HARNESSING RURAL PEOPLE’S ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL THROUGH NEW MEDIA FORM FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MAPRIK DISTRICT.

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International Conference

HARNESSING RURAL PEOPLE’S ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL

THROUGH NEW MEDIA FORM FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MAPRIK

DISTRICT.

Dora. Jimela. Kialo

PNGOUT

Abstract:

This paper presents the pilot research study of a privately funded innovative program case designed

to use mobile communication technology as new media form to meet the entrepreneurial educational

and other social developmental needs of disadvantaged young people especially women in different

communities in Maprik District before funds are sought. This study highlights the importance of

sustaining and harnessing community media, Indigenous Knowledge (IK), Post Secondary social

entrepreneurial education that use New Media forms to improve youth‘s literacy, poverty reduction,

employment and other social developmental activities. The methods and experiences of Nana Niangu

(Our Youth), a group made up of young men and women that harnesses the potential of ICT and

Indigenous Knowledge for entrepreneurial education for women, girls and youth which ripples down to

community development. The pilot study illustrates the best practices of social entrepreneurial

education with less financial and technological resources within the context of a Papua New Guinea

(PNG) rural society. The major challenges facing the young organization are highlighted and its

successes are also identified. The activities of the Nana organization reveal that, PNG and other

countries in the South Pacific (SPC) need effective multilateral initiatives to meet their educational

aspiration as well as the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). If properly and innovatively

applied by the public and civil society groups, community media through the use of mobile phones

have the potential to improve the quality and access to both pre-secondary and post-secondary

education in Maprik District in particular and the Pacific region in general. Undoubtedly so, it will also

create a great deal of employment and employment benefits including financial deepening in both

macro and micro economic terms. The shift in development thinking and practice towards people-

centred programmes and most significantly the participation of people and communities in decisions

concerning their own lives is creating new opportunities for social change and the empowerment of

both women and men in rural areas. Nevertheless, it is vital to stimulate their indigenous knowledge

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awareness, entrepreneurial skills development and utilization after completing secondary education

and through their involvement to enhance their capabilities further. Indigenous knowledge and forms

of communication is often dismissed as ―‗traditional and outdated‘ and hence irrelevant to modern

ecological assessment‖. (Mwende. J.2011, p.35-47). Therefore,

“Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself” John Dewy

―What struck me so forcefully was how small the planet had become

during my decades in prison.... [ICT] had shrunk the world, and had

in the process become a great weapon for eradicating ignorance and

promoting democracy.‖

(Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, 1994)

This pilot research case also critically examines the reasons for the virtual absence of research in this

area in PNG is proposed, and contrasts between users of conventional media and alternative media

audiences suggested. Finally, connections between social movements and a call for alternative media

uses are discussed, the interplay between political consciousness and IK/ICT integrated post

secondary educational model with alternative media use is examined, and social conditions in which

the latter are responded to be explored.

There are academic arguments advanced to how community media as media for social change and

commercial media can advance indigenous ecological knowledge to harness the potentials of rural

people in development in Maprik District of East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. The central

argument of this paper is that the government and the community media organizations and NGOs

have a responsibility to create innovative programs designed to use ICT to meet the educational

needs of disadvantaged young people and women in different communities can harness the potential

of rural people in development. Community media and commercial media will be used

interchangeably here and though the two systems are conceptually different, it would be fallacious to

regard forms of commercial media as superior to the other merely because they are premised on

different world view. Communicating developmental issues through community media therefore are

more effective in rural settings and can harness the potential of rural folks and their traditional

ecological knowledge in development through community media networks for social change. This

should be done by recognizing the need to support sustainable communication media activities and

relevant capacity building that promote traditional environmental knowledge awareness, conserve and

protect the environment, respect wildlife, flora, biodiversity, ecosystems and cultural diversity, and

improve the welfare and livelihoods of local communities by supporting their local economies and the

human and natural environment as a whole.

The current governmental or commercial media set ups through its networks can also call for

enhanced support for sustainable entrepreneurial activities and relevant capacity-building in PNG

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through community media in order to contribute to the achievement of sustainable rural development.

Through the community media development integrated ICT education processes, the government and

the people as a whole can therefore acknowledge the need to further mainstream sustainable

development at all levels, integrating economic, social and environmental aspects and recognizing

their inter-linkages, so as to achieve sustainable social and economic development in all its

dimensions.

Key Words: Secondary Education; Information and communication technology (mobile phones as New Media form); Youth Indigenous knowledge (IK) community media, commercial media, alternative media. Note that new media and ICT will be used interchangeably.

Training: Community development; Social Entrepreneurship

Introduction

―What struck me so forcefully was how small the planet had become during my decades in prison.... [ICT] had shrunk the world, and had in the process become a great weapon for eradicating ignorance and promoting democracy.‖

(Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, 1994)

Despite the unprecedented development and advancement of modern communication across the globe, there remain millions of disadvantaged men and women, in thousands of communities in Commonwealth countries, who have yet to access modern electronic and print media. Poverty, underdevelopment and illiteracy are the prime causes. Development goals will continue to remain unachieved for these communities if their members are unable to access development education through alternative communication tools. New Media form provides this alternative.

This paper presents a pilot case that represents a best practice example of how rural Abelam youth (both men and women) social entrepreneurs harness the potential of IK entrepreneurial education and New Media form or ICTs

1 (Information and Communication Technologies) to promote social

integration, social entrepreneurship, youth and community development in Maprik. The aim of this research is to examine the modus operandi of Nana Niantakwa

1, (Our Youth) a grass-roots youth

development organization in Maprik. The objective of the study is to encourage governments, international development and donor agencies and corporate entities to support social entrepreneurial ventures that target Youths after completing Grade 12, thus harnessing Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and particularly those that apply ICTs for education, informal revenue generation and community development in the hope of up-skilling rural social entrepreneurs in alleviating poverty in PNG and the Pacific region. The aggregate activities of such non-governmental and individual entrepreneurial ventures in various communities promise to expand access to quality education and employment for the youths, benefits including financial deepening in both macro and micro economic terms and eventually help to accomplish the millennium development goals in the region. In this age of ―youth bulge,‖ (World Bank, 2006) it is a necessity to invest in young people (men and women) who are critical actors in the development process. Failure to train and employ millions of unskilled and low-skilled youths who have completed secondary schooling in PNG will amount to higher social and economic cost to the society and the country as a whole in the future.

