ICT for Rural Community Development: Implementing the Communicative Ecology Framework in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Abstract

This research is part of a larger research project which explored how information and communication technologies (ICTs) may contribute to sustainable development of rural communities' development in Nigeria. One of the major reasons for the failure of ICT for development initiatives in Africa is their “fit” with the socio-cultural context in which they are implemented. The communicative ecology framework is used to explore ICT use and interaction in the wider context of people's lives. The research findings demonstrate the truism that technology does not have an independent determinative existence. Using an exploration of the complex and dynamic links, both real and potential, between ICTs and community development in Nigeria's diverse and troubled Niger Delta region, the paper makes a strong case for: the social embeddedness of ICTs in developing world contexts and the empowerment of local populations in defining the parameters of such a “fit.” The paper concludes with an integrated media framework on how ICTs may be successfully deployed to support the development of marginalized communities in Africa.