PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION & ICTs PHASE II REPORT Namibia
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Date
Authors
James, Tina
Louw, Milton
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Technology & Social Change Group, University of Washington Information School
Abstract
Namibia, classified as a lower‐middle income country with a GDP of 4.1%,1 is a sparselypopulated
country with a population of 2.1 million and a population density of about
2.5/km. Due to the largely arid and semi‐arid nature of the country, and the large distances
between towns, most of the population lives in the larger towns of Windhoek,
Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, and more than 65% in the smaller towns of northern
Namibia. The traditional definition of urban versus rural is therefore not appropriate in
this context as resources such as community resource centers, schools, clinics and libraries
are largely concentrated within these geographical town areas. More than 50% of all
schools (>720 schools), for example, can be found in the north of the country.
Description
This research focuses on the public access to information and communication landscapes in
24 countries, with specific focus on public libraries, to understand the information needs of
underserved communities, public access to information and communication venues, and
the role of ICT.
Through field research in 25 countries conducted by local research partners, and crosscountry
comparative analyses based on common research design elements (see list of
countries and research design overview in Appendix), the project aims to contribute to the
knowledge in the field of information and ICT for development. Of particular interest and
value are: the comparative look at key venues (libraries and other), and the mix of depth of
in‐country knowledge with breadth of global comparison to elicit success factors and
scenarios to understand how diverse populations can and do access and use ICT to improve
their lives. All outputs of this research will be broadly disseminated to interested
stakeholders and placed in the public domain.
Citation
James, T., and Louw, M. (2008). Public access to information & ICTs: Namibia. Public Access Landscape Study final report, presented by Icteum Consulting to University of Washington Center for Information & Society (CIS), Seattle.