PNG and other developing regions of the world are full of innovative educational and entrepreneurial ventures that could exploit the potential of rural people‘s IK and harness ICTs mobile technologies as new media to empower rural people for development ends. However, the practical knowledge of what works and challenges facing these development ventures remain largely unavailable to policy makers, donors, educators and prospective social entrepreneurs, and where available fragmented and uncoordinated. This study attempts to bridge this gap by using Nana organization‘s modus operandi

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to provide a ―knowledge map‖ of what works and what is needed for a sustainable scale-up of existing models.

The research is driven by four major questions: How do communication education and media apply new Media Forms such as mobile technology to harness IK of rural people for further social entrepreneurial skills, education of young people for community development to increase and improve entrepreneurial activities in order to alleviate poverty in Maprik? What needs to be improved in the existing education context as well as social ventures? What lessons can be drawn from them for the benefit of informed policy and investment for governments and prospective partners? What becomes of youth in their post secondary education life? This pilot study uses the Nana (Male & Female group) to provide answer to these questions. The pilot study is based on the examples of positive youth development conceptual framework (EQUIP3/Youth Trust, 2005). The concept of Positive Youth Development promotes long-term investment in the development of the human capital of youths. It involves the engagement of the youth in the development of a long-term and sustainable plan, coupled with the support necessary for the implementation of such plan of action in the course of their lives. Positive youth development aims at preparing the youth to earn a livelihood

2, provide for their

family and contribute to the development of their community (EQUIP3/Youth Trust, 2005).

Literature Review

This research is an extension of my doctoral dissertation on educational leadership, collaborative partnerships and the transformation of rural SMEs and secondary, post secondary education in PNG. In a region where there is a low supply and high demand for secondary education and entrepreneurial skills development, and where the traditional system of curriculum leadership and delivery (i.e., direct instruction) and government efforts and resources have proved inadequate; technological intervention through public-private partnerships has become attractive and cost-effective. This research builds upon Haddad and Drexler‘s (2002) analysis of the imperative for technology in education. In their study, Haddad and Drexler examined the increasing importance of both old and new forms of technology in teaching and learning today. As they argue, the increasing application of ICTs in education has rendered the rigid distinction between face-to-face and distance education meaningless. As the World Bank (2005) notes, access to secondary education in Africa and similarly in PNG cannot be increased without major changes in service delivery. This study highlights the importance of sustaining social entrepreneurs that use ICTs to improve secondary education and women and youth development in post-independence PNG. Dhanarajan (2001) outlines many reasons why innovative approaches, including ICTs, are needed in youth and community development. However, two of these reasons are of particular importance. Namely:

A large part of the PNG rural population and the rest of the Pacific region still live in educationally deprived situations and unless community media organizations, educators and their policy-makers change their ways of delivering education, the situation will not improve, despite the rising levels of investment in the sector.

Unless these tools are used to take learning and training to marginalized rural communities, their deprivations cannot be ameliorated. According to (Dhanarajan, 2001, p.2). ―Those who work in the field of distance education can and must provide the direction and leadership needed to bring about such change‖. Furthermore, Haddad and Draxler (2002) note that the development of ICT networking and knowledge sharing (including IK

my emphasis) has caused a

paradigm shift in schooling. They contend that schooling systems designed for the industrial age should change to meet the educational needs of the present global knowledge environment (ibid) in the digital age. Thus, the digital information age calls for a conceptual shift and a new paradigm of secondary and Post secondary schooling as shown in table 1 in Appendices.

Source: Haddad & Draxler (2002).

Definition

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What is New Media? New Media is interactive forms of communication that use the Internet, including podcasts, RSS feeds, social networks, text messaging, blogs, wikis, virtual worlds and more.

A new media study is a fairly recent academic discipline that explores the intersections of computing, science, the humanities, and the visual and performing arts. Janet Murray, a prominent researcher in the discipline, describes this intersection as "a single new medium of representation, the digital medium, formed by the braided interplay of technical invention and cultural expression at the end of the 20th century...." Wikipedia

This research adapts the rationale behind the application of IK, new media (ICTs mobile phones) in education in Maprik like the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE, 2000) model. Like Haddad and Drexler (2002), the Nana project identifies the following innovative potential of mobile phone usage for both educational and entrepreneurial development as the rationale behind technology-enhanced post secondary social entrepreneurial education (also known as resource-based learning), SME development, community development and the involvement of civil society groups in the process in Maprik District to (1) expand access to educational provision including broader literacy programs to significantly larger numbers of learners; (2) to shift the patterns of expenditure to achieve economies of scale by amortizing identified costs (especially investment in cost design and development and in effective administrative system); (3) to break down the traditional teacher-centered system of education, and direct a significant proportion of educational expenditure to the design and improvement of high quality educational resources. In essence, these scholars (Haddad and Draxler) (2002) consider the application of new media in education, youth literacy, training and development as means to transcend structural and socio-economic barriers facing education, especially post secondary education, entrepreneurship and leadership in PNG.

Community development has been defined from different disciplinary perspectives. Hence, there is some ambiguity surrounding the concept. However, many scholars (Lyon, 1989; Ledwith, 2005) agree that community development involves tangible and abstract processes that bring desirable changes in the social and economic conditions of people living in a given geographical community. The process of community development involves the participation of the people (self-help approach) and the involvement of government authorities (technical approach) in initiating and implementing strategies and projects that are geared toward enhancing the lives of people in the communities (Ledwith, 2005).

