Stronger Voices?: Experiences in Paraguay with Interactive ICTs

Abstract

This case study focuses on a civil society organization called Radio Viva in Asunción, Paraguay. It was found that the interactive use of ‘traditional’ and ‘new’ technologies in locally innovative ways was able to meet community needs through the creation of two local products. Specifically, when radio and telephony were integrated with telecentre services (including internet access), new physical and virtual communication spaces were opened up for civic participation. Second, ICT interactivity was found to lead to the creation of locally relevant content production, helping Paraguayan communities to gain access to useful and contextualized information while also turning local ‘information recipients’ into ‘knowledge users’.