Offline, underserved and left behind? – The overlooked intermediaries that are mitigating digital exclusion

Summary

This discussion focused on how libraries and post offices serve as overlooked intermediaries in mitigating digital exclusion and promoting digital inclusion globally. The session was moderated by Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and Kevin Hernandez from the Universal Postal Union (UPU), who highlighted the parallel roles these networks play in connecting communities to digital services and opportunities.

The presenters emphasized that both libraries and post offices represent extensive global networks that reach remote areas where other service providers often don’t operate. Libraries comprise approximately 2.8 million active facilities worldwide, with 63% of surveyed users indicating that libraries are their only point of internet access. Similarly, the global postal network includes over 650,000 post offices, with the majority located in rural areas where people are most at risk of being digitally excluded.

Gift Kallisto-Machengete from Zimbabwe’s postal regulatory authority presented a compelling case study of how his country transformed 143 underutilized post offices into digital centers. These centers now provide e-commerce platforms, government services, telemedicine, and pension access to rural communities, demonstrating how existing infrastructure can be repurposed for digital inclusion. Nancy Kwangwa discussed the complementary role of libraries in providing digital literacy training and curating locally relevant information content.

Irene Kaggwa from the GIGA initiative emphasized the sustainability advantages of leveraging existing infrastructure rather than building new facilities, noting how libraries and post offices already have staff, security, and community trust. The discussion concluded with recognition that addressing digital exclusion requires collective solutions utilizing multiple community anchor institutions working together to ensure meaningful access to digital services and knowledge for all populations.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **Libraries and Post Offices as Digital Inclusion Intermediaries**: Both networks serve as crucial anchor community institutions that connect people to digital services, knowledge, and opportunities, particularly in underserved and rural areas where they often represent the only point of internet access for communities.

– **Leveraging Existing Infrastructure for Cost-Effective Solutions**: Rather than building new infrastructure from scratch, the discussion emphasized utilizing the extensive existing networks of libraries (2.8 million globally) and post offices (650,000 worldwide) to provide digital services more sustainably and affordably.

– **Zimbabwe’s Digital Centers Model**: A practical case study showcasing how 143 post offices were renovated into digital centers offering e-commerce, e-government services, telemedicine, and digital literacy training, demonstrating successful integration of postal infrastructure with digital inclusion initiatives.

– **Multi-Channel Service Delivery with Human Support**: Both libraries and post offices provide essential digital services “with a human touch,” offering in-person assistance that complements fully digital services and helps bridge digital literacy gaps for less connected communities.

– **Collaborative Partnerships for Enhanced Impact**: The need for strategic partnerships between libraries, post offices, and organizations like UNESCO, ITU, UPU, and national regulators to amplify existing networks’ capabilities and create comprehensive digital inclusion solutions.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to highlight how libraries and post offices can serve as overlooked but powerful intermediaries in addressing digital exclusion. The session sought to demonstrate the complementary nature of these networks and advocate for collaborative approaches that leverage existing infrastructure to create sustainable, community-based digital inclusion solutions rather than building entirely new systems.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a consistently collaborative and optimistic tone throughout. Speakers demonstrated mutual respect and enthusiasm for cross-sector partnerships, with practical examples reinforcing theoretical concepts. The tone was professional yet accessible, with presenters showing genuine excitement about the potential for libraries and post offices to work together. While time constraints created some urgency toward the end, the overall atmosphere remained positive and forward-looking, emphasizing solutions and opportunities rather than dwelling on challenges.

Speakers

– **Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer** – Digital Affairs Policy Officer for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), session moderator

– **Kevin Hernández** – Digital Inclusion Expert at the Universal Postal Union (UPU)

– **Gift Kallisto Machengete** – Director General of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAS)

– **Nancy Kwangwa** – Deputy Librarian at the Women’s University in Africa and Executive Director at the Zimbabwe Information and Technology Empowerment Center (CTEC)

– **Irene Kaggwa** – Program Manager at the International Telecommunications Union for GIGA (a joint ITU-UNICEF initiative), formerly worked for the postal and telecommunications regulator in Uganda

– **Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi** – Director for the Division of Digital Inclusion Policies and Digital Transformation, and Secretary of the UNESCO Information for All Program

Additional speakers:

None identified

# Libraries and Post Offices as Digital Inclusion Intermediaries: A Comprehensive Discussion Report

## Introduction and Context

This WSIS session, moderated by Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and Kevin Hernández from the Universal Postal Union (UPU), examined the critical role of libraries and post offices as intermediaries in addressing digital exclusion globally. The discussion brought together experts from international organisations, regulatory authorities, and community institutions to explore how these extensive networks can serve as anchor points for digital inclusion initiatives.

The discussion featured contributions from Gift Kallisto-Machengete, Director General of Zimbabwe’s Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAS); Nancy Kwangwa, Deputy Librarian at the Women’s University in Africa and Executive Director at the Zimbabwe Information and Technology Empowerment Centre (CTEC), who joined remotely; Irene Kaggwa, Programme Manager at the International Telecommunications Union for GIGA; and Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi, Director for UNESCO’s Division of Digital Inclusion Policies and Digital Transformation.

## The Scale and Reach of Global Networks

### Library Infrastructure and Access Patterns

Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer established the significant scale of global library networks, comprising approximately 3.1 million libraries worldwide, with 2.8 million being active facilities. She presented compelling data from IFLA’s recent pilot survey of 300 libraries across eight countries, revealing that 84% of surveyed libraries were connected to the internet. Crucially, 63% of library users indicated that libraries represent their only point of access to information via the internet, while about 25% reported that whilst they have alternative access, their only other option is mobile data, which often comes with significant cost and data limitations.

This statistical foundation challenged common assumptions about digital access in the mobile age. De Brasdefer emphasised that libraries serve as anchor community institutions that connect people not only to internet access but also to essential services, knowledge resources, and opportunities for personal and professional development.

### The Global Postal Network’s Extensive Reach

Kevin Hernández highlighted the remarkable scope of the global postal network, which includes over 650,000 post offices worldwide, making it the most geographically extensive retail service network globally. Crucially, the majority of these facilities are located in rural areas where populations are most at risk of digital exclusion and where other service providers often find it economically unviable to operate.

Hernández presented data showing that posts in 71% of countries now offer e-commerce services, 58% provide digital financial services, and 70% contribute to bridging digital divides through various initiatives. He emphasised that postal services have evolved from traditional mail delivery to become providers of “essential digital services with a human touch.”

## Practical Implementation: The Zimbabwe Model

Gift Kallisto-Machengete provided a compelling case study of practical implementation, describing how Zimbabwe transformed its underutilised postal infrastructure into a network of digital inclusion centres. He explained that the country had a wide network of post offices that had become underutilised due to declining traditional postal services.

Rather than allowing this infrastructure to deteriorate, Zimbabwe’s regulatory authority undertook a comprehensive programme, renovating 143 post offices and deploying 24 containerised digital centres. These facilities now provide a comprehensive range of services including e-commerce platforms, e-government services, telemedicine capabilities, and pension access for rural communities, particularly benefiting elderly populations.

