My little window on the global village
By Regis Nhumba
It was like a dream come true in 2014 when l bought a brand new radio. This was my first gadget ever since l was born. I was 15 years old at that time. That radio became my window on the global village.
I felt connected to the whole world through the stories and news shared through that radio. When l switched on the radio, it was tuned to Power FM. I was still too young and could not read the instructions on how to change channels, so I just left my radio tuned to that channel.
I spent a couple of weeks indoors paying close attention to each and every voice that came out from the little box. It felt good having a little nice portable radio that could keep me updated on what was happening in the world and most of all in my country Zimbabwe.
As l mentioned above it was really hard for me to operate it due to the fact that l could not understand the instructions on the manual. There were several buttons on the radio and I did not know their functions. This stressed me a bit because I knew there were several other channels that could be more exciting. I also did not like to ask neighbours because that would kill my pride. I was not sure how they would react.
After a few days curiosity got the better of me and I started to press some buttons, taking note of the changes that were taking place. After a few trials, I began to understand the functions of several buttons. This was great success on my part.
My biggest fear was that l would damage the radio while trying to operate it. Communication technologies are fragile and there is always a big risk of damaging the gadget. It is not an easy thing operating something for the first time. It makes one to tremble, shiver or panic. I set the volume to the level where I could only hear the sound. In this case l think l was trying to follow all the myths l had heard from people, that if the volume is increased, the radio can burst.
If l could turn back the hands of time l would go and ask the shop where l bought the radio to get assistance on how to operate the radio. This is because it is better to ask than to experiment. This has been a big lesson for me. Even when I started to acquire other machines such as the mobile phone, I always ask how it works before I operate.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are critical especially for women and girls. However, the majority fail to effectively make use of the technologies because they don’t understand the language on the manuals.
Resources should be made available so that women and girls are ICT literate. Ownership of technologies does not equate to effective use. I am happy that over time I have managed to learn how to use my little radio. It is my window into the global village.
The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
The United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres said “Digital technologies sustain life, work, health and learning for billions of people. Yet 3.7 billion people — nearly half the world’s population — remain unconnected to the Internet; and of these, the majority are women.”
CCCD strengthens women and girls’ capacity in the use of digital technologies so that they are able to produce and consume relevant information and knowledge, with the view of supporting their active participation in diverse social and policy processes, including decision-making on issues that affect their lives at different levels, particularly by amplifying their voices and providing platforms for collaborative content production and sharing.