The use of new media such as mobile telephone, computers and the internet system to leverage development is gaining popularity in rural and urban communities in the developing world. For instance, the rapid diffusion of mobile phone technology in PNG and the Pacific 14 years ago has exceeded any single technological innovation in the region in recent times. The region has jumped from Stone Age to digital age while the developed nations went through a long journey of development from Stone Age to Industrial Age and eventually to Digital Age. The world's fastest growth in mobile phone ownership as this technology enhanced by Digicel is playing an important role in reducing poverty (Development Magazine, 2006). This has no doubt affected the lives of rural marginalized people in the Pacific region in a positive way. As the Development Magazine (2006) reports about Africa and I quote:

At its simplest, a mobile phone allows farmers and fishermen to find out the prices in various markets, and allows a handyman to travel to nearby villages only when he is told by phone that there is a job available. In Kenya and Tanzania mobile phones are improving healthcare provision, where doctors use them to diagnose patients living in remote communities. (The Development Magazine, 2006, p.8)

In the same vein, the use of new media and other modern technologies, albeit faster, has offered some glimmer of hope to the poor secondary education sub-sector and thereafter in many Provinces of this nation. The right to literacy and quality education and employment for the youth (both women and men) is always considered the responsibility of the government. Although effective educational policy and regulatory framework remains the responsibility of the government, it must be acknowledged that the large and complex nature of education and knowledge acquisition in today‘s world, particularly in a high-income region such as Maprik, can no longer be left alone to the

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government. Rather, the enrichment of secondary and post secondary education for those who dropped out of the formal system as youth development depend on a sustained collaborative partnership between PNG governments, individuals, social entrepreneurs and Community Media Organizations from within and outside PNG. The ability to harness the benefits of new media and IK provides tremendous opportunities for developing the potential of Papua New Guinean women, youths and rural marginalized people through education and training. Such collaborative partnership and the enabling environment provided by good policy frameworks and leadership both within and without the educational settings are essential in stimulating a broad scale application of new media forms in entrepreneurial activities, youth, literacy and community development in Maprik.

Participants

I selected 25 of the 50 participants ( 3 Illiterates, 10 primary school dropouts, 4 High School dropouts and 3 secondary school drop outs) emanating from the interview about their evaluation of the entrepreneurial skills development (what they believed they learned from their participation) and observed the teachers during various activities in the curriculum. Although I selected these teachers (both formal and practical/experiential) based on their availability and willingness to participate in the pilot research, they represented a cross section of the teachers teaching the curriculum unit and those expanding their informal business. Teachers enacting the entrepreneurial skills communication, on average, attended 4 of the 5 Workshops, as did the three teachers we studied. Fifty people in four categories participated in the study. The mean age was 22 years, ranging from 17 to 26 years of age. They averaged 6 years of informal business experience, ranging from 3 to 28 years informal business activities.

Data and Methods of Analyses

Methodology

This study adopted both a qualitative and a quantitative research approach. It is based on rich case study tradition of research plus survey and questionnaires including observations. As Babbie and Mouton (1998, p. 270) posit in qualitative research, ―the actor‘s perspective (the insider‘s view) is emphasized‖ and ―the main concern is to understand the social action for its specific context rather than attempting to generalize to some theoretical population‖. Further, they assert that, due to the interest of the qualitative researcher to understand human action in its natural setting and through the eyes of the actors themselves, there is emphasis on detailed description and understanding of phenomena within the appropriate context (Babbie and Mouton. 1998, p. 279). I used multiple means to identify participants‘ learning from the activities: outdoor observations, teacher perceptions, pre- and post marketing data, and participants‘ artefacts when available in various combinations. Teachers often shared their perceptions about their students learning during the post-enactment interview. Although depending on this as the sole source of measure of student learning is problematic, in tandem with other methods, teachers offer rich insight because of their experience with the students, experience with the content and other characteristics that may not be obvious to the observer or through more formal means of evaluation. The in-class observations also allow for a means to examine student performance and infer learning as demonstrated through student participation and interaction with the observer. Such measures are often insufficient in isolation due to the sporadic nature of observations, but they do inform the analysis in conjunction with other types of evaluation. I examined student artefacts (amount of money earned) produced during the activities; developed rubrics based on the outcome objective and applied the rubric to the student work. I calculated gain scores from pre- and post test data collected from the students and the standard effect size of these gain scores. I identified questions that reflected knowledge taught through the experiential activities observed and looked at the performance of participants.

In pursuit of the above methodological principle, data for the study was collected from primary and

secondary sources. The fieldwork for the study was conducted during 2012 and 2013 as part of my

current doctoral dissertation research. These will make up two of the chapters in my doctoral research

thesis on ―PHILOSPHY OF SOCIOLOGY IN EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP: LEADERSHIP FOR

STUDENT LEARNING IN THE SECONDARY EDUCATION SYSTEM AND LEADERSHIP IN YOUR

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OWN BACKYARD. Data was collected using interviews and discussions with selected team

leaders(officials) both through mobile phones and one on one basis including surveys. This was

triangulated with official documentation and other relevant materials about the operations of the Nana

organization. In addition, personal observation sessions were also part of the field research. These

approaches are used to collect data as case records on Nana Youth program for case analysis. A

large set of information used in the study comes from e-mails, mobile SMS information, face book

discussions, internet materials, particularly those available on the education and youth development

websites as well as other websites maintained by civic groups such as social media responding to

issues of ICT, youth, literacy and development in education and community development in the

developing countries.

Finally, I used the information from the individual analysis of the entrepreneurial activity with respect to the participant learning and cautiously inferred the link to the resulting participant learning. Thus I evaluated the quality of integrated IK and entrepreneurial skills development using new media form from both the participants‘ expressed beliefs, observed their instruction as a measure of learning which resulted in action and participants‘ learning as a measure of entrepreneurial success. From this evaluation I developed reasonable hypotheses about what was successful and what was in need of improvement for the observed professional development cycle. From these hypotheses I suggest possible adaptations for the next iteration of harnessing the rural people‘s entrepreneurial development cycle that leads to financial deepening and poverty reduction.

