The Freedom Toaster Travels to Tunisia for WSIS

The World Summit on Information Society’s (WSIS) Tunisian leg hosted the ICT 4 ALL exhibition between the 15th and 19th of November, 2005. The aim of the exhibition was to enrich the political core of the Summit by dealing with the people-centered development dimension of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) through a lively exhibition and partnership area with interactive workshops.

The Freedom Toaster was on display for the duration of the exhibition with piles of blank CDs and information on hand.

“Encouragement from other civil society groups prompted us to act and secure a stand at the ICT 4 ALL exhibition,” explains Jason Hudson, founder of the Freedom Toaster project.

The Freedom Toaster was one of hundreds of products and solutions from non-governmental, corporate, private and government organisations on display at the exhibition and enjoyed much enthusiasm and interest from visitors to the exhibition floor.

“Much interest was displayed and encouragement expressed for the project,” says Hudson. “And over 300 CDs were toasted over the 5 days of the exhibition.”

Exposure gained from the WSIS may have far reaching implications for the Freedom Toaster project. “After returning to South Africa after the exhibition in Tunisia, we found that the number of links to the Freedom Toaster web-site had grown to 620 000,” explains Helen King, International Relations Manager for the Shuttleworth Foundation. “This number soon rose to over 730 000 and continues to grow. The exposure gained was invaluable.”

King goes on to list some of the individuals who were exposed to the Freedom Toaster in Tunisia. “Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, said that the Freedom Toaster is a real solution to the problems faced in the developing world. The United Nations’ Louis Dominique Ouedraogo of the Joint Inspection Unit also displayed excitement at the project and the Freedom Toaster has been tentatively included in the United Nations report on the summit, where it is said to be a key tool in bridging the digital divide,” she says.

This exposure has led to an acceleration in interest surrounding the Freedom Toaster project. “So much so,” states King, “that we’re having trouble keeping up with the volume of requests we are receiving for information and involvement with the project.”

After this successful and exciting stint in Tunisia, the Freedom Toaster will not be returning home to South Africa just yet though. “From here this particular Toaster will be making its way to Zurich. It will then go on tour to Ghana, followed by Senegal and a few other African countries.” concludes Hudson.