Introduction: Internet as a tool for communication, information and participation among tertiary students in Namibia

Introduction

The young generation harbours the hope, possibilities and limitations of our future societies. What we endow in the young today will have great consequences for the state of society tomorrow. This is true for all kinds of social structures, from the context of the small nuclear family to large political systems, such as representative democracy, institutionalised apartheid or of economic systems like neo-liberalism, globalised market economy or socialism.

Though no technology is inherently good or bad, it is probable that the use of any technology will reflect the ideology of the dominant power structures permeating society.

Manuel Castells (1996) suggests that the multimedia world will be constituted by two distinct groups, "the interacting and the interacted", those who can choose from the flow of information and those who are offered prefabricated choices. A few people act, the rest react. [1]

This dualistic world extends to the political sphere. A small elite understands how to use globalisation and the new technology to enhance their own democratic participation and influence in society, while the uneducated, excluded masses remain marginalised. In the periphery of the information technology revolution one finds, in the words of Castells, "switched off areas", all over the world; in the centres of large American cities, in large parts of Africa and Asia - "the black holes of informational capitalism". [2]

But if this is the dark picture of globalisation in the context of the use of Internet technology, what is the bright version?

Internet is a new tool for information, communication and participation. A tool which, like no other medium, can be utilised to receive and publish information by anyone, at any time and for any purpose. This endemic quality of Internet makes it possible for the users to bypass all traditional and official channels for information and communication. This quality can build a ground for a decentralised communication system, which in turn, is a prerequisite for participatory democracy, meaning, in Jan Servaes definition, not merely government of the people but more fundamentally "by the people", at all levels of society.[3] Real participation in the democratic process on the part of the citizens can be enhanced, which is particularly relevant in contexts where freedom of information and expression is limited and tolerance to opposition is low.

Conventional media, like radio, TV and newspapers, can easily be controlled by a dominant agent and is, in many developing countries, used as an instrument of state propaganda. The new information technology does, on the other hand, dramatically increase the possibilities of dissemination of information and horizontal networking globally. Internet communication bypasses the control of states and the dominant media, thus making autonomous communication possible on a global scale. Bearing in mind the weak third world coverage and interest of the largest traditional media corporations, Internet communication may well be the only channel for global, autonomous communication. For instance, of the 50 largest media corporations in the world, none have their headquarters on the African continent. Three have their headquarters located in Latin America and six in Asia, all placed in Tokyo![4]

Another important aspect of Internet communication is the political mobilisation around non-political causes in issue-oriented groups, such as for instance Attac and Amnesty International, who know how to make use of the Internet for horizontal communication.[5] These groups are non-party political but in all other aspects, have a political agenda. According to Castells (1997) and I agree, these groups constitute the most mobilising and powerful actors in the age of globalisation and informational politics.[6] They raise hope, awareness and initiative in people who feel powerless, disillusioned and alienated by the cynicism and brutality of states, market actors and professional politicians.

What characterises "the informational technological revolution", is, according to Manuel Castells, "not the centrality of knowledge and information, but the application of such knowledge and information to knowledge and information processing and communication devices, in a cumulative feedback loop between innovation and the uses of innovation...New information technologies are not simply tools to be applied, but processes to be developed. Users and doers become the same. Thus users can take control of technology, as in the case of Internet. For the first time in history, the human mind is a direct productive force, not just a decisive element of the production system".[7]

The possibilities of restricting the use of the Internet are very limited.[8] The inventiveness of the users always seems to be some steps ahead of the official controlling institutions.

The young generation can become important agents in the process of social change, empowered by Internet as a tool for communication, information and participation in the democratic process of independent Namibia. A major challenge lies in providing the essential infrastructure and conditions for students to be trained in the use and potential of the new medium.

In Namibia, there are interesting and promising developments in the area of local and international Internet projects, concerning both technological infrastructure and training. These initiatives are slowly but surely paving the ground for the possibility for Namibia to become a "switched on area" and part of the informational society. And perhaps more importantly, these initiatives are increasing the possibilities for enhanced participation by the people in the development of a democratic society. The Internet is a new tool for information and communication. The potential of tool is immense. The young generation, globally, will prove this, given the chance.

The field study took place during July and August 2001 as a part of the Master level course of Communication for Development at Malmö University in Sweden. In addition to a general interest in the conditions of international development and the inter-relationship and dependency between the industrialised and the so called developing world, I have been interested in the potential of Internet as a tool for enhanced communication, networking and participation in cultural, political and democratic processes, for some time. My idea was that it would be particularly fascinating to study Internet in the context of the developing world, where conditions for Internet access differ from the industrialised world. As a result of this focus, I have studied various aspects of Internet communication and globalisation during the entire course of Communication for Development. As I mention in the introduction, I consider the young to have a particularly crucial role in development of society and particularly in the development of Internet communication, not to belittle the responsibility of society as a whole to create favourable conditions for real participation in a democratic process.

When the possibility of going to Namibia to study Internet access in the context of the realisation of a new communication strategy for Southern African Students' Union[9] arrived, it seemed like a natural continuation of my studies. My course colleague Gitte Jakobsen introduced me theoretically to SASU, Ibis and the communication strategy project. We then decided to conduct two separate studies where Gitte concentrated on the overall communication strategy for SASU and I conducted a study on the conditions for Internet use among tertiary students in Namibia.

1.1 Organisation of this paper

This paper starts with a brief summary of the objectives of this field study.

Part three contains the background and context of the main theme of this paper.

The theoretical framework for Internet communication in development theory and communication for development is presented in part four.

In part five I discuss the methods used for my fieldwork.

Findings and analysis follow in part six and concluding remarks in part seven with a concluding discussion on Internet as a tool for participation in the democratic process based on the findings in this study.

In the appendix one can find questionnaires and questions I have used in my research and a brief history of Namibia for more context.

2 Ibid, p 34 and Castells, Manuel (1998), End of Millenium, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, p 162

3 Servaes, Jan (1999) Communication for Development; one world, multiple cultures. Cresskill: Hampton Press, Inc, pp 78-79, 160-161

4 Carlsson, Ulla (1998), Frågan om en ny internationell informationsordning. Göteborg: JMG

5 Association pour une Taxation des Transactions financières pour l'Aide aux Citoyens, Attac, was founded on June 3rd, 1998. The initiative came from an editorial article written by Ignacio Ramonet: "Disarm the markets", published in Le Monde diplomatique in December 1997. The article ended with the following words: "Why not set up a new worldwide non-governmental organisation, Action for a Tobin Tax to Assist the Citizen (ATTAC)? With the trade unions and the many social, cultural and ecological organisations, it could exert formidable pressure on governments to introduce this tax at last, in the name of universal solidarity".

6 Informational politics in Castells definition; the transformation of politics, and of democratic processes in the network society and the consequences of new information technologies on the political debate and power-seeking strategies. Castells, Manuel (1997) 'The Crisis of Democracy'. In The Power of Identity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. p 310

7 Ibid, italics HB

8 Truedsson, Lars (1999) Internet och demokratin, Världspolitikens dagsfrågor 6, Utrikespolitiska Institutet.

9 See chapter 3 for information about SASU