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Enhancing ICT Benefits for Rural Communities: Australia-Malaysia Collaboration

This project aims to share knowledge and policies for ICT access in rural communities. It focuses on disadvantaged groups for industry and trade development. Achieved through meetings, workshops, and fieldwork in Australia and Malaysia. Examples of success include increased income for a seaweed farmer and grassroots uplift programs. Future opportunities include eco-cultural tourism and ICT-enabled ventures. Lessons learned can benefit both Riverland and Pahang communities for mutual growth.

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Enhancing ICT Benefits for Rural Communities: Australia-Malaysia Collaboration

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  1. AMI project:Bilateral relationships on benefits of ICT for rural communities David Ness Adjunct Associate Professor, Barbara Hardy Institute & Affiliate, ACAB

  2. AMI priority: trade & industry linkages Project aims • Share knowledge & experience of policies & practices to enable benefits of ICT access to flow to rural communities in Aust & Malaysia • Increase opportunities for biz innovation, entrepreneurship & enterprise development • Establish strong platform for longer term collaboration, with positive, practical outcomes for industry & trade, services sector, govt, NGOs & others • Focus on the disadvantaged, marginalised communities

  3. AMI How aims were achieved • Mutual understanding & learning via face to face meetings/ fieldwork in Australia & Malaysia • Bill Chin /ACAB met with SA Govt & others • Malaysia meetings Govt agencies (egMDeC) & Cypress Diversified • Fieldwork in Pahang state, Malaysia • Digital Economy, Brisbane: met leader of ‘Intelligent Community Forum’ • Engagement with RDA Riverland in Australia. • Foundations of collaboration platform laid: intent to continue work together • W/shop to share/compare experiences, build collaboration, plot way forward

  4. Initial engagement Highlights • Malaysia Communic’ns Multimedia Commission: “Pushing pipes is not enough” • “Connected at the roots” : Sabah seaweed farmer increased income from 450 RM per month to 20 000 via internet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfg8wpDVzjU • Multimedia Dev Corporation (MDeC): B40 program & micro-sourcing • Cypress Diversified hands on & grassroots societal uplift program • “By Community, For Community” (POKOK) • Local champions, profiling, elevating needs & concerns • Marshalling of facilities, resources Meeting with Cypress Diversified, 26 Feb 2013

  5. Fieldwork Pahang, Malaysia (POKOK) Listening, assisting & empowering • Communities invited to express their needs (not what outsiders perceive these to be) • Elevate these concerns/ needs to Govt & NGOs to provide assistance, resources • Assist communities to develop own solutions, run own enterprises (including ICT enabled) & determine own future • Welfare, passive approach has not worked Zurin Adra Azhar with leader of blind community Rumah OKU

  6. Fieldwork Pahang, Malaysia Local produce: strawberries, rosell • Taman Sedia, Cameron Highlands: strawberry growing but assets (eg hall) underutilised & WiFi problems • Women Rosell growers of DesaMurni, Rompin • Need own land, control own destiny • Technical advice /training sought for using biomass for energy, add value by local production, maintaining tractors • Collaboration Taman Sedia & DesaMurni Above: Taman Sedia Left: The women Rosell growers - in haze Right: Cypress team with Rosell

  7. Opportunities Eco-cultural tourism Chedok Beach /Rosell growers? • Beautiful setting • OrangAsli unique culture, blow-darts etc, no visitors • Chedok beach tourism & natural assets underutilised, undervalued • Link to Rosell as part of package? • Connect to Tioman Island? • Community need marketing & biz skills? Chedok Beach, Rompin (note haze)

  8. Engaging with Riverland ICT enabled exports / joint ventures with Asia? • Unique attributes of sun, river, boats, ecology, clean produce • Niche high quality products & services • Eco & health tourism? • Diverse, dispersed businesses • Find synergies, efficiencies through linkages, clusters, share resources • ICT to overcome remoteness – experiential marketing via internet? • Capability building: ICT, youth entrepreneurs, innovative enterprises • Cross-cultural understanding River Murray & houseboats at Berri

  9. Closing observations What can Riverland learn from POKOK? Vice versa? • Champions versus advocates? • Buddy systems • Community profiling • Micro-sourcing • Potential R &D agenda? • Synergistic clustering of enterprises, share resources • Infrastructure & facils planning/upgrades, investment e.g. airport • Marketing & branding: video stories on web (eg Seaweed farmer) • Value added green supply chains • ICT capability building and enablement,access, support services • Rosell /Chedok eco-cultural-health tourism: compare with Riverland • Cross-cultural education, Asian languages, food Thankyou ! David Ness david.ness@unisa.edu.au

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