Empowering Marginal Communities with Information Networking

Citation

Anh Tran, L. (2006), "Empowering Marginal Communities with Information Networking", Online Information Review, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 312-313. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520610675843

Information and communications technology (ICT) has been considered as an important driving force of globalization in terms of sharing new knowledge and information, but for the most part this has been dealt with at a “higher” level – corporate and government use of ICT, access for those with the economic capability needed for the technology, etc. Relatively little attention has been paid to ways in which ICTs might benefit ordinary or marginalised members of society – hence this welcome volume. In Empowering Marginal Communities the editor has gathered an interesting collection of contributions that discuss critical issues in ICT policies and strategies for improved access by marginal groups in society. In addition it discusses ICT methodologies as a way of problem solving at the local level, as well as ways of articulating with traditional knowledge.

Rahman's collection is a valuable resource on the role of ICTs and of networking in adult learning and community empowerment, and offers insights into a range of innovative approaches. These are discussed in a series of 13 contributions organized into four parts. Part 1 (two chapters) discusses the diverse challenges in facing minority group learners in an online learning community, and the effective utilization of IT tools for online learning processes and empowerment of marginal communities. Part 2 (another two chapters) demonstrates an online learning project for applying participatory theories, tools, and processes to ICT initiatives, empowerment, and development in association with marginal communities. The second chapter in this part discusses social processes that support marginal individuals and grassroots organizers in taking the best advantage of ICTs for empowerment.

Parts 3 and 4 form the bulk of the work, with four and five chapters, respectively. In Part 3 the contributions focus on the importance of social aspects and human factors in the applications of ICTs. This includes discussion of social structures that enable equitable access opportunities, the role of ICTs in promoting indigenous people's development, the Digital Divide and financially disadvantaged senior citizens, and community‐based IT interventions for persons with mental illness.

Part 4 focuses on information networking and knowledge management. The five sub‐topics are: using ICTs for information sharing with people at grassroots, using the internet as a fundraising tool for marginal communities, building virtual communities in cyberspace, sustaining internet accessibility and design principles, capacity development initiatives for marginal communities in developing countries.

By looking at marginal communities in both the developed and developing world, the several authors in this collection are able to convey an emerging global view of how ICTs might be employed as tools of empowerment and capacity building through networking. The success stories (and some less‐than‐successful stories), facts and figures related to the social transformation process through ICT deployment and use remind us that modern networks are not only for the elite, and that they can be employed to advantage at all levels of society. Through these chapters we have often engaging insights into successful experiments, interesting pilot studies, and innovative methodologies at the grassroots level for developing local information networks. For anyone interested in the field of information and ICTs as facilitators of social inclusion, this is a worthy volume. In addition, developmentalists who are focussed on capacity building and sustainability, but who may be unfamiliar with the role of ICTs in achieving these goals, would be well advised to consult Rahman's informative and interesting collection.