TMCnet News
new can-do digital project for cape [Cape Argus (South Africa)](Cape Argus (South Africa) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Joseph Booysen BUSINESS REPORTER Elsies River is set to get a R2.8-million digital access centre which will include zones for study support and gaming, the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town announced yesterday. The Interactive Community Access Network (Ican) Centre forms part of the roll-out of the provincial government's R1.3-billion broadband plan to connect communities across the province over the next three years. Residents will have access to wi-fi hot spots, meeting rooms, video-conference facilities, training workshops, study rooms and recording booths. The project builds on the City of Cape Town's broadband initiative in which R222m has been set aside over three years towards the roll-out of broadband infrastructure. This project has allowed the city and the provincial government to contain and reduce spending on their internal telecommunications costs. The network saved R47.6m in telecommunications costs and avoided R70m of bandwidth costs for the 2013/2014 financial year, they said. In turn, these savings become available for economic development initiatives such as the proposed Ican centre. The centre, which is a pilot project, will be located at the Elsies River Multi-Purpose Centre which will undergo substantial refurbishments. Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC Alan Winde announced the concept, explaining that his department would, in the next two weeks, call for NPOs (not for profit organisations) to apply to operate the centre. Winde said the successful NPO operator would be required to ensure that Elsies River residents were involved in assisting with the management of the facility. Winde, Demetri Qually, the mayoral committee member for corporate services, and councillor Suzette Little, the mayoral committee member for social development, briefed the media on the Ican concept. Winde said the centre would consist of open spaces for learning, innovation and knowledge production. He said it would be a space for residents to further their ICT training, where local entrepreneurs could grow their business ideas, and where pupils would have a study resource space. "Key to the success of the centre will be the social entrepreneurship model. In this model, government partners with local entrepreneurs to establish and maintain public facilities. "This model ensures that business opportunities are created for local emerging SMMEs." Qually said: "This project will complement the success of the city's Smart Cape project, which provides free internet access in public buildings, and has over 300 000 users." Little said: "By housing this project in Elsies River, the prospects to address social challenges are endless." She appealed to residents to take ownership of the centre. The centre will include the following zones: l Ican Learn will support various community learning initiatives. It is a training centre incorporated within the Ican centre, it will be shared between pupils and residents. l Ican Study is specifically equipped to support pupils and residents who are studying. It is intended to be a quieter, more study-oriented space. l Ican Create is a space for community innovation, local knowledge |creation and entrepreneurship. l Ican Play is a gaming lab. Research indicates that the right type of video games and interactive media can have a positive impact on people. l The heart of the centre is the Ican Community Commercial Services Zone, which provides support and shared services to the other zones. l Various training programmes will be offered. l Interested NPOs can e-mail [email protected] for the terms of reference. [email protected] Cape Argus (c) 2014 Independent Newspapers (Pty) Limited. All rights strictly reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company |