Keyboards for all…at any price? Towards responsible digital solidarity

In parallel to illegal exports of e-waste contributing to the ‘digital dumping’, there are many organizations willing to develop access to ICT in developing countries. Those organizations are called “digital solidarity” actors and send second-hand computers to developing countries in order to reduce the digital gap. Thus, in Africa, computers are usually intended for second life, in schools, hospitals, cybercafés but most of these materials are often used and scraped. According to UNEP, 25% to 75% of the computers unloaded every month in Lagos ports (Nigeria) are unusable and often land in open dump sites.

In Senegal, it unfortunetaly follows this trend and according to the Observatoire sur les Systèmes d’Information, les Réseaux et les Inforoutes au Sénégal (OSIRIS) :

• 1250 tons of electronic and electric materials landed in Senegal in 2000 and more than 5800 tons in 2007.
• The estimates show an increasing global trend of incoming computers televisions mobile phones on the order of 25 %.
• The estimates for 2015 show that more than 32 000 tons of computers, mobile phones and televisions will land in Senegal (OSIRIS, january 2009).

The international development NGO Enda Tiers-Monde (Environment, Development, Action) has implemented projects on the digital dump / gap in Senegal especially on re-use of used computers and e-waste management for years.

In light of those alarming observations, Enda Europe in partnership with the international development NGO Enda Tiers Monde in Senegal with the financial support of the European Commission launched in March 2008 the project “Keyboards for all…at any price? Towards responsible digital solidarity” focusing on the international digital solidarity donations and the absence of proper management of end-of-life computers in Senegal.

The project aims to address two challenges: to contribute to the reduction of the digital gap in developing countries (DC) which is part of Goal 8 of the Millennium Development Goals and to avoid the degradation of the environment in DCs caused by the accumulation of non-treated and end-of-life Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) equipment known as e-waste. The general unavailability of safe e-waste treatment facilities in low-and middle-income countries constitutes a real danger.

First, the project team carried out a study on donations of ICT equipment in France, the Netherlands and Senegal aiming at documenting the landscape in which digital solidarity organizations operate.

Second, the project team is carrying out a sensitizing campaign targeting these organizations but also the general public (the European local governments, firms, NGOs facilitating 2nd hand ICT export to DC, the European ICT firms and the European consumers of ICT material) based on several sensitization tools like a comparative study on the practices of digital solidarity actors, round tables between firms, local governments and NGOs on the digital gap/digital dump, a guidance manual on responsible digital solidarity, an exhibition, a press kit, a comic book, radio sessions, a leaflet on how to use note of EEE…

• Study on the practices of digital solidarity actors in Europe and Senegal, the 1st quarterly newsletter “Towards a responsible digital solidarity” more »

• Round tables in France and Senegal in 2010
• Travelling exhibition in France and Belgium in 2010 and 2011
• Launching of the comic book in France and Belgium.

• Fotos

• www.enda-europe.org
• www.enda.sn