Understanding the Philippines scenario

The Philippines is an archipelago with 7,107 islands divided into three major island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. These island groups are further subdivided into 80 provinces, 120 cities and 1,511 municipalities. To date, some 1,000 telecentres - locally branded as Community eCentres (CeCs) – have been established in the Philippines, spread over different cities and municipalities throughout the country.
These telecentres were born of different initiatives by different organisations and their target groups are just as varied. For instance, there are telecentres that cater to out-of-school youth and adults, telecentres for farmers, telecentres for overseas foreign workers (OFWs) and their relatives, telecentres that are based in the local government units (LGUs), telecentres that cater to victims of trafficking, and so on.
Until a few years ago, digital inclusion efforts in the country were diversified and scattered, and providing a unified direction to these efforts proved to be a big challenge. In 2006, during the 3rd Knowledge Exchange Conference organised by the National Computer Centre – Field Operations Office (NCC-FOO) under the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), the Philippine Community eCentre Network  (PhilCeCNet) was born. Today, telecentres in the Philippines are gathered under a formal organisation that is PhilCeCNet, fully charged with a unified direction and a shared vision.

Building, learning, sharing and growing

The birth of PhilCeCNet has spawned several initiatives, all of which contributed to taking the Philippine telecentre movement to the stage it is today. In less than three years, the network has laid the groundwork necessary for a strong foundation upon which to build the pillars of the Philippine telecentre movement.

Much credit is owed to telecentre visionaries in the Philippines, both within and outside government, who seized on the potential that telecentres had to offer.  Many were assisted in this effort by telecentre.org, an international network of people and organisations committed to increasing the economic and social impact of telecentres around the world. Through its support and investment in several Philippine initiatives, telecentre.org, in collaboration with government and non-governmental partners, helped establish a telecentre presence and ensured its impact on Filipino communities, starting with the important step of establishing PhilCeCNet.

The network

Following PhilCeCNet's creation, several working committees were organised: Infrastructure, Content Development, Capability Building, CeC Development and Management, Resource Mobilisation and Membership. In April 2008, during the 4th Knowledge Exchange Conference on CeCs, the members of the PhilCeCNet Executive Council were elected.  The network, along with other important components of the Philippine telecentre programme, was officially launched during the same event. Early this year, PhilCeCNet became a full-fledged legal entity upon its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency under the Philippine Department of Finance, responsible for security laws and regulating the security industry. At present, PhilCeCNet boasts over 300 registered members from both the government and the private sector.

The road map

After the establishment of the network, work began soon on the crafting of what is now known as the Philippine Community eCentre Road Map for 2008-2010. The document sets the direction for the growth and sustainability of telecentres or CeCs, with a vision of opening at least one CeC in every municipality across the country by 2010. As with the establishment of PhilCeCNet, this initiative was spearheaded by CICT and was well supported by telecentre.org.
The road map spells out the direction of the Philippine telecentre programme in terms of four major component areas: infrastructure, content devel opment, capability building, and CeC development and management.

The formulation of the strategic road map is anchored on several legal mandates of the Philippines Government, such as the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan 2004-2010, which calls for the establishment of CeCs to provide access in unserved areas, and the Philippine Strategic Road Map for the ICT Sector 2006-2010, which states that at the heart of the government's effort to bridge the digital divide is the Community eCentre Programme. This year, the government has reaffirmed its support for the telecentre movement in the country when it pledged to implement the road map by providing much-needed resources from the country's egovernment fund.

Under the road map implementation project, which will run for a period of three years, the following major activities will be undertaken:
a) establishment of new telecentres in municipalities where such facilities do not exist yet;
b) transformation of existing school laboratories and Internet cafes into telecentres;
c) development and enhancement of CeC knowledge workers, such as telecentre manager and the technical and administrative support staff in the areas of planning, managing and sustaining the operation of the CeC; and
d) provision of relevant content in the CeCs, particularly in the areas of health, education, employment and agriculture.

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The Academy

Consistent with the strategy of road map to support the capability building goal of the Philippine telecentre programme by ensuring the availability of competent knowledge workers in every telecentre or CeC, a consortium of government, private and academic institutions was formed to serve as the capability building arm of PhilCeCNet. This consortium came to be known as the telecentre.org-Philippine CeC Academy (tPCA).

The tPCA also functions as the accreditation body for member-programmes, and the certifying body on proficiency of telecentre knowledge workers in the Philippines and also in the region. Since the establishment of tPCA in November 2007, a charter has been adopted, the national competency standards for telecentre knowledge workers had been formulated and approved, a curriculum had been developed, and the pilot run of the series of tPCA foundation courses for CeC managers has been completed.
Also in the works is the standards on tPCA course accreditation and certification protocol which is currently under review. At present, the Academy is being managed by a Board of Trustees (BoT) whose members were elected in December 2008. The institutionalisation of the BoT has enabled the Academy to go full gear this year.