Kallisto-Machengete highlighted that Zimbabwe faces serious digital divides across multiple dimensions: between urban and rural areas, between men and women, between boys and girls, and between able-bodied and disabled populations. The digital centres were designed to address these multifaceted challenges by providing not only access to technology but also specialised training for people with disabilities and support services needed to make access meaningful.

He noted that the initiative has potential to utilise low earth orbit satellites to expand coverage in the future, demonstrating how traditional infrastructure can be combined with emerging connectivity solutions. The centres also serve agricultural communities by providing platforms for farmers to sell their products directly, creating economic opportunities alongside digital inclusion.

## The Library Perspective on Comprehensive Digital Inclusion

Nancy Kwangwa provided crucial insights into the complexity of digital inclusion from a library perspective, emphasising that true digital inclusion extends far beyond simply providing access to devices or internet connectivity. She articulated that “when you look at digital inclusion it’s not necessarily about the gadgets because we’ve seen that in terms of penetration of cell phones, mobile devices, the percentage is going high. But when you look at the skills now of using those gadgets… it’s another issue which is an exclusion.”

Kwangwa outlined that digital inclusion must address multiple components: device access, digital skills development, affordability of services, availability of relevant local content, and media and information literacy capabilities. She stressed that libraries play a crucial role in addressing the digital literacy gap that exists even when communities have access to technology.

A key insight from Kwangwa was the importance of integrating library services with digital centres rather than creating parallel service delivery systems. She advocated for creating “one-stop shops” where library services are incorporated within digital centres, ensuring that communities receive comprehensive support for their information and digital needs. She emphasised the particular importance of curating locally relevant information content, especially for agricultural communities.

## Sustainability and Policy Considerations

Irene Kaggwa from the GIGA initiative provided important perspectives on the sustainability advantages of leveraging existing library and postal infrastructure rather than building new facilities. She noted that both networks already have established staff, security systems, and community trust, making them ideal platforms for digital inclusion initiatives.

Kaggwa emphasised that 2.6 billion people still lack internet access due to infrastructure gaps, affordability issues, and lack of digital skills. She argued that addressing these challenges requires utilising existing community anchor institutions, referencing successful models from other countries, including Malaysia’s approach to e-commerce integration in postal services.

Kevin Hernández highlighted a significant policy barrier: universal service funds could serve as policy instruments supporting digital inclusion initiatives in both libraries and post offices, but these institutions often do not qualify for such funding. This represents a crucial gap that needs to be addressed to better leverage these networks for digital inclusion.

## Collaborative Approaches and UNESCO’s Framework

Throughout the discussion, speakers emphasised the importance of collaborative approaches involving multiple stakeholders. The session itself represented a partnership between IFLA and UPU, demonstrating how international organisations can work together to amplify existing networks rather than building competing systems.

Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi provided a philosophical framework for the discussion, referencing what he described as possibly “human legend” about Andrew Carnegie’s observation regarding gatekeepers in society, though he noted he was never able to find the precise quote. He emphasised that the role of institutions like libraries and post offices is to ensure that gates are opened rather than closed, positioning them as essential facilitators of democratic access to information and services.

Canela de Souza Godoi stressed that collective problems require collective solutions involving libraries, post offices, and other community institutions working together.

## Key Areas of Consensus and Implementation Challenges

The discussion revealed remarkable consensus among all speakers regarding the fundamental value of libraries and post offices as digital inclusion infrastructure. All participants agreed that these networks represent existing, trusted community infrastructure with extensive reach that can be leveraged rather than building new systems from scratch.

However, several implementation challenges were identified, including connectivity gaps, electricity supply issues in rural areas, and high connectivity costs. The need for comprehensive capacity building programmes for staff in both networks was recognised as crucial for successful implementation.

## Conclusion and Next Steps

Due to time constraints that affected the session flow, the discussion concluded with IFLA’s commitment to releasing a report on library digital connectivity data in early September 2024. Both IFLA and UPU committed to continued collaboration aimed at amplifying existing networks rather than building competing systems.

The session demonstrated significant potential for libraries and post offices to serve as crucial intermediaries in addressing digital exclusion globally. The Zimbabwe case study provided concrete evidence that existing infrastructure can be successfully transformed into comprehensive digital service centres, while the library perspective highlighted the importance of addressing digital literacy alongside basic connectivity.

The strong consensus among speakers from diverse organisational backgrounds suggests significant potential for scaling collaborative approaches to digital inclusion, though important policy barriers around funding mechanisms and regulatory frameworks require continued attention to fully realise this potential.

Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer: Okay, so good afternoon, everyone. I think we’re going to start our presentation now. So we are very glad to have you here as joining this session today. But as you can see on the screen, it’s about discussing the overlooked intermediaries that are mitigating digital exclusion. So in a minute, we’re going to talk a little bit about that. And my name is Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer, and I am the Digital Affairs Policy Officer for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. And today I’m going to be moderating this panel and also giving a brief introduction along with my colleague, Kevin Hernandez, who is the Digital Inclusion Expert at the Universal Postal Union. But of course, before we begin, the first thing I would like to do is to give a really warm welcome to our speakers today who are joining us for this session. We are very glad to have you here, and we’re also very much looking forward to hearing from each of you in this team. Our first speaker for today is going to be Mr. Gift Kallisto-Machengete, who is the Director General of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, POTRAS. Our second speaker is Mr. Nancy Kwangwa, the Deputy Librarian at the Women’s University in Africa and also Executive Director at the Zimbabwe Information and Technology Empowerment Center, CTEC. Our third speaker is Ms. Irene Kaggwa, the Program Manager at the International Telecommunications Union for GIGA, a joint ITU-UNICEF initiative. And our fourth speaker is Mr. Guillerme Canela, who is the Director for the Division of Digital Inclusion Policies and Digital Transformation, and also the Secretary of the UNESCO Information for All Program. So again, thank you all for joining us. And so before starting, I would like to give a very brief introduction about this session. And I would just like to mention the reason why we are having this conversation at all today is because we, and when I say we, I mean IFLA and the UPU, we have realized through many exchanges and discussions that there’s a lot of, many parallels between the work that libraries and post offices are doing in terms not just of access to information, but also in terms of digital inclusion. And so with many conversations, we have realized that the nature of the work that the library and the postal networks do has changed over time, it has transformed, and it has also become increasingly digital. And because of that, the reality is that in the present, both of these networks serve as anchor community institutions that really connect people to services, to knowledge, and also to opportunities. They are also both global networks that exist across countries in many regions in the world, no matter how remote, and also that put many services at the access of a lot of people that would perhaps otherwise be beyond their reach. And so of course, the list is very endless, and I could go on and on with these explanations, but what I want to say is that we believe that this is putting both networks as important intermediaries in the pathway towards a sustainable digital transformation, and we also see this as something that can build up to the fulfillment of many wishes, action lines, and of course also to the partnership with many other perhaps stakeholders and organizations, like in this case UNESCO, ITU, UPU, POTRAS, and many others. And we believe that might also help us strengthen our capacity to collaborate with other people. So I guess in the end, the message really is that we are not building something from scratch, but we really want to build on the power of a network that already exists. We want to amplify it and improve it, and we want to do this in collaboration with all of you. And so to start this brief introduction, first I would like to tell you something about libraries, in case you don’t know much about them. And so this is just to show you something we like to call the library map of the world, which is also available in our website. And so this is also to show that while it is true that a lot of the nature of the original purpose of libraries has been kept today, the reality is also that the scope of the resources and services that they offer has changed drastically. And so for example, if you look at this map, you will see that there is about 3.1 million libraries globally that we have mapped so far, but we know of that amount that there’s at least 2.8 million which we recognize to be as formally active or functional. And in a lot of these libraries, the case is that when we have interacted with the communities, they have mentioned that the libraries is often the only point of access to information and also to the internet. And this is also something that we have observed that has replicated a lot with post offices, but we will get to that in a moment. And so also if you look at the map, you will see that there’s other interesting information, like perhaps the amount of full-time staff, volunteers, and this is also important, but the number that I really want you to pay attention is the amount of libraries with internet access. Because as you can look at the number, you will see that the number is relatively low compared to the amount of existing libraries, which is something that we are aware of, and we are currently working on gathering data to understand also better where we are standing with libraries in digital terms, and how can we best support them to better serve their communities. And also something that we have really realized from doing this map is that by talking not only with library staff, but also with library users, we realize that they see a lot of value also not only in the space of the library in itself, but also in the staff that is capacitated also to serve to their needs, well, based on their local needs. And so this is also something that they see as important, because it allows them to access information in a way that that is meaningful and that is also trustworthy, reliable, and also that it is applicable for what they do in their daily lives. And so now just to show you this slide about the most common digital and information services offered by libraries, perhaps you see some of these services here and you were already aware that some of these are offered by libraries, but perhaps you see some others that you weren’t aware. Also this list, I didn’t put all the services in this slide, but it is just to mention that the libraries are offering all of the services today and a lot of them are also offered in a digitized way. And a lot of them are not always straightforward. For example, the capacity building for entrepreneurs is also something that we have identified in many places that is happening. And libraries also today are doing a lot of preservation and dissemination of traditional and indigenous knowledge, a lot of access and training for open source software and also facilitating access to e-government services. And so, of course, all of these things, I think it’s needless to say that they also intersect with a lot of topics like, for example, universal connectivity or the preservation of information integrity and so many topics that I also think are relevant for the fulfillment of WSIS action lines. And here in this slide is just to show you very briefly about the project I mentioned before where we are collecting some data, well, digital-related data on library. And so for the sake of time, I cannot give you too much information on it, but I can tell you that we will also release a report on this in early September if you are interested. But what I would like to share with you in this case is that as you can see, this is a project that we are piloting in eight countries so far, but we are also working on a project in eight countries so far because we know the task is too big. So we decided to start with a couple regions at the beginning. And we have surveyed about 300 libraries in this phase, which are mainly public libraries and community libraries because these are the ones that normally have the other resources and services available to everyone. And from these libraries, we have realized that about 84% of those are connected. And while we’ve surveyed both library staff and also library users, we have realized that when surveying library users, for example, in this case, we asked them the question, is the library your only point of access to information via the internet? Because we were also curious to, it is a supposition we had, but we were not sure about it. And so as you can see, 63% of the respondents of the people in this country said yes. So indeed, the library is their only point of access to information via the internet. And about 25% of them said no, but their only other access is via mobile data. And so of course, this also reduces the scope of what they can do with that access. And about 15% of them said no, they do enjoy also from home or private internet access. And also when serving, a thing that we found interesting when serving library staff was that a lot of times the reason why the libraries are not connected are reasons that we’re all familiar with, perhaps infrastructure limitations, high cost or electrical supply issues. But sometimes there’s also other reasons that we had not accounted for and we find interesting. For example, a lot of libraries said that they feel that they are able to incur the costs of connectivity and they are prepared to do it. But they see that there is just a really big digital literacy gap in their community that they still have to fill in in order for them to be able to enjoy. So I just wanted to share this information here with you because it’s relevant for what we will discuss today. And now just to finish this quick introduction on libraries, I just wanted to bring some examples in practice because I always think it’s interesting to see how that plays out in the real world. And for that, I brought the examples first of the Kennedyke Library in Ibadan, Nigeria. And so that example is about a library that became the only point of reliable access to information and connectivity, but also to electricity in the region because there were a lot of power issues in that community and a lot of students, a lot of professionals, people were struggling to access, well, not just the internet, but also electricity at all in the evening hours. And so this was the case where they also, the library had to adapt their working opening hours, they capacitated more staff, and it became this reliable point of access for the community. And there is also the case of the National Library of South Africa in Pretoria, where this library, as I mentioned in another slide, they did a lot of training with local agricultures to help them initiate and also expand their business. So, of course, the list is big and there’s many other examples, but I just wanted to share these two with you today to give you an idea of some of the things that libraries are also doing today. And, well, I guess in a nutshell, the message is really that we believe that today, public access to the internet still remains relevant despite the existence of private access. Libraries are multipurpose spaces that offer many types of services, as you are also going to see with the presentation of my colleague, Kevin, with post offices. And we also believe in the importance of partnering and collaborating with other organizations and stakeholders to expand the capabilities of both of these networks. And so thank you all. And now I’m going to hand it over to my colleague, Kevin, who’s going to tell you a little bit more about post offices.

