Dear Members
Telecentres are synonymous with innovations and experimentations and so is the telecentre.org online community. This is evident from the fact that from time to time, telecentre.org has organised various online events like discussion forums, blog contest, photo contest and so on, to engage the members and encourage them to share knowledge about their unique telecentre and ICT4D initiatives across the world. The members have also, on their part, contributed immensely to enrich the site and transform it into a valuable knowledge resource. It has emerged as an important 'Community of Practice' with an enviable number of members.

The significant contributions made by the members are not limited to writing blogs only, but they are constantly uploading videos and pictures that tell their own stories; posting events that are of interest to all the members; starting discussion forums that activate the brain cells of all telecentre stakeholders; and creating groups that focus on various issues crucial to the telecentre and ICT4D domain. All of them are doing great jobs in their own right!

Therefore, to honour their contributions, telecentre.org has instituted the 'telecentre.org Idol of the Year' award conceived after the highly popular 'American Idol' television programme. This award would be given to the member, who excels in the following activities over a period of one year:
a) blogging relevant stories;
b) launching successful discussion forums;
c) participating actively in discussion forums and posting meaningful replies to at least three discussions;
d) uploading albums containing relevant photos with appropriate captions and descriptions;
e) uploading relevant videos with appropriate captions and descriptions;
f) posting important and relevant events; and
g) creating and efficiently managing a relevant group.

A specially designed telecentre.org token will be given to members whenever they make significant and relevant contributions to the website in any of the categories mentioned above. At the end of the year, the member with the largest number of tokens (to be reviewed and determined by the CFs) will be declared as the 'telecentre.org Idol 2010'.

So, dear members, don't hold back your creativity and intelligence! Contribute in any form- writing, pictures, videos- and telecentre.org would ensure that it doesn't go unnoticed and unrecognised. We are going to identify and honour the 'Idol' among you! So, keep contributing in whatever format you are comfortable with. May be, you are the next telecentre.org idol!

Best of luck and happy networking in the New Year!