Web portal and online community

Recognising the value of online advocacy and knowledge sharing in furthering the goals set forth in the national road map, a web portal was created to serve as the network's cyber hub facilitating sharing and interaction among CeCs, government agencies and private partners involved in implementing the national CeC programme.
The web portal makes available information on different CeC initiatives and services, statistics and geographical distribution of CeCs, contact information of telecentre managers, as well as success stories and the best practices.

Apart from more conventional features such as blog, download, gallery, feedback form and online  survey, the web portal includes a location map of telecentres established nationwide using google map. It also features telecentre profiles, and telecentre managers and staff may update their respective profiles online as well as contribute content in the form of blogs, events, photos and downloadable files.

Significantly, just six months after the web portal's official launch in April 2008, it became a semi-finalist in the 11th Philippine Web Awards. And in July of this year, it was recognised by the Philippine Web Accessibility Group and the National Council for Disability Affairs as among a few  websites of the country that are friendly to persons with disabilities. 

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Apart from more conventional features such as blog, download, gallery, feedback form and online  survey, the web portal includes a location map of telecentres established nationwide using google map

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Furthermore, in an effort to promote greater interaction among members and further propel the growth of the telecentre movement in the country, an online community was created using the Ning platform to complement the existing web portal. The PhilCeCNet Online Community   incorporates such interactive features as groups, forums and member profiles, enabling CeC implementers and stakeholders nationwide to get to know one another, exchange ideas on common issues and interests, and stay connected.

Other initiatives

Knowledge Exchange Conference
The CICT has been organising a Knowledge Exchange Conference (KEC) on CeCs every year. The conference brings together telecentre leaders and stakeholders from all over the Philippines to share strategies, services and experiences for supporting CeCs and to promote increased collaboration among CeC players in the country.
The 5th KEC was successfully staged in September 2009 with around 200 participants. The 5th KEC chronicled the growth and progress of PhilCeCNet as national network working towards its vision of a CeC in every municipality.

Telecentre Managers Exchange Programme

PhilCeCNet and CICT, in partnership with telecentre.org, organised a three-day exchange programme in December 2008 for telecentre managers with the primary goal of providing them with an opportunity to visit other telecentres to learn from them as well as share experiences, with a view to improving telecentre operations. A nationwide Infrastructure and Services Inventory Survey (ISIS) was launched in June 2009. The survey seeks to take stock of the facilities available in the CeCs across the country to serve as the basis for future network plans and programmes. Another activity in the pipeline is the formulation of a CeC operations manual or guidebook. During the recently concluded 5th KEC, Secretary Chua announced that the Philippine CeC movement has reached a point where giving recognition to those who have excelled in CeC service delivery is timely and appropriate. The CeC Excellence Awards are  now in
the works.

Telecentre.org support

Although telecentre.org, was already making its presence felt as early as the 3rd KEC by providing assistance in convening the conference and in forming PhilCeCNet,  it was in 2007 that a more formal partnership between CICT and telecentre.org was established.
telecentre.org provided a grant to CICT for forging the CeC directions in the country and the strengthening of PhilCeCNet. It was through this grant that the development of the road map, the activation of the network, the creation of the web portal and the establishment of the tPCA were made possible, all in a span of one year.This collaboration between telecentre.org and Philippines was instrumental in the early achievements of the telecentre movement in the Philippines. In addition to financial support, telecentre.org's technical assistance, especially during PhilCeCNet's start-up years, proved invaluable.    

Moving forward

The management and operation of local Centres are often affected by the change in administration, which takes place every three years. And, sustainability is a major concern not just for Philippine CeCs, but also for telecentres and networks worldwide. But, with a road map in place to provide clear direction, multi-stakeholder and international support, plus a pro-active, steadfast leadership, the Philippine telecentre movement is more than ready to face up to these and other challenges.
The commitment and passion with which government leaders and PhilCeCNet members embraced the whole telecentre advocacy is truly one for the books. Their accomplishments are visible today, and three years in, PhilCeCNet is just starting now to pick up momentum.

Gearing up for telecentre.org 2.0

Things continue to look up in the Philippine telecentre landscape. In August 2009, telecentre.org announced that it had achieved a significant level of maturity and global success and  it was preparing to move to a new home in 2010. The Philippines has been selected as the new host for  telecentre.org.
The initiative is welcomed by the entire Philippine community. While being completely aware that it is not going to be an easy task in view of the rather high standards set by the men and women behind telecentre.org 1.0 and its remarkable success in the global telecentre arena, CICT and PhilCeCNet are more than ready to take on the challenge. Yes, the enthusiasm is there and the energy is palpable! 

South Asia