Kevin Hernández: Hello, everyone. So my name is Kevin Hernandez and I am a digital inclusion expert at the Universal Postal Union, which is a United Nations specialized agency focusing on the postal sector. And today I will be giving you a very brief overview of how posts contribute to digital inclusion and to bridging the digital divide. So why is, why are posts very well placed to contribute to digital inclusion? So let’s start off by speaking about their reach. So the Global Postal Network is likely the most geographically extensive retail service network in the world. There are over 650,000 post offices in the world. A majority of them are actually in rural areas. Specifically, the places where people are least likely to be online and most at risk of being left behind. And this extensive reach is largely thanks to the sector’s universal service obligation. So what does this mean? All 192 member states of the UPU, of the Universal Postal Union, must designate at least one postal operator who is legally mandated to provide at least the most basic postal services to all citizens within its territory. And this incentivizes post offices to open and delivery staff to visit places where other service providers tend to stay away from. And also given that the postal network is a retail service network, much of the infrastructure to provide digital services is already in place at post offices. So as similar to libraries, there’s already staff there. But on top of that, there are also service counters that are staffed. And also there are electronic payment systems to fulfill the transactions. And also to take things even a step further, the delivery staff and the delivery vehicles can go and provide services at people’s homes. And also, much like libraries, posts enjoy a great deal of community trust in the places where they work. And for these reasons and more, posts are very well placed to contribute to digital inclusion and to bridging the digital divide. And Connect.post is a flagship project by the Universal Postal Union that tries to take as much advantage of this inclusive potential by connecting post offices. And similar to libraries, there are 100,000 post offices that are still disconnected. So one, almost one out of six. So the goal of Connect.post is to connect every post office to the internet. And then transform them into one-stop shops for digital services and for also leveraging them to help bridge the digital divide. And at this point, I’m sure many of you are thinking, like the posts, they just, they just send letters. How could they potentially provide any digital services? But in reality, while the UPU recently conducted a survey, and we surveyed posts from 153 countries, and the survey found that a majority of posts are already providing essential digital services, 71% are offering e-commerce services through the posts in 71% of countries. In 58% of countries, posts are offering digital financial services. In 51% of countries, they’re offering e-government services. And in 70% of countries, posts are contributing to bridging the digital divide by providing at least one connectivity service or solution. And it’s not just that posts are offering these services that promotes inclusion, but it’s how they’re offering these services. So our data shows that posts are contributing to multi-channel service delivery, which is now widely considered a best practice in ensuring inclusivity. So specifically, a majority and the library of post are providing digital services in person similar to what libraries are doing with support from staff at digitally enabled post office counters. And this is especially beneficial for less connected communities who may lack the internet access at home or may not have the proper device or who may lack the digital skills or may be uncomfortable accessing these services on their own. And some posts are even providing these digital services at the citizen’s doorstep through delivery staff . And this is a huge benefit for the community and for the local community. And this is a huge benefit for the community and for the community. So in other words, similar to libraries, posts are providing essential digital services with a human touch. And this really complements the fully digital services available to more connected users because it gives everyone more choice on how to access services. So it ends up empowering everybody. And this is a huge benefit for libraries. And libraries are providing essential digital services to their service providers under the same roof, which is then helping citizens, especially those in rural areas, save time and money that they would otherwise spend having to visit many offices. And leveraging existing infrastructure like posts but also libraries helps reduce the cost that is associated with setting up these one-stop shops. So we have a lot of examples of post being leveraged for one-stop shops across the world. And we have examples of post being leveraged for one-stop shops across the world. And we have examples of post being leveraged for one-stop shops across regions and across country income levels in places like Kenya, Egypt, Uruguay, France, Czech Republic, Italy, and many other places. And lastly, as I said earlier, the post extensive infrastructure can also be leveraged to help bridge digital divides. And there are many examples of posts doing this across the world. And we are extremely lucky that we have with us today one of the prime examples of a post being leveraged to help bridge the digital divide in Zimpost digital centers. So rather than go into detail into how posts can help bridge the digital divide, I will allow our distinguished colleague from Zimbabwe to tell us a bit more about what this looks like in Zimbabwe. So honorable Mr. Machengete, can you please tell us more about the digital center project? How it contributes to digital inclusion? And what was the value of hosting them in an anchor institution like a post office? Thank you very much.

Gift Kallisto Machengete: Thank you very much. Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Gift Kallisto Machenete, and I am the director of the Zimbabwe Post Office. Thank you very much. Let me begin by just giving you an introduction to say that in Zimbabwe, we do have, like any developing country, very serious digital divides. We have the divide between those in towns and those living in cities. We have the divide between those in towns and those living in the rural areas. The women and the men. Boys and girls. And those who are able-bodied. and those who are living with disabilities. So you can go on and on looking at these different divides. But the issue is we need to bridge the digital divides. So how do we do that? So we looked around and said to ourselves, because resources are scarce, what are we going to do? And we discovered that we had a wide network of post offices across the country. And these post offices were really underutilized, because now a lot of people are not writing letters and so forth. And nothing was actually happening. Some of the post offices had been turned into some shops, people paying rentals to the postal service, Zimpost, our big postal organization there. But really, nothing leading to economic development. So we then decided that we renovate these postal offices and create a space within the postal office, a place where we could now bring in gadgets, digital gadgets, initially, and also connectivity, so that people can come and access these ICT gadgets. So we renovated, across the country, 143 post offices. And the idea that these are within a post office had everything to do with cutting costs, because then you have the postman there, or the post manager there, looking after the digital center. We now call them digital centers. These now become centers of excellence where they do not just connect, but they actually do a lot of economic activity. They can go onto platforms and engage in e-commerce. And if it is an area that is renowned for, say, some agricultural products, they can be selling the agricultural products at this center through digital means, through platforms. They can also be able to access government services, which government services they previously had to travel long distances to go to towns to access such government services. But now they can just go to the nearest digital center and they can access those services. It has been a very important thing for our elderly, those who are on pensions, because now they can get their pensions nearer to their communities, nearer to their homes instead of traveling long distances and spending a lot of money. We have even started now providing telemedicine activities. in those centers so that they are nearer to the people so the people do not have to travel long distances to go to hospitals. You can only go to hospital when there is need for you to really go there, but most of the times people travel long distances only to be told that you actually needed some aspirins or, you know, Panadol. Now, when you go to these centers, that can be shortened and the doctor can, you know, prevent you from wasting a lot of money. So they, as I said, they have become centers of excellency. I had prepared some slides there, but I will not go through all of the slides. For example, we say that the problem statement was access to digital tools and training, which you cannot find, you know, in rural areas. Affordability of internet connectivity and availability. You know, when I talked of the digital divide, the pictures there clearly show at the top there, where you have those two girls, that is a game I think most African people know. It’s a game that you play, you know, but while those children are playing that game, others down there are actually playing with gadgets. So that is the divide that we would want to bridge. Then the challenges. Poor infrastructure, inadequate connectivity, limited digital literacy, and, you know, lack of information in underserved areas. That is what we intend to cure. Now, Bloom’s taxonomy. You see, when you , we want people to apply, we want people to analyze, to evaluate, and to create products. So the digital center is a center where products will be produced, digital products for that matter, where we will mentor our innovation, our innovators, who are in the rural areas. And not only innovators in the towns. So it’s going to be a center for excellence, a center for innovation, a center for innovation, a center for analyzing knowledge, evaluating knowledge, and producing, you know, products. That one is just indicating digital resources, which we expect through the digital center, where people will interact, understand, apply, and implement, and develop. And we would want our youth to become leaders of tomorrow, by, say, optimizing what happens in our country. Our country is an agricultural-based country. We are talking of e-agriculture there. We are also talking of e-health, like I mentioned before. You are also talking about e-learning, all those. And we would want also to produce global market products, create a global market for e-learning, and also to create a global market for innovative entrepreneurs using the digital center. That slide is just indicating what is provided at the digital center, that we expect it also to produce even digital content. I have already talked about the figures there, where we renovated 143 post offices, but together we also tried to come up with containerized information centers or digital centers. These were deployed where we had no post offices, because post offices are not everywhere. There are some areas where you do not have post offices, so we deployed containers there, and we have done 20, 24. That is an example of a digital center down there, and the one on top is the containerized one, just to give you an idea of how they look like. Yes, that is a containerized one, with two containers, those are containers, and there is space in between, people can sit in there. So what it means is that the other container will have the computers and so forth, and they use that to connect to the world and so forth. The other one is for training, because we also need to train people in the rural areas in the communities, and we have also started using them to train those living with disabilities out there, instead of them coming into town for them to access these trainings. So yes, that is an example of a containerized training center. Digital Center in one of the areas in Bed Bridge border area. Otherwise, what are the future opportunities that we see? Right now, because of the low earth orbit satellites, we think that we can even cover much more areas because what we were doing is that we were actually relying on electricity. We had started solarizing some of the digital centers, but that’s quite, you know, slow and a bit on the expensive side. But we are going to be leveraging on the LEOS to power the remote areas and we think that is going to make our project move even faster than before. Otherwise, yeah, that would be what we have done. Thank you very much.

Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer: Thank you very much, Minister, for such an interesting presentation and giving us an overview of what you’re doing now in Zimbabwe. And I really appreciate also that you used the word underutilized, which is also something that we want to emphasize here. We don’t want to underutilize the power of these two networks that are so, yeah, valuable together. And so now for our next speaker, we will have the Dr. Nancy Kwangwa, who is going to talk to us a little bit more about what libraries are doing and also in collaboration with post offices. But she will be joining us remotely. Hello, good afternoon, everyone. Hi, Nancy, good afternoon. I can see you now. If you can share also your presentation, feel free to go ahead. Okay, thanks. I may need to have permission to share because already there’s something that’s being shared on the platform.

Nancy Kwangwa: Fantastic. Thank you so much. I’m so excited to join you on this very important session. So I am a librarian. I work in libraries and hearing about all the amazing work that’s being done by UPU, by IFLA at global level, it really gives me inspiration. So I’m going to share some case studies from Zimbabwe and some proposed interventions on which the post offices and the libraries can work together to promote digital inclusion. So I’ll start to share mostly about the libraries, the state of the libraries, I’ll share an experience from here in Zimbabwe. So in our local context, you find that the public libraries, the design of our cities, each city, main city has a public library. these are being underutilized. Some of them, they’ve been turned into other functions that are not libraries. And when you look at university and college libraries, these ones are well resourced. They are organized, they are regulated to ensure that they serve the institutions where they are housed. Then we have school libraries. Then the school libraries, they fall mostly under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. And in terms of their development, again, it varies. Some are well resourced with technology, with the print resources, and then some, they do not have the libraries and digital connection. And from the IFLA library map that was shared earlier, I took a screenshot for Zimbabwe country data in terms of the libraries that are there. When you look at community, there isn’t data there to say, do we have community libraries in the rural communities? The answer is no, there are no community libraries in the rural communities. But the good news is we have the digital centers, as it was presented earlier on. So what can we do to ensure that there is enhanced access to information and digital technologies? There’s a need there now to say the libraries, they have the services, the post offices, they have the infrastructure. There’s that need for integration. Then here is just a screenshot that I found very fascinating on the left side here. It’s a news piece. Some villagers in some remote communities, they are trying to get a signal on their phones to. maybe it’s internet or just for phone calls and then on the other side we have the digital centers as presented earlier on. So here we are saying how can libraries and the digital centers work together to ensure that there is digital inclusion. So I’m going to share at lengthy on this slide where we are now unpacking digital inclusion. So from my experience when you look at digital inclusion it’s not necessarily about the gadgets because we’ve seen that in terms of penetration of cell phones, mobile devices, the percentage is going high. But when you look at the skills now of using those gadgets, some they have the latest phones, some they might have the latest computers or even the low-cost mobile phones but then when it comes to the skills of really making use of these gadgets it’s another issue which is an exclusion to say you have a gadget but you don’t have the necessary skills. So this is where now libraries come in because librarians their work is to train people, capacitate people with the necessary digital skills, with the necessary skills to navigate the information environment. Then the next element is on affordability from the data itself, the gadgets and so on. We are excited to know that here in Zimbabwe we have quite a number of digital centers that have been set up to ensure that there’s affordable access to technology, to data, to the internet and and so on. Then the next element is on information and data. So looking at the local context we can have these centers with very good technologies but when it comes to the contents that is the information that people are accessing. Is the information really relevant to what people want? Is the information addressing to the specific needs in these local communities? So here we are seeing libraries who then now come in to address the information gaps, the data gaps that are there by curating the relevant information and put it in a local repository in these digital centers. For example maybe the farming community where we have a digital center but when they go on the internet they might want really to find information that is specific to their local environment. So we are seeing librarians now work with local communities to curate this information and make the data that is fit for that particular community available. Then moving on there are issues of trust and safety when we look at digital platforms. Here we are saying librarians and libraries can work with the digital centers to build the capacity of communities when it comes to media and information literacy which is a huge skill that everyone must have. You can have all these technologies, you can have all these millions of information that we are surrounded with but do people have the necessary skills to really navigate the information landscape or there’s too much information and people do not have the necessary skills to really assess all the information that is presented there because from my experience working in libraries in different spaces I have noticed that not everyone has has the skill to critically analyse the information that is presented to them. Some people make some bad decisions because they fail to really analyse the information that is presented to them. So here we are saying libraries, they will feed in the inclusion matrix by building the capacities of communities with the necessary skills to navigate the information environment. So instead of having libraries and information centres running parallel, the proposal we have here is to work, to have a partnership with the digital centres where we provide the books that are needed for basic curriculum from primary and secondary education and also resources to support other community development initiatives and then access to the internet. So instead of setting up a library and a digital centre maybe within a one kilometre distance, it would be good to have all the services in one space, having a one stop shop because what we are learning here is libraries and post offices, they are providing services that are complementary in nature. So here I will briefly share an experience about an organisation that I am involved in, the Zimbabwe Information and Technology Empowerment Centre. So our work is to promote digital equity through access to information and capacity building initiatives. So here we work with those communities that are not in formalised institutions. For example, out-of-school women, out-of-school youth, and so on, giving them the necessary skills.

Kevin Hernández: Nancy, thank you very much. I think we’re running out of time and we need to have reflections from our two remaining speakers. So I’m sorry to cut you off.

Nancy Kwangwa: It’s fine, thank you.

Kevin Hernández: But thank you so much for that insightful presentation. And we’re really happy to see libraries and posts collaborating in Zimbabwe through the digital sensors. Next, I wanna hand the mic over to Irene Kaggwa for some reflections. As was mentioned, Irene is the program manager for Giga. But what many people don’t know is that she actually worked for the postal and telecommunications regulator in Uganda for many, many years where she oversaw projects that were trying to connect post offices and was also exposed to many projects that were trying to connect libraries. So from your experience, what do you think is the value of connecting posts and libraries to promote digital inclusion? And what do you think projects aiming to connect post offices and libraries can learn from Giga?

