FACT SHEET

The WiderNet Project

The University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science

201 Communications Center

Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA

Director, Cliff Missen, MA

Tel. (319) 335-2200

Fax (319) 335-5374

Email missenc@widernet.org  Website www.widernet.org

The WiderNet Project, a service program based at the University of Iowa, is improving digital communications in developing countries.  

Launched in 2000, The WiderNet Project distributes millions of digital library resources via the innovative eGranary Digital Library, trains computer technicians and coaches decision-makers in African universities, provides cutting-edge research on information technology issues facing the developing world, and donates computer equipment to partner universities.

The WiderNet Project provides a comprehensive approach to ICT development in developing nations with these programs:

¨       eGRANARY DIGITAL LIBRARY -- Develops and distributes a digital library that provides Internet resources off-line to institutions lacking adequate internet access.  This innovative project downloads millions of pages from the Internet onto hard drives that are installed on Web servers across Africa as well as Haiti, India and Bangladesh, giving schools low-cost access to much of the world’s knowledge.

¨       DECISION MAKERS PROGRAM – This technical, financial and organizational coaching program is for high-level administrators/decision makers at African universities who are installing their institution’s first ICT infrastructure. By serving as advocate and coach, this program assists its African partners in gaining the expertise to be ‘second time buyers’ of ICT, the first time they buy.

¨       TECHNICIAN TRAINING PROGRAM– Trains computer technicians by using low-cost ‘on-seat’ training methods so that each participating African university can train multiple technicians to install and maintain their computers and networks.  Topics range from hosting Web sites to maintaining servers to installing fiber optic networks.

¨       COMPUTER DONATION PROGRAM– Collects, repairs and ships used computer and networking hardware to Africa, so that students and teachers will have access to computers in laboratories and classrooms.

¨       UNIVERSITY LINKAGES PROGRAM –Breaks down the digital divide with African partners by broadening the teaching and research opportunities for scholars on both continents.

¨       ORIGINAL RESEARCH –Provides partners and scholars with information about Internet bandwidth, cost, and reliability through on-going real-time testing and analysis.  Provides partners with reports on various topics such as "Gender and ICT", "Student Computer Fees",  "library Automations", "Total Cost of Ownership", and "Satellite Internet."

¨       COURSES –The WiderNet Project offers the Internetworks in International Development course through classroom, correspondence, and distance learning with universities in Africa. This course provides an overview of the ways the digital communication technologies are changing the developing world and our perceptions of those in the developing world. Half of the course is theoretical as the students are asked to put together a Web-based research project on the use of digital communications in the development of a third-world country, but a good deal of the course is practical as students learn a wide array of digital communication technologies (listservs, discussion boards, Web site design, chat, etc.) .

Supporters

Major supporters of The WiderNet Project have included The University of Iowa; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Microsoft Corporation; the U.S. Agency for International Development; the U.S. Department of State; Red Hat, Inc.; and LearnKey, Inc.  Current work on improving access to and adoption and sustainability of the eGranary Digital Library project is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Endorsements of The WiderNet Project

"The WiderNet Project and the eGranary Digital Library are two of the best things to happen to Nigeria."
--Digital Library Issues workshop participant, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria

"The group that conceptualized this WiderNet Project is doing a lot of good for higher education institutions in Africa.  It is a positive means of bridging the gap in information between the 1st and 3rd/4th Worlds." 

--Digitization Workshop in Jos participant

 

"You and your organization are to be highly commended for your concern for developing countries like Nigeria in the area of ICT."

--"Doing More With Less: Your Network Working for You" workshop participant

 

"This training will improve my professional capabilities and bring development in Nigeria and other African countries."

--Wireless workshop participant

 

"This is a good start for IT in our nation. I am sure within the next two years we will get there and meet up with the rest of the world." 

--Wireless workshop participant

 

"There is hardly any unit in the library that has not benefited from WiderNet.  WiderNet has done so much."

--University of Jos

 

"We think what we have gained (from the WiderNet Project) needs to be available to other universities."

--Professor Lennox Liverpool - Chairman NUNet

 

“With exposure to the possibilities, you can begin to drive your university forward.  We have attained local connectivity; on that, we are very good.  We have a lot to do; however, having tasted what can be done from experiences abroad.  We won’t stop!” 

--Wireless Workshop participant

 

“When playing soccer and there is no goal, it is hard to get a winner, thus, you will play forever”, but going to Iowa and seeing the possibilities helped me to better assess our situation here and made me know that though I thought we were way ahead, there is still a lot to be done and a greater possibility still lies ahead.”

--University of Jos

 

“The WiderNet technician training program has really been rejuvenating; the knowledge I’ve acquired will be very useful for my professional needs and equips me better to re-train my colleagues. There is an urgency to fund the program. It is a capacity building program that will revolutionize the information and communications technology world of Less Developed Countries.  WiderNet: more power to your elbows.” 

--Technician Training Workshop 2002 participant

Accomplishments (2000 to present)

·         Created and installed the eGranary Digital Library, which includes more than 3 million educational documents (with an unlimited capacity), to more than 100 educational institutions across Africa, and in Bangladesh, India and Haiti, giving at least 300,000 students and professors quick and free access to information over their local area networks (LANs). These Web page documents open 5,000 times faster from the eGranary than typical Internet connection.

·         Gathered content for the eGranary Digital Library from more than 650 contributing organizations, publishers and authors who granted permission to distribute their works.  Some of these include:  California State University, Carnegie Corporation of New York, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Columbia University, Cornell University, MIT Press, NASA, National Cancer Institute, New York Times, UNESCO, U.S. Department of Education, World Bank, and WHO.

·         Conducted more than 200 WiderNet Project events (mostly in Africa) including conferences, training programs, hands-on workshops, consulting sessions, presentations and outreach activities involving more than 3,200 participants.

·         295+ volunteers donated more than 6,200 hours of time to The WiderNet Project to test and prepare donated computer equipment, install digital library material, conduct field training, design databases and host African visitors.

·         Received more than $995,500 in hardware, software and cash donations; 31 companies/organizations donated equipment or software

·         Shipped new and used computers and software valued at more than $545,000 to African partners

·         Purchased equipment and software totaling $36,000 on behalf of African partner universities (saving them at least twice as much in cost and shipping.)

·         Funded by grants totaling over $1.2 million

About the Directors

Cliff Missen, M.A. -- Cliff has over 18 years of professional experience in computers, networking, multimedia design, and applications development.  At The WiderNet Project, he combines this with his long-term interest in international development.  His first visit to Africa was with a medical team in 1982 and he continues to teach and promote appropriate water well drilling technology through the U.S. non-profit organization Wellspring Africa.   "I want to see the day when African technicians -- so steeped in understanding of ICT -- bend and twist these tools to create appropriate and affordable communications systems for the most rural villages in Africa."

Mike McNulty, Ph.D. -- Mike is a long-time student of Africa. A Professor of Geography and former member of the University of Iowa central administration, Mike first visited Ghana in 1965-66 as a graduate student. He later lived and worked in Nigeria (1970-71) and returns regularly to teach and do research with African colleagues.  Years ago, Cliff was a student in Mike's classes on "Development Policy and Planning;" now Mike is a student in Cliff's "Internetworks in International Development" class.  What goes around comes around!