The first solar-powered Rural Internet Kiosk, aimed at empowering rural African youth through Internet access, has been installed in Kenya, according to a release from Voices of Africa for Sustainable Development.
The Rural Internet Kiosk (RIK) is a completely self-contained self-service solution for providing access to computers and the Internet, and the RIK project is working to bring the kiosks to rural people throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
The community-based organization Voices of Diani will own and operate the Rural Internet Kiosk, with training, support and volunteers from Voices of Africa. The Rural Internet Kiosk is a product of Intersat Africa Ltd., which is providing the first year of bandwidth at no cost. The funding for this project was provided by the Internet Society through their Community Grants initiative.
Program Summary
Rural Internet Kiosks (RIK) is a Kenyan-based organisation that manufactures and distributes movable, recyclable, cost-effective kiosks that operate with satellite connectivity and solar energy to enable rural communities to access the internet. The initiative uses software provided by Userful and internet connectivity provided by InterSat Africa. The internet kiosks are being distributed in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia providing rural communities with access to information on agriculture, health, the environment, and e-governance.
Communication StrategiesRural Internet Kiosks produces kiosks that are independent, freestanding booths functioning on solar power and other forms of renewable energy. Each kiosk houses three energy-efficient personal computers. The kiosks are modelled on user-friendly software and hardware, and are manufactured and assembled in a ‘knock-down’ format, enabling them to be easily transported and set up in even very rugged regions.
The kiosks have been designed to give access to all users, including children and the disabled. According to RIK, they are also working on ways to use portable USB pen screen readers and accessible websites, which will help the visually impaired access information. Screen readers could also help people who can understand, but not necessarily read, English.
The kiosks are designed to promote entrepreneurship and electronic service delivery within rural and urban settings, and in turn help in e-commerce, e-education, e-health, and e-governance. The organisers say that the kiosks have helped farmers obtain regular updates on weather patterns and produce prices, thereby expanding their revenue. Business start-ups have been able to exploit digital multimedia advertising.
The Internet kiosks are helping government agencies to create awareness concerning health and environment and reach out to local communities. Through the use of multi-media information outlets, communities can also access information about infectious diseases such as malaria, polio, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. The kiosks also create platforms for the promotion of tele-medicine, which is still in its infancy in most African countries.
The kiosks use the open-source Ubuntu Linux operating system, as well as other open-source software. They utilise virtualisation technology, which allows for up to 10 uses to share a single PC.
-Good News Africa/Lisa Johnson
Media:
http://www.a24media.com/index.php/business/1226-first-solar-powered-rural-internet-kiosk-installed-in-kenya
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/27477771/Article-on-Rural-Internet-Kiosks-by-Newtec/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcKdAItMzTI
http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/money/Internet%20opens%20cash%20window%20for%20the%20youth%20%20/-/435440/885806/-/f1y2bkz/-/index.html
http://videojournalist.nl/internetkiosks_web.wmv
http://www.voicesofafrica.org/
Documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDB5tZRNrQI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M0bhUxtJq0&feature=related
2 comments:
Thanks for the post! Great to see the advancements that technology has made over the past few years. It used to be that you only saw computer kiosks in high end stores and businesses and now they are out in rural parts of Kenya. Truly great!
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