Irene Kaggwa: Good afternoon, colleagues, brothers and sisters. Very excited to be here. I feel like I’m speaking to the converted when I look around. And of course, I recognize the whole delegation from Uganda Communications Commission. So my former bosses. Yes, so what have I been asked in terms of the reflections? So post offices, when we look at the statistics, 2.6 billion people still don’t have internet access compared to 5.5 billion who are connected. Why? They say that no infrastructure, so no coverage. Affordability, they don’t have devices. It’s not obvious to go online and know, unlike the traditional phones where you tell someone, dial the number and press green. When you finish, press red to end. In the case of the internet, it’s not as obvious. So it’s intimidating for people to get online. Now, when we look at all those statistics and the reality, not everybody can afford. access remains paramount. And when we look at post offices and libraries, this is infrastructure that’s already available. In most cases governments try to intervene in terms of putting facilities, but the question is always sustainability. So when you look at the post offices and libraries, they offer an opportunity to address that sustainability of public access. The post offices, they already exist. As Dr. Gift shared, this is infrastructure that’s currently underutilized. So leveraging this, I shared with my brothers from UPU, how in Uganda we were very successful leveraging the public libraries. And at first, I personally didn’t think libraries as more of postal because it was more obvious. I am not a fan of going to read in quiet places, so I was thinking libraries. But the libraries ended up being such an opportunity for sustainability. The libraries themselves opened up very willingly to the concept. And all we then had to do as Uganda Communications Commission was provide the computers. And they would go ahead to provide the space, address the utilities, so you then take out all the challenges. And then it becomes easier to also advertise it into the community. Because in many cases, the libraries have already been in existence. within the communities and are trusted facilities, they address security, all the typical issues we are plagued with in trying to address public access points. Electricity, the doctor talked about solar. All these then become easier to address when you, because what you’re looking for is how can I do so sustainably without stretching and coming back to complain to the financial colleagues in the treasury, I need money. And again, as we had, when it comes to public access points, we’re talking about digitalization, but you won’t actually, even when you go online and buy a parcel, one of the economies where I found a very interesting model was as very similar to what is planned in Zimbabwe, in Malaysia, where these community access points were being used also to leverage and provide e-commerce for the local people. So the local people were able to then sell, already the post office has a storage facility at a whole system for monitoring and tracking, but all these are underutilized. So how do you integrate them into the local economy and make sure that they are serving the people, improving the social development of the people, while at the same time addressing the challenge that all of us are pledged with of how do you keep this infrastructure running in a time when we have declining mail, but increasing parcels. And in the case of the libraries, then it becomes easier to introduce the services that we’ve had about like literacy, digital scaling, because you then already have staff. When it comes to all these public access points, if an organization has to set up services closer to the people, they have to go into renting, paying utilities, paying the staff, but when you then leverage existing infrastructure like the post office, as they’ve told you, find a postmaster sit at the whole day in some areas and not having that much traffic in terms of mail. But when you have then these other services, they are able to then complement and you also reduce the cost of paying that staff because then it’s cost shared among all the organizations that would be leveraging it. Going back to GIGA, and so as GIGA, as was mentioned earlier, GIGA is an initiative that was set up by ITU together with UNICEF. So two organizations, one is a human rights organization and the other is all about ensuring no one is left behind. And what did we say when we had the beautiful picture that Dr. Gift shared of those children? So we have schools where children are still either sharing classes, this class finishes, another goes in, or others where they’ve been studying under trees. And yet the rest of the world, when you want to punish your child, you say, I’m taking your phone away. Those are the punishments. So when we talk about digital divide, that is what we’re looking at. When we talk about children with disabilities, many times we look at those children and want to hide them in some cultures because we think they can’t participate in society. But when you look at ICT. All these children also enjoy the benefits that others are enjoying in terms of digital transformation of education. And what we do as GIGA is four key pillars. Firstly, you need to know where the school is located. As I always joke, if I’m directing you to my home, I’m going to tell you, take that road, you see that building, yes, there’s a road after, turn there, move along, turn, that is how I’ll direct you, because there’s no national addressing system. So we actually work with the countries to make sure there’s geostationary data about the schools, then having done that, we come in to establish what’s the connectivity gap with existing infrastructure, so that you plan and look, can I address the needs using existing infrastructure or do I need to set up new infrastructure, then come in to look at innovative financing, how do I leverage available resources, and finally, how do we then practice good procurement habits, including demand aggregation to be able to address issues like affordability. And of course, among all that, we don’t throw this at the governments, we want to build their capacity, because as I shared, we talk about schools, but if you remove the schools from that equation and put a post office, we believe that same methodology can work. If you remove that and put a library, again, that methodology works. So we see this as a way to support countries in their digital transformation journey. Thank you very much.

Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer: Thank you very much, Irene, for all those insights, and I would also like to finalize the session, I would also like to ask one last question to our last speaker, Mr. Guillerme Canela, and I would also like to know if you could also give us a perspective from perhaps how do you see other actors, other organizations, like UNESCO in this case, collaborating with libraries and post offices to leverage also the expertise of the network, and thank you.

Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi: Sure, thank you. I see that the next session is already waiting to enter into the room, so I’ll be less than Eurovision, that you have three minutes, so if they can, we can do less than that. Someone told me once that Andrew Carnegie, and I have never been able to find that precise quote, maybe it was a human legend, but it’s a very good one, said there are three major gate in our societies, teachers, journalists, and librarians. So our job here is to make sure that those three gatekeepers are not closing the gates, but opening the gates. We have a collective problem to include everyone meaningful, and there is no other solution for a collective problem rather than a collective solution. So we need libraries, we need post offices, and we need the pharmacies. We need everyone that can actually engage people and connect them in a meaningful way, which means not only having access to the grid, is also having access to the knowledge, to the capacity building, more or less what was in the slide of one of the previous speakers. So what UNESCO is standing for is for that. When we talk about information for all, needs to be really for all. It needs to be in a way that we are not building poor policies for the poor people. Poor people also deserves high quality policies, which means all the different elements that will lead us to a knowledge society. And therefore, professionals like librarians, or teachers, or journalists, I guess Andrew has not mentioned post men and post women, but he could, I don’t know, are essential for this process. So UNESCO is here to assist all our member states. A pleasure to have participated. Thanks.

Kevin Hernández: I just want to quickly mention something that was on Dr. Machengete’s slide, which he didn’t say, but I think it’s really important in this session. There was something there about using the universal service fund. And I think that’s extremely important to highlight because many times posts and libraries might not even qualify for these universal service funds. And it seems like this was a policy instrument that was leveraged pretty well in Zimbabwe.

Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer: Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed our presentation and conversation. And feel free if you ask any questions. Unfortunately, we don’t have any time because we’re running out of time, but feel free to approach us and we will exchange with you. Thank you.

Agreement points

Libraries and post offices serve as critical anchor institutions for digital inclusion

Speakers

– Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer
– Kevin Hernández
– Gift Kallisto Machengete
– Irene Kaggwa

Arguments

Libraries serve as anchor community institutions connecting people to services, knowledge, and opportunities globally

The Global Postal Network is the most geographically extensive retail service network with over 650,000 post offices worldwide, mostly in rural areas

Both networks are underutilized existing infrastructure that can be leveraged for digital transformation rather than building from scratch

Libraries and post offices enjoy community trust and have staff already in place to support digital services

Summary

All speakers agreed that libraries and post offices represent existing, trusted community infrastructure with extensive reach that can be leveraged for digital inclusion rather than building new systems from scratch

Topics

Infrastructure | Development | Sociocultural

Digital exclusion affects multiple dimensions requiring comprehensive solutions

Speakers

– Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer
– Gift Kallisto Machengete
– Nancy Kwangwa
– Irene Kaggwa

Arguments

63% of library users surveyed indicated the library is their only point of access to information via the internet

Zimbabwe faces serious digital divides between urban/rural areas, men/women, boys/girls, and able-bodied/disabled populations

Digital inclusion requires addressing not just device access but also skills, affordability, relevant content, and information literacy

2.6 billion people still lack internet access due to infrastructure gaps, affordability issues, and lack of digital skills

Summary

Speakers unanimously recognized that digital exclusion is a multifaceted problem affecting various demographic groups and requiring solutions that address access, skills, affordability, and relevant content

Topics

Development | Human rights | Sociocultural

Integration and collaboration create more effective service delivery

Speakers

– Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer
– Nancy Kwangwa
– Irene Kaggwa
– Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi

