As I travel across the world – Asia, Africa, America, Europe – the common question raised – “Are the telecentres sustainable?”. It sounded, at times as a statement rather than a question..! I tried to analyse it, as it was quite intriguing. So following is my own self-questioning;
Who are the most common people raised this question?
Donors, consultants and policy makers!
What is their affiliation to telecentres?
There are two distinct types (a). Not deep in their experiences with telecenters, (b). closely affiliated with telecentre projects.
Why the group (b). ask this question?
>They are working in different thematic areas in the field of telecentres (eg. Project management, Monitoring and evaluations, content development, network facilitation, fund raising)
>They work often with NGO based telecenter networks. Most of these networks demonstrate the extra urge to ‘bend for money’ (fund raising vs capital-raising), which tend to dilute the feeling of economic sustainability.
> Not having seen systematic annual accounts, presenting internal revenue.
>They have never seen a convincing research study on the economic sustainability of telecentres / networks.
Are they really seeking an answer?
Not sure..!!!!
But the perception correction is very important.
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