Such
applications may encompass long-distance education,
telemedicine, electronic commerce, assistance
to small businesses and microcredit enterprises,
trade, tourism and crafts, environmental management,
new mechanisms for popular participation, and
women and youth empowerment.
As a community based project, e - barangay aims
to develop and implement a flexible, local approach
to community development using ICT to promote
connectivity, access, capacity-building and productivity,
delivery of basic services, information networking
and cultural sharing, resource mobilization, economic
opportunities and generally contribute in the
social and economic upliftment of the barangays
through the maximum use of various ICT development
applications. Empowerment of the community is
its ultimate goal.
Often
referred to as telecenters, the project represents
a unique platform to provide community access
to the internet and through it a panoply of electronic
information and knowledge. It is a tool for transforming
the barangays as active participants in nation-building
by enabling communities to benefit from lifelong
learning, and engagement in sustainable livelihood
(e.g. agriculture, fisheries, trade and commerce,
etc.). Aside from fostering a sense of community
spirit and solidarity and enhancing popular participation
with the barangays as government's vanguards in
dealing with the citizenry, the project represents
a novel apporach to spur economic activities in
the barangays. Linking communities to the global
economy will create new opportunities for growth,
livelihood and jobs.
This
project is piloted in eight (8) barangays in Cebu
City, namely: Basak-Pardo, Lahug, Apas, Hippodromo,
Carreta, Luz, Kamputhaw and Mabolo.
The
e - barangay project brings together the comparative
strengths of various agencies and organizations
involved in the ICT sector in Cebu. These are
the Central Visayas Information Sharing Network
Foundation, Inc. (CVISNet), the Ayala Foundation,
Inc. (AFI), the Department of Science and Technology
(DOST), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI),
the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA), the Center for Industrial Technology
Enterprise (CITE), the Philippine Information
Agency (PIA), the Cebu City Government, the World
Corps, Global Mind, Globe Isla Communications,
Cebu Business Park and Neighboring Barangay Altruistic
Alliance, Inc. (CBP-NBAAI) and the RITECC.
This
project builds on existing infrastructure, initiatives
and programs of government, civil society organizations,
private sector and the industry.
e
- barangay services range from that of a calling
office, an Internet café, a computer processing
center, a reading and training resource center
and a place for people to interact. The e - barangay
is a venue for creating barangay information,
as well as subject-specific Philippine information,
in particular those on health, education, agriculture
and rural enterprise development.
Bringing
in the rural communities into the mainstream of
development; narrowing the gap between the information
haves and information have-nots; broadening access
to technology to strengthen livelihood and enterprise
development; contributing to people empowerment,
that is, helping communities achieve self-reliance;
making use of the advances of information and
communication technologies to create sustainable
development and to convert human knowledge to
progress are among the challenges that the project
envisions to help address for the benefit of the
underserved and unserved Filipinos in the barangays.
The
project intends to harness the potential of ICT
for development, reduce poverty and empower those
who are currently marginalized. This can be done
through mobilizing resources by collaborating
and forging strategic partnership with the government,
non-government organizations and the industry.
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