Arguments

Libraries offer diverse digital services including entrepreneurship training, e-government access, and preservation of indigenous knowledge

Integration of library services with digital centers creates one-stop shops rather than parallel services

Leveraging existing infrastructure like post offices and libraries addresses sustainability challenges of public access points

Collective problems require collective solutions involving libraries, post offices, and other community institutions

Summary

All speakers emphasized that integrated service delivery through collaboration between institutions creates more efficient, sustainable, and comprehensive solutions than parallel or isolated efforts

Topics

Development | Infrastructure | Economic

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers highlighted the transformation of postal services from traditional mail delivery to comprehensive digital service providers, with concrete evidence of e-commerce, financial services, and government service delivery

Speakers

– Kevin Hernández
– Gift Kallisto Machengete

Arguments

Posts in 71% of countries offer e-commerce services, 58% provide digital financial services, and 70% contribute to bridging digital divides

Zimbabwe renovated 143 post offices into digital centers providing e-commerce, e-government services, telemedicine, and pension access

Topics

Economic | Development | Infrastructure

Both speakers emphasized that modern libraries have evolved beyond traditional roles to provide comprehensive digital services and capacity building, particularly focusing on skills development and information literacy

Speakers

– Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer
– Nancy Kwangwa

Arguments

Libraries offer diverse digital services including entrepreneurship training, e-government access, and preservation of indigenous knowledge

Digital inclusion requires addressing not just device access but also skills, affordability, relevant content, and information literacy

Topics

Development | Sociocultural | Human rights

Both speakers emphasized the economic and practical advantages of utilizing existing infrastructure rather than creating new facilities, highlighting sustainability and cost-effectiveness

Speakers

– Irene Kaggwa
– Gift Kallisto Machengete

Arguments

Leveraging existing infrastructure like post offices and libraries addresses sustainability challenges of public access points

Both networks are underutilized existing infrastructure that can be leveraged for digital transformation rather than building from scratch

Topics

Infrastructure | Development | Economic

Unexpected consensus

Universal service funds as policy instruments for digital inclusion

Speakers

– Kevin Hernández
– Gift Kallisto Machengete

Arguments

Universal service funds can be policy instruments to support digital inclusion initiatives in posts and libraries

Zimbabwe renovated 143 post offices into digital centers providing e-commerce, e-government services, telemedicine, and pension access

Explanation

The consensus on leveraging universal service funds was unexpected as it represents a specific policy mechanism that emerged from practical implementation experience in Zimbabwe, suggesting a replicable model for other countries

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Infrastructure

Telemedicine and healthcare delivery through community institutions

Speakers

– Gift Kallisto Machengete
– Nancy Kwangwa

Arguments

Zimbabwe renovated 143 post offices into digital centers providing e-commerce, e-government services, telemedicine, and pension access

Digital inclusion requires addressing not just device access but also skills, affordability, relevant content, and information literacy

Explanation

The emergence of telemedicine as a service delivered through post offices was unexpected, showing how digital inclusion initiatives can extend into healthcare delivery, expanding the scope of community institutions beyond traditional information and communication services

Topics

Development | Infrastructure | Human rights

Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers demonstrated remarkable consensus across multiple dimensions: the value of existing library and postal infrastructure for digital inclusion, the multifaceted nature of digital exclusion, the importance of integrated service delivery, and the need for collaborative approaches. All speakers recognized these institutions as trusted community anchors with existing staff and infrastructure that can be leveraged rather than replaced.

Consensus level

Very high level of consensus with strong alignment on fundamental principles and practical approaches. This consensus suggests significant potential for scaling successful models like Zimbabwe’s digital centers globally, and indicates that the collaboration between IFLA, UPU, and other international organizations has strong foundational agreement for joint initiatives in digital inclusion.

Different viewpoints

Unexpected differences

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion showed remarkable consensus among all speakers about the value of libraries and post offices as digital inclusion infrastructure, with no significant disagreements identified

Disagreement level

Very low disagreement level. All speakers were aligned on core principles and complemented each other’s perspectives rather than contradicting them. This high level of consensus suggests strong foundational agreement on the approach to digital inclusion through existing community institutions, which bodes well for collaborative implementation but may indicate need for more diverse perspectives to identify potential challenges or alternative approaches.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers highlighted the transformation of postal services from traditional mail delivery to comprehensive digital service providers, with concrete evidence of e-commerce, financial services, and government service delivery

Speakers

– Kevin Hernández
– Gift Kallisto Machengete

Arguments

Posts in 71% of countries offer e-commerce services, 58% provide digital financial services, and 70% contribute to bridging digital divides

Zimbabwe renovated 143 post offices into digital centers providing e-commerce, e-government services, telemedicine, and pension access

Topics

Economic | Development | Infrastructure

Both speakers emphasized that modern libraries have evolved beyond traditional roles to provide comprehensive digital services and capacity building, particularly focusing on skills development and information literacy

Speakers

– Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer
– Nancy Kwangwa

Arguments

Libraries offer diverse digital services including entrepreneurship training, e-government access, and preservation of indigenous knowledge

Digital inclusion requires addressing not just device access but also skills, affordability, relevant content, and information literacy

Topics

Development | Sociocultural | Human rights

Both speakers emphasized the economic and practical advantages of utilizing existing infrastructure rather than creating new facilities, highlighting sustainability and cost-effectiveness

Speakers

– Irene Kaggwa
– Gift Kallisto Machengete

Arguments

Leveraging existing infrastructure like post offices and libraries addresses sustainability challenges of public access points

Both networks are underutilized existing infrastructure that can be leveraged for digital transformation rather than building from scratch

Topics

Infrastructure | Development | Economic

Key takeaways

Libraries and post offices represent underutilized existing infrastructure that can be leveraged for digital inclusion rather than building new systems from scratch

Both networks serve as trusted anchor community institutions with global reach, particularly in rural and underserved areas where digital divides are most pronounced

Digital inclusion requires a holistic approach addressing not just connectivity but also digital skills, affordability, relevant local content, and information literacy

Successful implementation models like Zimbabwe’s digital centers demonstrate how post offices can be transformed into multi-service hubs providing e-commerce, e-government, telemedicine, and financial services

Integration and collaboration between libraries and post offices creates more sustainable one-stop shops for digital services rather than parallel competing services

Collective problems require collective solutions involving multiple stakeholders and existing community institutions

Policy instruments like universal service funds can be leveraged to support digital inclusion initiatives in both libraries and post offices

Resolutions and action items

IFLA will release a report on library digital connectivity data in early September 2024

Continued collaboration between IFLA and UPU to amplify and improve existing networks rather than building from scratch

Participants encouraged to approach speakers for further exchanges and questions after the session

Implied commitment to continue partnerships with UNESCO, ITU, and other stakeholders to strengthen collaborative capacity

Unresolved issues

How to address the significant gap in library internet connectivity (relatively low numbers compared to total libraries globally)

Specific mechanisms for scaling successful models like Zimbabwe’s digital centers to other countries and contexts

How to ensure posts and libraries qualify for universal service funds in different regulatory environments

Detailed implementation strategies for integrating library services with post office digital centers

How to address infrastructure challenges including electricity supply issues and high connectivity costs in rural areas

Specific training and capacity building programs needed for staff in both networks to support expanded digital services

Suggested compromises

Starting with pilot projects in select countries/regions rather than attempting global implementation immediately (as demonstrated by IFLA’s 8-country digital survey pilot)

Using containerized digital centers where post offices don’t exist rather than requiring full infrastructure development

Leveraging low earth orbit satellites to address connectivity challenges in remote areas where traditional infrastructure is too expensive

Cost-sharing arrangements where post office staff manage digital centers to reduce operational expenses

Multi-channel service delivery approaches that accommodate different user comfort levels and capabilities with digital services

63% of library users surveyed said the library is their only point of access to information via the internet, and about 25% said no, but their only other access is via mobile data.

