentre and ICT4D Stakeholders; and creating opportunities for individuals and communities through relevant training, content, linkages, and services.
Since its launch at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in 2005, the telecentre.org program has been instrumental in setting up telecentre networks in more than 40 countries. Initially administered by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, the program is now managed by Telecentre.org Foundation, an independent, non-profit, non-stock international organization registered in Manila, Philippines.
Today, Telecentre.org Foundation takes on the role of an activist, supporting grassroots telecentres to empower the poor and the marginalized around the world. The fundamental approach of partnership and collaboration continues to be crucial as Telecentre.org Foundation strives to build a more resilient telecentre ecosystem globally, thus scaling-up the movement rapidly in countries that need them most.
The IDRC remains one of the main funders along with Microsoft and the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) of the Philippines. The program continues to be implemented through a multi-stakeholder, collaborative model at all levels of its operations.
Programs
Telecenter Women: Digital Literacy Campaign
A global initiative of Telecentre.org Foundation and the International Telecommunications Union of the United Nations to empower women through ICT. The Telecentre Women: Digital Literacy Campaign empowers one of the sectors most vulnerable to poverty and its consequences — women. The bringing of disadvantaged women into the mainstream of the digital revolution empowers them with access, information, choices, opportunities, and options they never had before.
Telecenter Academy
The Telecentre Academy pursues capacity building of telecentre staff, network leaders, policy-makers, and social investors worldwide by developing curricula, standards, accreditation and certification programmes in collaboration with telecentre networks and academia.
It strives to empower telecentre actors and other stakeholders to achieve inclusive growth and socio-economic development of telecentres at the grassroots.
Telecenter Sustainability
Building on the previous efforts towards exploring the issue of telecentre sustainability, Telecentre.org Foundation established the Telecentre Sustainability (TCS) program to address issues affecting the long-term sustainability of telecentres. The program aims to become a repository of resources from which telecentre networks can learn about good practices, models, services, tools, and other key factors that contribute to secure telecentre operations at the regional, national, and community levels.