Waha Center
The importance of having a functional state-of-the-art audio visual and technological space for the purposes of training, connectivity, information and networking is a practical means of strengthening civil society especially in the national context of Tunisia.
The Waha is perceived as a space that builds on information, communication and telecommunications technologies and their integration in civil society to enhance youth participation and improve the quality of projects by ngos in the field of sustainable development and human rights. Its premise recognizes the need to strengthen the capacities of civil society as well as encourage the participation of youth in associative life. In this regard, the Waha as an integrated non-formal educational program with the support of a virtual civil society platform for practical applications will enhance the visibility ngos, encourage networking, sharing of opportunities and resources within the country as well as with other organizations in the region or abroad. The project takes advantage of the momentum generated by the World Summit on Information Societies held in Tunis in November 2005.
A one-stop platform facilitating dialogue and interaction among local ngos, international organizations, donor agencies, foreign missions development offices and their roles/projects is needed in the absence of a more developed civil society infrastructure such as NGO Councils or Youth Councils in the region. A clear development agenda, less duplication of efforts, sharing of resources, even mobilization on critical issues such as democracy, good governance and human rights could be facilitated.
Besides the technological capacities, the Waha will also address pertinent issues of ICTs and the development discourse. The Waha notes that if ICTs are truly to bridge the digital divide, then the insufficiencies of the development discourse need to be addressed. It needs to be infused with other values that ensure community, ethics and diversity centered on the dignity of peoples. While we understand that poverty undoubtedly reduces people’s capacity to use or access resources, how do ICTs meet the essential needs of technologically poor communities for the improvement of their quality of life. Do ICTs accentuate poverty? How do we address the Information poor as a new category of impoverishment? Are ICTs neutral and free from political/economic biases? How does technology assure the diversity of cultures? What are the dangers of information replacing indigenous knowledge systems that sustain many communities in the global south? What is therefore the role of youth in their communities in building their capacities for future societies?
The Waha will therefore be enriched with other initiatives of El Taller such as the roundtables, Café conversation etc.
The Waha primarily anticipates training youth and ngos in the use of ICTs such as documentation (digital video and electronic print), use of mailing lists, websites, forums and bulletin-boards. Since ICTs are associated with young people, it could provide an avenue for the employment of youth in civil society, which currently relies on part-time efforts and voluntarism. In the follow-up phases the benefits of internet conferencing for our series of roundtables and Open Universities would enrich both content and perspective of issues thereby overcoming the constraints of mobility.