Empowerment through community e-centres
Community e-centres (CeC) are the “Shared ICT Access Facilities,” having computers, internet and other affiliated equipment, made available for community access free or at affordable prices, mostly in developing country rural environments. CeCs are popularly known as telecenters in Bangladesh. International and national organisations are investing in CeCs because they believe communities benefit from having accurate information, and CeCs are an important way of getting information. They believe that information technologies are a key to providing timely and useful information on subjects ranging from market prices to health care. And because many in the community do not have individual access to these technologies, CeCs (much like telephone shops) provide shared access and a gateway to cyberspace.
The government of Bangladesh has committed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which have set challenging targets to humanity to improve the living conditions of excluded people around the world. One of these goals concerns Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The Target 8 of MDGs states: “In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication technologies.”