Findings and Discussion

Educational Technology and Development

Adamu (1994) posit that changing socio-economic and political realities in developed and developing counties have resulted in constant innovations and reforms in education. This trend is supported by Durkheim‘s view that:

Educational transformations are always the result and symptom of social transformations in terms of which they are to be explained. In order for people to feel at any particular moment in time the need to change its educational system, it is necessary that new ideas and needs have emerged in which the former system is no longer adequate (Durkheim, 1938 p. 167, cited in Adamu, 1994).

Entrepreneurial Education is considered essential because, as Psachraopoulos (1995), Mansel and When (1998) have noted, knowledge and human capital are vital aspects of development. This is more important in today‘s competitive global economic system where knowledge is seen as an essential ingredient for production.

The quality, relevance and cost of pre and post secondary school training are among the various challenges facing youth education and literacy in this country and adjoining developing countries. This calls for innovative ways for knowledge creation, acquisition and sharing among the rural youth. In considering the integrated use of mobile phones and IK enhanced by community and social media organizations for expanding access to literacy, secondary education and pedagogical quality in PNG, one need to focus on the development challenges and how these are manifested in the educational leadership sector as Isaacs (2002) puts. ―The effective use of technology to support education locates itself within the goals of socio-economic transformation, reconstruction and development of countries‖ in the pacific region to fulfill the UNDP‘s eight MDGs. As observed by Isaacs, any investigation into the use of new media forms as a tool for the advancement of education covers three major contextual areas, two of which are: educational and rural development issues, New Media form issues and the interrelationship between these (Isaacs. 2002). Major advantages of integrating mobile phone and IK in education, social entrepreneurship and community development frequently cited include, expanding access to educational opportunities, increasing efficiency in educational management, providing employment opportunities and enhancing the quality of learning and teaching (Haddad, 2007; Howie et al, 2005; Tinio, 2003). See figure 1. In general terms, the effective application of ICT in education

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enables the women and youth to acquire 21st Century skills essential for the knowledge societies.

However, the knowledge of the prospects and challenges facing ICT-based skill training through integrated IK and entrepreneurial educational improvement ventures such as literacy and entrepreneurial skills for the rural folks remain largely unavailable to policy makers, donors and prospective social entrepreneurs.

Secondary (Pre and Post) education and youth development programs are faced by the challenges of low quality and equitable access to urban and rural communities in PNG. The use of ICTs mobile phones, face book and other social media by public and private organizations such as community media to improve quality and expand access promises to be a sustainable solution to these challenges. The purpose of educational technology policy is to provide a framework within which education planners, decision-makers, administrators, and educators and other actors and stakeholders in the education sector, will be able to make effective and productive use of technologies in collaboration with the community media organizations in their teaching, learning and administrative processes. (See figure 1 in the appendices)

Thus, the low level of education provision and youth development in the country, especially at the secondary and Post secondary level partly accounts for the low level of socio-economic development in the past.

Youth Literacy Rates: Youth literacy rates in PNG are shown in the table 2 below.(See

Appendices) According to this table, 61.7% of the youths were literate in PNG in 2000. The

table also reveals that the youth literacy rate was lower for females compared to that for

males. The MTDS had targeted to achieve youth literacy rate of 70% by 2015. However, it

seems unlikely that this target will be achieved. 1.51 years remaining until 2015 - 1990 - 2015

We are informed that approximately 85% of the labor force in PNG is involved in agriculture, mostly as smallholders in the informal economy. Although positive initiatives are being taken to encourage agricultural production and access to niche markets there are significant barriers that prevent higher levels of production. These include poor access to markets, lack of access to credit, training and institutional support – together with worries about personal security, security of assets and land problems.

How then can the government and individuals capitalize on the country‘s natural resources to create more broad-based economic opportunities for local producers, entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprises? Miss Clark stated that ―Evidence shows that extractive industries can play a significant role in equitable growth, if they are well managed. PNG as a ‗late starter‘ can learn from the positive experiences of Norway, Botswana, Ghana and some other countries and ensure that the proceeds from extractives lead to real improvements in human development. The Government‘s commitment to the Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative is very welcome. Partnerships with the private sector can be a key enabler of inclusive and sustainable development.‖

Private sector leaders must agree that the Government of Papua New Guinea is starting to take important steps to support the development of the country‘s private sector. However, the government needs to provide more direction to prioritize, leverage and build on the private sector‘s investments in key areas such as health, youth employment and education.

The above challenges highlight the imperative of innovative approaches to women empowerment, thus promote inclusive education for youth development and education in PNG is in limbo unless positive alternative actions by community media and other stakeholders to education are taken at the policy level.

Projections and key tangible outcomes must be achieved during this period in order to secure the way forward for 2020 to 2050. In monitoring and assessing the lengthy period that the vision is covering, it is important that a major review is carried out by 2019 in order to measure its continued efficacy and to set new targets for the period 2020-2030, with ensuing major reviews in 2029 and 2039, respectively.

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A planned and sustained integration of mobile phone (new media form) use, IK and a larger part of entrepreneurial skills in experiential teaching and learning will transform educational conditions in rural Abelam societies. The economic potential will inform the recommendation of the panel of eminent persons, a body to be appointed by the government or such, to focus on the application of modern technologies for youth development. This strategy entails exploiting opportunities and harnessing rural people‘s potentials created by the integration of IK with modern ICTs mobile phones for social and economic development will go a long way through sustainable processes.

―Give the man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime‖. (Carl Max‘s Chinese Proverb).

