African youth are demanding a voice in society and are using information and communication technologies to empower themselves. Africa, while home to 35 of the world’s poorest countries is also a place of great cultural richness and resilience, and we would like this center to reflect the true abundance and vitality of Africa. The people of Africa have much to offer the world but there are serious challenges that threaten to keep Africans from fully realizing their potential. Building on the momentum of similar and previous efforts we believe the key to addressing the African conundrum is through community scale development strategies. Through the creation of a Digital Village, we want to create better ways of living and give the underprivileged the opportunity to fulfil their dreams.

Rural/urban divides will recede as new development models such as ODiV, stress built environments that combine the best of both. Governance plays an important role in the development of a sustainable global society however as we develop a bottom-up ICT system we will see a notable rise in the power of local people to take a stronger role in determining their own destiny. The role of national governments is to facilitate this process. Lifelong learning augmented by ICT in Multipurpose Community and Unity Centres will enable people to make more informed decisions and to participate in governance and learning experiences never previously imagined.

Open Digital Village projects will link the macro with the micro by identifying the basic human components needed to create both prosperous and sustainable communities; bridging the technology gap amongst Ghanaian youth through the provision of resources to enable disadvantaged and under-privileged youth to thrive in the emerging Information Society. The project will provide access to information technology skills training with a focus on learning and employment opportunities for youth and the community, improve the effectiveness and productivity of non-governmental, charitable organizations by providing software and technical assistance to allow them to help others through the availability of these resources.