1 - Discussion on the access to Internet in countries of the South
A discussion was engaged at the reopening of the forum immediately from a
message of Madeleine Ngo Louga
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-11/msg00000.html> raising the
financial constraints to reach Internet: prices of the Internet connections
in Cameroon, microcomputers and the consumables (printouts).
More precise information was given on the Internet costs in Cameroon:
- Internet connection = 2300 CFA Francs per hour, that is to say 38 CFA
Francs, the minute, which represents 5% of the average income of a
Cameroonian thereabouts
- purchase of a microcomputer = 800,000 CFA Francs
For reference: 2,500 CFA Francs correspond to the correct remuneration of
2.5 working days of manual labor in Cameroon / 1,000 CFA Francs = 0,657
Euros.
This contribution produced three types of answers:
- The financial support is absolutely necessary to incite to the connection.
- Partnerships are possible between actors and institutions to reach places
already connected.
- Continued support and training must be associated closely to the
equipment and the connection.
Experiences in America of the South confirming the finding in Africa of the
difficulty to develop connections
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-12/msg00010.html>
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-12/msg00021.html> point the
need to think uses and the continued support of users at the outset of the
study for equipment and a connection. The role of state monopolies has been
pointed at as a cause of the too high cost of connections.
It is necessary to note that this discussion to provoked some polemics
between some parties in the North and in the South (but not solely North
against South). A sharp reaction was noted following an alternative
proposal to financing. It was interpreted by some as a selfish reaction of
the North.
Following some participants' expectations vis-a-vis the financial backers
of this forum, Pierre Calame specified the point of view of the Foundation
for the Progress of Humankind
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-12/msg00027.html>, based
mainly on the choice to back actors who have the determination to work in a
network and to give free access to information. He insists also on the role
of cities and sub-regions by inviting actors to challenge the local elected
representative to incite to the development of financially adapted communal
solutions, sufficient condition to start to encourage democratic expression.
Following this discussion, two questions remain unresolved:
- How to recommend actors wishing to connect at institutions having
facilities and connections while guaranteeing confidentiality and therefore
the freedom of speech?
- Can the Forum Coordination finance participants of the forum?
2 - Echoes from the field
Two participants to the forum sent us an account of their stays in Africa.
- Andre Crisan, back from Lome where he met some participants of the forum:
Desire Aihou, Lucy Attikpa-Tetegan, Jules Dumas Nguebou, Joseph Fumtim,
Jules Roger Tjomb, Sidiki Daff who wrote reports for the EU-ACP experience
bank. He facilitated a technical workshop from November 29 to December 4,
aiming to master the research of experiences in the DPH database.
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-12/msg00005.html>
- Michel Ansay, back from Butembo, in Democratic Republic of Congo, who
transmitted us a very lively narration of the two months that he spent at
this end of the year: " Back from Butembo (DRC): a City Enclosed, a City in
Chains" available on the Web site of the forum.
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/documents/contributions.html#butembo>.
3 - The experience base reports is enriched, first assessment
Ana LARREGLE provided us with some elements of assessment on the last phase
of report collection.
- 64 new reports have been integrated.
- There are 29 authors, of which most are new (with regard to reports of
the 1st quarter 1999). These authors are from, for the countries of the
North: France, Belgium, Austria (through the mediation of a center in
Portugal), Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland; and for countries of
the South: Mali, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal. Categories of authors are
the following: nonprofit organization actors, farmers' leaders, persons in
charge of NGOs of the North, persons in charge of NGOs of the South, press
agency, academic, consultants and experts, various networks.
- Reports have been established from varied sources: mobilization of
network; contributions of participants to the EU-ACP Forum; texts posted on
the EU-ACP Web site; texts published in other Web sites and recommend by
their authors in the framework of the forum; long documents reworked by the
L'AMI team in agreement with authors; contributions sent directly in the
form of reports by their authors.
- Much enlightenment and learning as for the object of this forum can be
drawn from the 67 collected new reports. They make possible among others to
transform some particularly rich messages into case reports more easy to
exploit and to circulate. But their first aim is still to tell experiences
of those that live them so that they can serve others.
You will be able to consult these 67 reports soon on the Web site. The
system of access to reports is in the process of review in order to
facilitate for you the access and the reading. It will be all the more
necessary that some reports will serve as bases of discussion in the weeks
to come.
Experience bank: some elements of assessment on the last collection of
reports <http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-12/msg00012.html>
Lessons of the last collection of reports:
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-12/msg00014.html>
4 - Pursuit of the forum until April 2000
Doors of the EU-ACP forum were reopened on November 23 after one month of
pause. One month that was not restful for the Forum Coordination that took
up the whole of discussions since the starting of the forum last June to
lay the foundations for the first conclusions and who received all the
answers to the evaluation questionnaire sent out.
The first results of this questionnaire made possible to note that the
discussion is circulated beyond this virtual space. One can also notice a
strong participation of African organization networks. Many participants
point to the lack of time. The structuring of messages and the quality of
summaries are highly appreciated but alternation with free-format messages
is wished. Among the weaknesses noted: the lack of reference to documents
on the site.
To take stock and study the possible perspectives of this public debate,
the Forum Coordination met in a seminar last November 23 and 24
<http://www.ue-acp.org/en/forum/archives/1999-11/msg00001.html>. Four
aspects were analyzed: how to encourage a discussion that integrates the
multiple cultural approaches and in particular how to balance
French-speaking and English-speaking contributions, how to facilitate the
participatory dimension, how to accentuate the circulation of products of
the forum outside of this one and to the inverse how to circulate in the
forum more information coming from other sources, and finally how to
exploit better the materials that are at the origin of the public debate
process, and particularly the experience reports.
This work has been rewarded since we learned some days after that the
financing of this forum by the General Direction 8 (DG Dev) and the Charles
Leopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind (FPH) was repeated
for 6 supplementary months until April 2000. A widened Forum Coordination
is therefore prepared to propose an improved format of forum, making
possible to study thoroughly the considerations and proposals. Three
functions have been proposed to structure exchanges during months to come:
- To analyze and to compare experiences of cooperation and thinking, on the
basis of the 67 reports of experiences resulting from the first six months
of forum and the available 260 reports DPH on the Web site.
- To inform on policies of cooperation (information sharing on cooperation,
contribution of information on the current news of the EU-ACP cooperation)
and to transmit results and progress of the forum in direction of
institutions and the media.
- To contribute freely on topics identified by participants at the time of
past months.
Methods of action have been outlined and will be implemented in the weeks
to come.
Message "New Discussion Dynamics for a New Debating Period":
Denis Pansu, moderator
Forum Coordination