Many critics are questioning the wisdom behind the provision of, IK, ICT integrated social entrepreneurship, literacy and secondary education for the rural poor in Maprik, rather than providing them with better healthcare, good roads and basic education resources (e.g., employing more teachers and constructing more school classroom buildings) (Fife and Hosman, 2007). This criticism is the essence of what Fife and Hosman (2007, p.3) called the ―bread vs. broadband‖ debate. Despite the saliency of the above argument, many scholars (Wilhelm, 2003; Fife and Hosman 2007) observe that investment in IK& ICT integrated entrepreneurship, literacy and secondary education for the poor in the rural areas promises long-term economic benefits in the overall social and economic development of a country and the region as a whole. In other words it is more worthwhile to teach someone to do it themselves then to do it for them. Among such core benefits are; improved cognition among learners, improvement in local small business/informal sector entrepreneurship, mobile enhanced health and education, capabilities, empowering local alluvial miners and cocoa farmers by bringing knowledge of market prices for their crops (Wilhelm, 2003; Fife and Hosman 2007). Therefore, it is important to reject the notion that resource investment in mobile phone investment would be of greater value if invested in other areas. It needs to be emphasized that new media forms are tools; hence, they are not ends to themselves in terms of youth literacy training entrepreneurial ventures creation and employment, rather, new media forms are means to an end. This is because technology, according to Theodore Lewis (1999), is a manifestation of human creativity channeled towards problem solving and demand for goods and services is socially constructed.

A strategic investment in the youth through the deployment of ITCs either in vocational training or entrepreneurial educational activities or literacy mobile phones provide opportunities for a ―catch up‖ in human capital development and employment. This is particularly important in Maprik especially where the formal education system created an educational gap among different groups, which consequently stifled human capital development in the district and across the country. Besides, when viewed against the opportunity cost in time lost by many young people in social vices such as high illiteracy rate, youth pregnancy, insurgency, high unemployment rate and prostitution to mention a few. As observed by James Knowles and Jere Behrman (2006), the private and social rate of returns to different investments in rural folks depends on the context of such investments. The rate of returns to the deployment of information and communication technologies for educational, vocational training and overall social developmental purposes for the rural people can be understood within the context of the level of technology adoption in social and economic activities in the country. The application of modern communication technologies such as mobile phones, computers, the Internet (including Wi-Fi technologies)

3, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices in the country have reached a critical mass

given that these technologies have become part of everyday life in both rural and urban PNG.

OUTLOOK OF MAPRIK TOWNSHIP IN THE LAST THREE DECADES

Since the end of the last three decades after independence, PNG has gone through several stages of reorganization and reconstitution as a nation both in economic and socio-political terms. Despite some setbacks and slow pace of this process, the effort to revamp post-Independence economy has generally been a successful endeavor. The success, especially in the area of education and social re-integration, can be attributed not only to the redistributive policy goals of the current government, but also to the inspiring resolve of social entrepreneurs to collectively entrench a new social order in the district. To unlock and develop the large human capital potential that was either suppressed or undeveloped during the last three decades after independence, many social entrepreneurs and collaborative partnerships have embarked on a crusade to bring social change and sustainable community development in different parts of Maprik district.

Despite recent development efforts, Abelam area is in most part composed of rural illiterate people and sago thatch roof homes - a testimony of the uncoordinated government development programs in the last three decades after independence. Notwithstanding the demise of colonialism in 1975, one can still observe the ravages of the colonial education system', which uses a reformed education

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system but still entrench copy paste education for the ―haves‖ and not for the ―have nots‖. Appropriate adaptation of the full range of ICTs can help to improve the livelihoods of the youth and communities in the District by expanding entrepreneurial and educational opportunities, training and a better income prospect. This promises to be a sustained strategy for poverty alleviation in the district and the country as a whole. One of such community development groups that adopt a social entrepreneurial approach to the development is NANA organization. Their motto is ―The Future is in Our Hands! If you can do it, we can do it too”. With the application of ICTs, many are finding innovative ways to educate themselves in social entrepreneurial activities as well as educating the labor force on self employment thus empowering them to train themselves to meet the demands of the knowledge economy of the twenty first century including financial deepening with rippling effect at both macro and micro economic levels.

Case Overview: Non-formal open and distance learning

The success and impact of community learning which if encouraged by community media on sustainable development, particularly at the rural grassroots, it will continue to grow as new models and methods are being applied to the learning process. Non-formal development education imparted at the community level through a variety of indigenous community media development communication tools and technologies has added a new dimension to traditional open and distance learning (ODL) approaches.

In an effort to bridge the fields of development and education, this new dimension may be referred to as non-formal ODL. Conducting development communication by using traditional cultural forms as tools and technologies — in effect, tools not common to formal ODL approaches — is part of non-formal ODL.

Why Integration of IK and ICTs?

Despite the unprecedented development and advancement of modern communication across the globe, there remain millions of disadvantaged men and women, in thousands of communities in developing countries, who have yet to access modern electronic and print media. Poverty, underdevelopment and illiteracy are the prime causes.

Development goals will continue to remain unachieved for these communities if their members are unable to access development education through alternative media communication tools. Indigenous Knowledge and cultural forms provide this alternative.

Folk media in development communication

Traditional cultural forms — often loosely and interchangeably referred to as traditional media, folk media and folk art forms such as drama and songs — are strong and effective means for development communication. They are rooted in indigenous culture. Originating from different societies and evolving over time, they have been used for moral, religious and socio-political education. These forms are still alive and receptive to new ideas, and therefore have great potential as development communication tools.

Traditional folk media forms are personal, familiar and credible. Community members can easily identify themselves as part of their folk art forms. Therefore, despite the rapid diffusion of new communication technologies, folk media continue to demonstrate value as effective vehicles for developmental messages.

The appeal of traditional cultural forms is also that they are universal and intimate. They are popular regardless of the educational, social and economic standing of any community. They use colloquial dialects, which makes the communication clear and distinct. Another big advantage of folk media is that it is flexible in accommodating new ideas, themes and issues. Folk media satisfies the inner need for self-expression and everyone can participate in it. Thus, it is particularly effective for community learning. Folk art forms not only preserve and disseminate the wisdom, tradition and culture of the past, but they can also be adapted to incorporate modern development education.

