Results of the contest "Telecentres, bridges to rural development in the Caribbean"

In partnership with Fundación Taigüey, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP – UE (CTA), launched the contest "Telecentres, bridges to rural development in the Caribbean" with the objective to promote innovative services implemented in the Caribbean telecentres to support agricultural and rural development. The contest looked to promote community or rural telecentre in Caribbean ACP countries. Both initiatives in operation or innovative projects could be submitted. For more information, please see : www.taiguey.org/cta-contest

18 proposals were received: 11 from the Dominican Republic, 5 from Jamaica, 1 from Saint Kitts and Nevis, and 1 from the Republic of Haiti.

The projects were evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Relevance in the sub category ("activities and services directly linked to the agriculture" or "non-agricultural activities or services ")
• Innovativeness
• Quality of the submission
• Local capacity strengthening
• Replication potential
• Coherence of the intervention logic
• Sustainability  (service capable of generating resources and / or demonstrate strong local ownership that ensures its sustainability).

The jury's deliberations are as follows:

For Category 1 “Initiatives in operation” given the low number of applications received for this category, instead of three, only one prize was awarded, to

• The Telecentre Jeffrey Town Multimedia, Jamaica, for its project that focuses on the production of radio broadcasts to disseminate good practices and relevant information to farmers. The main topics covered by these broadcasts are: global warming, local social issues, agriculture in general, live healthy, mother and baby, and the life sciences. In addition, the telecentre develops activities supporting adult literacy, Internet access and printing services. Telecentre services are used to support radio production.

For Category 2: "Innovative projects" the three winners are:

• The Community Technological Centre (CTC) of Juan Santiago, Dominican Republic, for its project to promote agricultural products on the web that allow access to new markets and better prices. In parallel, it will be conduct the training of farmers to use appropriate technological tools.
  
  
• The Community  Technological Centre (CTC)  of Juan de Herrera, Dominican Republic, for its project to develop a geographic information system (GIS)  to provide accurate data for agricultural land classification related to its fertility and better use. This would help to increase community revenues and stem the rural exodus to the cities.

• The Centre for Rural Alternatives of El Limon (CAREL) also in the Dominican Republic for its "Vista Hembra (Woman’s View)" to train young women in audiovisual production in order to empower them to produce educational films and documentaries relevant for this group of marginalized people. The objective of the project is to offer woman, the possibility to integrate into a career without leaving their rural homes.

Each winner, regardless of the category, will receive a cash prize of five thousand euros (5,000). This support aims to contribute to the strengthening or establishment of the Telecentre service.

A prize giving ceremony, coupled with a regional workshop on the use of telecentres for Agricultural and Rural Development in the Caribbean, will be held on the  28 and 29 April 2011 in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). The winners and regional players operating in the fields of telecentres, ICT and agriculture and rural development, will be invited to these events.

The organizers and the jury congratulate to the winners and thank to all participants.

The jury, independent of the organizing entities, which evaluated the proposals, is composed of:

- Ms Telly V. Onu, from St Vincent & the Grenadines, ICT and Agriculture Development expert ,

-Ms Arantxa Aramburu-Hamel, Spanish, ICT for Development Consultant,

-Ms Amparo Arango, Colombian and Dominican, Coordinator of the National Commission ICT (CNSIC) of the Dominican Republic.

For more information about the contest, please write to : caritelecentre-en@cta.int