Youth Community Multimedia Centre (YCMC)
| Location |
In Sitakund Upazilla in Chittagong District |
| Duration |
Since 2005 |
| Situation |
As a youth-focused organization YPSA recognize that deprived youths and adolescents in rural areas show as much potential as those in urban centers. Rural youths have less access to information, and to narrow the "digital gap" these youths should have the chance to access and benefit from ICTs in order to learn more effectively and to participate more fully in an increasingly knowledge-based society. |
Goals
This project aims to reduce poverty through ensuring digital opportunities for the rural poor especially disadvantaged youths and adolescents. It intends to innovate and research combined technological and social strategies to place information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the hands of the poor and to create ICT-based employment opportunities for disadvantaged youths through skill development on the use of digital tools. Besides, it wants to collect and disseminate information on grassroot problems, prospects, social movement, innovation and leadership at the policy level.
Planned activities
- At the beginning the centre will mobilize a group of devoted volunteers selected from different disadvantaged communities of the working area.
- This volunteer group will be trained on developing audio and video contents on various issues. The participants will bring up the issues of concern for their communities and thus promote the voice of the voiceless.
- This information will then be disseminated through the local cable operators to reach the civil society, policy makers, local political leaders and thus develop a public opinion favorable to these issues.
- This information will also be used as an advocacy tool in advocacy meetings, policy dialogues and other forums.
- The participants will develop need-based contents on various issues using multimedia tools and applications, and will prepare content packages that can be understood even by the completely illiterate people. For instance, a health information package will be developed using digital photographs, video clips, animations, audio, text etc. This way grassroots people will be given information in an attractive form and might be more easily interested in ICTs. On one hand, this initiative will ensure greater effectiveness of behavior change communication and, on the other, it will reduce the need for skilled people.
- For remote places where there is no cable connection, we will use narrow casting (using loud speakers) and cassette casting (using tape recorders) in various groups and through video shows at local tea stalls (using DVD Players) as well as using portable computers where cable is not available.
- All this information will also be stored in a customized offline browser database named ENRICH. The community people will have easily access to this information in the centre with the help of trained volunteers and project personnel.
- The project will also develop and disseminate campaigns on various development issues such as community radio, food rights, etc.
- The entire project will be complemented by a research using the ethnographic action research methodology. It will then be possible to modify the project, based on its day-to-day learning through a constant circle of planning, doing, observing and reflecting.
- Through ensuring community participation and implementing some income-generating activities, the project will develop a model of sustainability.
Affiliated Organization(s)
This program is made possible through financial and other assistance from UNESCO.
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