Nana method of development communication

Nana Niantakwa in the Abelam language means ―our youth‖ and is a development communication organisation that believes culture and sustainable development are closely connected. For the last 5 years, has been using, alongside conventional methods, traditional cultural forms to impart life- and livelihood-centred education such as social entrepreneurial skills and awareness to people in Mambleip rural communities. Some of the key areas in which the organisation has successfully worked are: women‘s empowerment and leadership development; disaster preparedness and mitigation; alternative livelihood options; human rights (including rights of women and children);

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biodiversity conservation; revival of folk culture; grassroots democracy and good governance; protection of women and children from human trafficking; and theatre education for children is still in the making. Development messages on these issues and other matters, communicated through traditional cultural forms. However it has not gone on air yet but is hoped to reach over 2 million rural people annually in the near future.

Case Overview: Nana as Social Entrepreneurship

Both from its business and social perspectives, entrepreneurs create value in the society. As Dee (1998) argues, the function of entrepreneurs is to revolutionize production processes such as employment benefits. Nana is a change agent engaged in production, not of tangible goods, but of knowledge and services for the Abelam community in Maprik. The idea of a youth and community development organization was floated in 2003. What caught my attention was the level of poverty, unemployment and deprivation in the Abelam community, particularly among the youth, during a time when the district was undergoing some remarkable changes with the introduction of a cash crop known as vanilla with an unprecedented amount of cash floating around. Based on my education and research background I came to the conclusion that lack of information and guidance, more than any other factors were the key obstacles facing youths in poor communities which resurrected in 2004 from a humble beginning to where it is now in 2014. Together with other like-minded young people we formed the group as a non-profit youth and community development organization with a mission to:

… Provide disadvantaged secondary and Post Secondary school learners with the necessary skills and information, both academic and personal, to enable them to access the post-school educational or employment opportunities of their choice. In addition, it works to offer young people from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to participate in the transformation of their communities. In achieving this mission, Nana aims to redress the persisting educational and socioeconomic inequalities like it is in South Africa as reported by (IkamvaYouth, 2009, p.4).

Nana operates as a by-youth, for-youth community-based non-profit organization. Its primary objective is to help learners in the community accomplish their entrepreneurial educational goals. Through mentorship, the organization assists young learners in the community to develop communication skills, self knowledge, and self-esteem – great qualities essential in today‘s knowledge society. However, all lack the skills and experience needed to find formal sector employment. Because of the efforts of the organization, these students are able to draw a new strength from opportunities offered by a broad range of the groups programs.

Generally, the activities of these programs aim to help young learners realize their potential and contribute meaningfully to their communities. These programs, which are volunteer-based, are offered through the application of various forms of information and communication technologies. Though a small grass-roots organization without core funding, the organization is discovering that technology that seems so out of reach to many youths from poor families and neighborhoods can be deployed to meet education and job training needs of many youths.

Nana targets the reduction of multiple challenges facing rural youths in Maprik. Among these challenges are: 1) high rate of youth unemployment (more than 65 percent); 2) lack of computer literacy skills, communication and access to ICTs; 3) Lack of career guidance and relevant information needed to secure admission into higher institutions of learning; and 4) lack of individual academic (curriculum-specific) support (IkamvaYouth, 2005). The organization was formed generally to help these rural students in the above areas of need, and particularly to meet the increasing demand for computer literacy.

Apart from free tutorials on different subject areas, they are expected to improve the employability of youths in the LLG through computer training and other skills to help them expand their entrepreneurial activities. This is particularly important given the estimate that PNG economy, which is the most buoyant in the region, has between 300,000 and 500,000 vacancies for skilled people in the workforce (Stoppard, 2002). Thus, the challenge facing the youth in PNG is not primarily high rate of unemployment, rather the lack of the required skills and training to fill the existing job positions in the economy. It also helps them to realize their entrepreneurial educational needs.

Community Development in Maprik

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The education of the youth is a major aspect of community development. The investment in the development of human capital of the youth through education is indispensable for the sustainable development of any community both in developed and developing countries. As in many developing countries, it is beyond the capability of the government to meet all educational needs of the people, especially, secondary education and computer literacy. However, as Fuller and Holsinger (1993 cited in Figueredo and Anzalone, 2003) report, there is a positive correlation between the education of youths, always measured with secondary education enrollment, and the level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the developing countries. Figueredo and Anzolone (2003) took this further by arguing that due to its nature, primary education provides insufficient skills necessary for improved productivity in the economy. Secondary schooling and vocational training, according to them, are positively associated with high value-added production capacity for exports (human capital creation). The social and economic functions of secondary education and training are illustrated in figure 3. (See Appendices)

As noted earlier, youth education, especially at the post secondary school level is lacking both in quantity and quality in Maprik and PNG at large. Social entrepreneurs, according to Howard Stevenson (cited in Dee, 1998), do not allow limited or lack of resources to limit the pursuit of their mission. This assertion has been proven by Nana. Right from its inception, the organization has mobilized resources from wherever it could be found to pursue its educational and social entrepreneurial objectives. The entire organization is volunteer-driven. In essence, the organization is managed and run by ex-learners who returned to serve as volunteers. Nana for the most part, operates solely on the commitment, dedication and creative efforts of its volunteers. Hence, the diverse groups of its volunteers make up the organization‘s backbone are structurally organized in teams according to their area of interest and specialty (see figure 3).

Among its volunteers are: university students, teachers and young professionals working in NGOs, government and the private sector. These volunteers perform all sorts of activities for the organization. Such activities range from supplementary tutoring, job-based training, e-literacy training to serving as management committee members. The organization‘s financial and material resources come from their own economic ventures. These resources enable the organization to provide youths from low-income communities access to modern communication technologies to improve their social and economic wellbeing.