Speaker

Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer

Reason

This statistic powerfully challenges the assumption that widespread mobile phone adoption has solved digital access issues. It reveals that even when people have mobile devices, they still rely heavily on public institutions for meaningful internet access, highlighting the critical role of anchor institutions.

Impact

This data point reframed the entire discussion by providing concrete evidence for why libraries and post offices remain essential despite technological advances. It shifted the conversation from theoretical benefits to empirical necessity, giving weight to all subsequent arguments about the importance of these networks.

Sometimes libraries are able to incur the costs of connectivity and are prepared to do it, but they see there is a really big digital literacy gap in their community that they still have to fill in order for them to be able to enjoy.

Speaker

Maria Fernanda De Brasdefer

Reason

This insight reveals that connectivity alone is insufficient – it’s not just about infrastructure but about human capacity. This challenges the typical focus on technical solutions and highlights the human element in digital inclusion.

Impact

This comment deepened the discussion by introducing the complexity of digital inclusion beyond mere access. It set up the framework for later speakers to discuss training, capacity building, and the human touch that both libraries and post offices provide.

We discovered that we had a wide network of post offices across the country. And these post offices were really underutilized, because now a lot of people are not writing letters… But really, nothing leading to economic development.

Speaker

Gift Kallisto Machengete

Reason

This comment is insightful because it reframes what could be seen as obsolete infrastructure as untapped potential. It demonstrates strategic thinking about repurposing existing assets rather than building from scratch.

Impact

This shifted the conversation from theoretical collaboration to practical implementation. It provided a concrete model that other participants could reference and build upon, particularly influencing how subsequent speakers discussed leveraging existing infrastructure.

Posts are contributing to multi-channel service delivery, which is now widely considered a best practice in ensuring inclusivity… posts are providing essential digital services with a human touch.

Speaker

Kevin Hernández

Reason

This comment introduces the sophisticated concept of ‘multi-channel service delivery’ and emphasizes the ‘human touch’ – challenging the notion that digital transformation means replacing human interaction. It positions these institutions as complementary to, not competitive with, digital services.

Impact

This comment elevated the discussion by introducing service delivery theory and best practices. It helped frame the work of libraries and post offices as professionally sophisticated rather than just basic access points, influencing how other speakers positioned their contributions.

When you look at digital inclusion it’s not necessarily about the gadgets… but when it comes to the skills now of using those gadgets… when it comes to the skills of really making use of these gadgets it’s another issue which is an exclusion.

Speaker

Nancy Kwangwa

Reason

This comment deconstructs the common assumption that device ownership equals digital inclusion. It introduces a more nuanced understanding of digital exclusion that goes beyond access to include skills, relevant content, and critical thinking abilities.

Impact

This comment significantly deepened the analytical framework of the discussion by breaking down digital inclusion into multiple components (skills, affordability, relevant information, trust and safety). It influenced subsequent speakers to think more holistically about digital inclusion challenges.

Andrew Carnegie said there are three major gatekeepers in our societies: teachers, journalists, and librarians. So our job here is to make sure that those three gatekeepers are not closing the gates, but opening the gates.

Speaker

Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi

Reason

This metaphor powerfully reframes the role of information professionals from passive service providers to active agents of social inclusion. It elevates the discussion to consider the broader social responsibility of these institutions.

Impact

Though brief due to time constraints, this comment provided a philosophical capstone to the discussion, connecting the practical work being described to broader principles of social justice and democratic access to information.

Overall assessment

These key comments collectively transformed what could have been a simple presentation of two parallel networks into a sophisticated discussion about strategic collaboration for digital inclusion. The empirical data early in the discussion established the necessity and urgency of the work, while the practical examples from Zimbabwe demonstrated feasibility. The theoretical frameworks introduced by multiple speakers elevated the conversation beyond basic service provision to encompass professional best practices, multi-dimensional inclusion challenges, and social justice principles. The comments built upon each other to create a compelling case for viewing libraries and post offices not as outdated institutions, but as essential infrastructure for equitable digital transformation. The discussion evolved from describing what these institutions do to articulating why they are uniquely positioned to address complex digital inclusion challenges that purely technological solutions cannot solve.

How can libraries and post offices better qualify for and access universal service funds for digital inclusion projects?

Speaker

Kevin Hernández

Explanation

Kevin highlighted that many times posts and libraries might not even qualify for universal service funds, suggesting this is a policy barrier that needs to be addressed for better leveraging of these networks

What is the methodology that GIGA uses for schools that could be applied to post offices and libraries?

Speaker

Irene Kaggwa

Explanation

Irene mentioned that GIGA’s four-pillar methodology for connecting schools could work for post offices and libraries, but the specific details of how to adapt this methodology were not fully explored

How can low earth orbit satellites be effectively leveraged to expand digital center coverage in remote areas?

Speaker

Gift Kallisto Machengete

Explanation

Gift mentioned that low earth orbit satellites could help cover more areas and make their project move faster, but the specific implementation strategy and challenges were not detailed

What are the specific skills and training programs needed to address the digital literacy gap in communities served by libraries and post offices?

Speaker

Nancy Kwangwa

Explanation

Nancy emphasized that having gadgets is not enough – people need skills to use them effectively, and she highlighted the need for media and information literacy training, but specific curriculum and training approaches were not detailed

How can local content and information repositories be effectively curated and maintained in digital centers to serve specific community needs?

Speaker

Nancy Kwangwa

Explanation

Nancy mentioned the importance of having locally relevant information in digital centers, particularly for farming communities, but the process of creating and maintaining these local repositories was not fully explored

What are the most effective models for integrating e-commerce capabilities into post office and library networks to support local economies?

Speaker

Irene Kaggwa and Gift Kallisto Machengete

Explanation

Both speakers mentioned e-commerce opportunities, with Irene referencing a Malaysian model and Gift discussing agricultural product sales, but the specific implementation strategies and success factors were not detailed

How can the sustainability of public access points be ensured through cost-sharing models between different organizations?

Speaker

Irene Kaggwa

Explanation

Irene mentioned that costs can be shared among organizations leveraging the same infrastructure, but the specific mechanisms and agreements for such cost-sharing arrangements were not explored

What are the specific policy changes needed to ensure libraries and post offices can effectively serve as digital inclusion intermediaries?

Speaker

Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi

Explanation

Guilherme emphasized the need for high-quality policies for all people and collective solutions, but the specific policy recommendations and implementation strategies were not detailed due to time constraints