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INTRODUCTION

3rdWorld Xplorations is a budding private social enterprise with a mission to support data collection and technology access for research and technology extension in rural development and nature conservation.

As one of its product/service, 3rdWorld is attempting to design and build a “rural cyberspace and analytics” platform, named COMP@SS, that is aimed at supporting the use of internet and other digital technologies in rural communities and simultaneously generate data that can be used by researchers, donors, NGOs, entrepreneurs, etc to design cost-effective solutions, mainly for creating digital villages.

2023 BRIEF REVIEW

In the first half of 2023, the efforts to support rural communities’ use of internet went unused.

For 3 months of full operations, not even one person out of nearly 70 people exposed, including the hosts themselves, sought to use or view the identified rural-relevant internet content and digital tools to overcome even some well known existing knowledge gaps and access barriers.

With an impressive participation in the agro-advisory online video shows during first months of field testing over one year ago, the community members’ interest has been declining with more clarification on the platform’s actual mission.

The knowledge that it is nothing more than just supporting and tracking use of productive internet content and digital tools seems to push away the very same people most in need, even after getting exposed to some relevant content.

So why are we still persisting with the mission?

Find out more from this biannual review that briefs on the lessons we have learnt, and our opinion on the prospects of extensive digital-driven rural transformation (digital villages) in least developed countries, from the data generated so far. What is your opinion?

Attached to the review is our technical brief on the purpose of providing free access to internet content, that tries to explain the motive behind the persistence on the mission.