Applying Existing Ideas in New Ways

The above challenges facing post secondary education youth development in Maprik and PNG in general call for innovative approaches to meet the educational and training needs of the youth. While social entrepreneurs work for social improvement of the community, they do not expect immediate or short-term pay-off. Rather they look for a long-term return to their investment with a sustained impact (Dees, 1998). As Dee (1998, p. 4) rightly contends, entrepreneurs are innovative, but ―it does not require inventing something new; it can simply involve applying an existing idea in a new way or to a new situation.‖ Even though it may be difficult to measure value creation, the social and economic returns to the programs of Nana are beginning to be felt.

Apart from improved Matriculation grades among students who participate in the Nana tutoring programs, the organization provides many students from poor families the only opportunity to study outside their formal classrooms. The academic successes have paved the way for university admission and scholarship awards for many of the participants in Nana programs. In 2013 and 2014, 20 percent Nana learners were accepted into tertiary education institutions. This level of performance far exceeded the set target of 30 percent acceptance into tertiary education, and was a result of the hard work of volunteers and learners. The academic performance of Nana learners in national examinations, particularly the Matriculation examination for 12

th graders, demonstrates the success of

the organization in improving the social condition of youths in the community. For instance, from 2012- 2014 90 percent of Nana grade 12 up-graders passed their national examination, with 42 percent of them passing on into bachelor‘s degrees across PNG Universities while 20 per cent received employment and the rest opted to continue on with their informal sector entrepreneurial activities with the skills they received and find satisfaction in what they do. The success of these young social entrepreneurs can be aptly described by Joy Olivier (2005), Nana enables young people to give themselves and each other a hand up out of poverty and into University‖ (p.2).

Take Two- A Shift to Media Literacy The same technologies that failed to transform schools instead transformed the world outside the hallowed halls of education. As the digital environment changed, so too did everyone‘s ideas about

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how best to teach students about these technologies. It became increasingly apparent that it was unnecessary to teach young people how to use the tools; they were already using them far more proficiently than their ―digital immigrant‖ (Prensky 2001) parents or teachers. As Collins and Halverson (2009) observed, ―teens that are creating web pages with animated computer graphics and sound, remixing images to develop music video, participating in web chats and forums, and writing their own blogs are engaged in developing a sophisticated media literacy not taught in schools‖ Jenkins et al. (2006) suggest that the media literacy skills required for participation in this new world are all essentially social skills, including: play, performance, simulation, appropriation, multitasking, distributed cognition, collective intelligence, judgment, transmedia navigation, networking, and negotiation. Because they are social skills, our interactions with one another take on a heightened significance, thus ―one important goal of media education should be to encourage young people to become more reflective about the ethical choices they make as participants and communicators and the impact they have on others‖ (Ibid., 17).

Challenges facing Nana Niangu

Despite its successes so far Nana faces several challenges in its efforts to harness IK and ICTs mobile for youth empowerment and community development in Maprik. One of its major drawbacks is the lack of sufficient number of computer hardware and the required software. This problem stems primarily from the lack of enough community buy-in in the Nana program. Although the organization has succeeded in attracting basic resources it lacks infrastructure such as office space, finance and computer hardware from philanthropic source. Further, it still falls short of the needed resources to operate at full capacity. Right from its inception, the organization had relied on the mobile phones. Besides, the organization does not have a local public library. Despite the lack of a local public library, enough number of computer systems and a separate office space the activities of the organization, especially in the area of computer literacy classes and entrepreneurial education for post secondary students from low-income families have not been hindered.

However, these and other community media technologies such as internet connectivity, computer sound/memory cards, headsets and data projector for the enhancement of class presentations, are some of the financial and technology-oriented challenges facing the young organization. The organization has improvised and uses mobile phones to replace computers and as such the youth now fully utilize to full capacity, especially in the area of e-literacy and computer skill training thus harnessing their IK with ICT for social entrepreneurship education. According to (Olivier, 2005), the availability of these technologies will enhance full participation of learners in program like the e-literacy, e education, social entrepreneurial and computer skills training.

In view of its potential in community development, Nana programs require local buy-in from the district administration, provincial government and the private sector groups such as Digicel, Telecom and other ICT companies including community media organizations. Their involvement and recognition of the strategic importance of Nana activities in the community will ensure stable resource inflow in the long run.

The sustainability of the Nana model of using ICT integrated IK education model for youth provokes long lasting community development impacts but the hope of getting community media support is another area of concern. Private and government sponsorships are essential ingredients for Nana to continue to carter to the educational and employment needs of youths after grade 12 in Maprik and PNG for that matter. However, the future sustainability of Nana further depends on the judicious use of its scarce resources. This can be realized by having concrete and realistic goals and also by taking small achievable steps throughout its programs.

Replicating Nana Niantakwa across PNG and the Pacific Region

In the words of Olivier (2005. p. 8), ―Much of what Nana strives to achieve is unquantifiable,‖ as the impact of its present activities will be felt more in the future. This assertion is more credible given that the process of developing rural human capital potential is gradual and cumulative. Notwithstanding, the Nana model of community development and youth empowerment is not without its challenges. However, these challenges are eclipsed by the large social benefits of the approach Nana serves as a model of how a rural youth-driven grass-roots organization can make sustained impact in rural livelihood. One of the core features of rural community is interaction. Directing , organizing and informing this interaction is dependent on communication (Romanow/Bruce 2006). In many ways both

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traditional and new media forms play a significant role in the success of an integrated social entrepreneurial education project in one community does not necessarily mean it can be replicated in another. However, the successes of Nana demonstrate that the model can be replicable across the Pacific region, if supported by the appropriate organizational leadership, applicable technology and adequate financing. Alternatively, basic features of Nana model of education integrated social entrepreneurship can be adapted to meet the challenges of youth and community development in the rural areas of PNG and the Pacific region as a whole. Thus, Nana asserts a challenge to public and private entities such as public libraries, media organizations, institutions of higher learning and other civil society groups in the country and across the Pacific. Such private and public institutions are entities that can either initiate or support existing youth groups in their immediate communities and neighborhoods using Nana development education models. Such collaborative approach is perhaps the most cost-effective way of building human and social capital among our PNG youth. This approach will go a long way to reduce poverty and social vices in many communities.

