• Esplai demonstrates that networks can serve as developers and distribution channels for services telecenters offer to their communities.
• The Mission 2007 Training Commons points to the important role networks can play in training new telecenter managers.
• The Sri Lanka Telecenter Family offers an example of peer learning through telecenter networks.

Some of these networks are quite formal, while others are looser and more organic. We have already mentioned the global scope of the Information and Communication Technology for Development program of the Global Knowledge Partnership. Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) is the world’s first multi-stakeholder network promoting innovation and advancement in Knowledge for Development (K4D) and Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). GKP brings together public sector, private sector, and civil society organizations with the goal of sharing knowledge and building partnerships in K4D and ICT4D. Its meetings and publications have contributed very substantially to the growth of the telecenter movement. More information about its programs can be found on its web site.(3) In addition to these national networks, we present telecenter.org as an initiative designed to support such networks—a network of networks.

7.7. Case Study: Hungarian Telecottage Association—Building Community

One of the simplest—and most important—things a telecenter network can do is to build a sense of community among people working at telecenters within a particular country. The friendships formed through this kind of networking quickly become a channel for sharing innovative practices, providing peer technical support, and developing collaborative projects among telecenters. They also provide a foundation of trust, one of the most essential elements of long-term network sustainability.

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