In part, the success of Nana in the application of community media technology in social development and entrepreneurial education can be attributed to the organization‘s focus goals and priorities. This stems from the erroneous impression that ad hoc equipment of schools with computers will produce the much needed quality of education and prepare students for the knowledge of the 21

st Century.

However, while ICTs, especially mobile phones can help to improve education process and community development, computers alone cannot bring a radical transformation of entrepreneurial education in places like Maprik. Rather a combination of IK, proper training of local people in the use of ICTs mobile communication tools coupled with community media Tools and the involvement of community-based organizations such as Nana, will help to realize the greatest social and economic returns to investments in educational settings, local community as well as at macro and micro economic levels. To a large extent, the sustainability of Nana model is partly based on the practice, whereby a significant number of Nana ex-learners return as volunteers. According to (Olivier, 2006), those who gain access into higher education and job-based training return to help others to do the same. In fact, 80 percent of the organization‘s management committee comprises ex-learners. This practice is a learning, development and sustainability strategy, which has enabled social learning within the organization. In this way, the model‘s sustainability is ensured by achieving its mission.

Summary and Conclusion

Poverty in all its manifestations – hunger, illiteracy, sickness, unemployment, criminalization, political disengagement – are directly or indirectly associated with lack of information and leadership guidance. Hence, poverty thrives where there is little or no access to information and education. Thus, access to Old, New and non News media forms are well suited to liberate and empower poor rural communities by giving them access to all human knowledge. In many ways all three media forms enable communication for local and regional interaction. Within the paradigm of education and social entrepreneurship, Nana is playing an innovative role in knowledge creation/generation and transformation for community development in the twenty first century. ICT enables Nana to bring university and high school students together as co-learners and co-teachers to further their knowledge and effect positive community change. Thus, the educational needs of youths in the community are being met through innovative application of technology and human resources while at the same rhythm creating financial deepening at macro and micro economic terms. In broad terms, Nana is empowering disadvantaged youth to take advantage of improved opportunities made possible by the government‘s policy on SME and the informal sector businesses. The organization sees New Media as community media as an effective tool to bring change in the community. It recognizes all young people in the community, notwithstanding their educational levels, as assets for economic and social development. Nana works toward more inclusive education and employment practices to fully utilize the potential of the Abelam young minds. These activities are in line with the declaration of the United Nations, ―to develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work‖ (United Nations World Youth Report, 2005, p.13).

As Dee (1998, p.3) would argue, ―The survival or growth of a social enterprise is not proof of its efficiency or effectiveness in improving social conditions.‖ However, to this end many indicators show that Nana is not only improving the condition of the youth, it is also emerging as a sustainable and replicable community development model for poverty alleviation and financial deepening at both micro and macroeconomic level. If we use the performance of both formal and post secondary school students involved in the Nana programs as a measure of success, one can easily conclude that the organization is reaching its stated goals. The success of Nana is a clear indication that PNG and the Pacific Island countries may have available a practical model for achieving several MDGs. However, the main challenge now is whether there is political will or support to scale up what Nana is doing in Maprik, East Sepik Province through a strong collaborative community project with the hope of

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community media organization, governmental agencies and Non-governmental Organization buy-in -in the program at a larger scale.

Finally, these results suggest important considerations for policy- makers and researchers. The current trend to rely on the mobile phone internet for informing and accessing government services is likely to introduce considerable inequalities in service delivery if it is not accompanied by support for traditional media forms. The response from this pilot survey makes it clear that many rural communities do not have wide (or free) access to mobile phone technology and continue to rely on traditional media forms for communication to manage their lives. Researchers have an important role to play in minimizing potential social exclusion as well. These results rely on a relatively small sample of communities and respondents. They can therefore be suggestive of the relationships identified. To build our confidence in these results and to refine the details of media, users, and processes we need to be systematic – comparing all types of media and all types of normative relations, in rural communities both close to and far away from urban centers. These will contextualize our way forward for rural development for learning with and from the community. Education is all about community engagement and new media technology has a flat form to engage with the community.

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Appendices

Table 1: The New Schooling Paradigm

From To

A School building A knowledge infrastructure (schools lab, radio, television, computers, internet connectivity, satellite)

Classrooms Individual Learners

The teacher as the provider of knowledge The teacher as tutor and facilitator

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A set of textbooks and some audiovisual aids Multimedia materials (print, audio, video, digital, internet)

An entrepreneurial setting Multimedia materials (print, audio, video, digital, mobile phones and internet access points)

Table 2: Youth and adult literacy rates (%) by sex in 1990 and 2000.

Indirect literacy measure Sex 1990 2000

Youth Literacy Rate (%) Both sexes 60.6 61.7

Male 66.6 64.4

Female 53.9 58.9

Source: UNDP indirectly derived from 1990 and 2000 Census data regarding the highest grade completed by respondents, using a cut-off point of grade 3.

Figure 1: Potential of ICT Integrated Entrepreneurship in Youth Literacy and Community Development

Figure 2: The Importance of Youth Education and Training

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Source: The World Bank (1999)

Fig. 3 The Organization of Nana

Fig. 4. PNG Map showing location of Maprik

Fund raising Working Group

Fund raising Working Group Website & Database

working group

Media & Market Working

Group

Career Guidance Committee

Executive Committee

Finance

Commi

ttee

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Map of Papua New Guinea

Fig. 5. Showing location of Maprik in East Sepik Province

Maprik District is Next Batas. It is known for its entrepreneurial activities since 2004

MAPRIK

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TOPIC

Maprik House Tambaran. A House of Wisdom and Prosperity