Zimbabwe’s civic and human rights information portal (www.kubatana.net) was established in July 2001 with main aim to create a ‘one stop shop’ for all human rights information on Zimbabwe. One major goal of this portal was to make Zimbabwean NGOs more accessible to local, regional and international stakeholders. To achieve this, an online directory was created to host an electronic ‘fact sheet’ for each of the 240 Zimbabwean NGOs in the Kubatana network. These NGOs work in a variety of sectors from democracy, health, and culture to HIV/AIDS. These fact sheets list important organisational details such as contact information, the names of key personnel, mission statement and core objectives. If an NGO has their own web site then their link is put on their fact sheet.

Online directory
The Kubatana online directory provides grassroots NGOs and community-based organisations with a basic entry level to the Internet. Organisations that do not have resources for the establishment of a full-fledged web site can quote their Kubatana fact sheet URL and in doing so, become a member of the global digital community. The statistical site software of Kubatana allows to view the number of ‘hits’ each fact sheet gets. This helps to strengthen the partner’s belief and confidence in the Internet as a worthwhile communication tool. We have found that our online directory is one of the most popular aspects of the Kubatana project. It has opened up communication between local Zimbabwean NGOs both regionally and internationally.

In keeping with many Internet based information initiatives, for the Kubatana online directory, a lot of hard work goes to make sure that the information is regularly updated and therefore accuracy is maintained. There is a high level of mobility within the NGO sector with people leaving their jobs, and usual changing of email addresses and physical locations. Thus the NGOs are regularly contacted for verifying their contact details. This means that we are permanently contacting NGOs by telephone in order to verify their contact details. A recent updating exercise has also illustrated how government repression in Zimbabwe has made certain NGOs fearful of having their contact details known. In certain circumstances, they have requested to remove their physical address from their fact sheet.

Information dissemination
The source of the information that Kubatana publishes is primarily provided by NGOs, CSOs and CBOs. This information takes a variety of forms, from press statements, reports, surveys to articles and workshop resolutions. Submissions are not edited in any way and Kubatana has become known for the accuracy of the information that it carries. Efforts are still being made to adequately convey the usefulness of the Internet as a communication tool for NGOs. It has been found that generally NGOs communicate their information in very narrow channels, mainly to their small core constituency and to their local and international donors. However, they are encouraged by Kubatana to share their information far more widely, in order to increase the flow of information and news in Zimbabwe where it is often difficult to access diverse views and opinion.

At Kubatana, efforts have been made to fill some gaps in the dissemination of important information. For example, Kubatana web site is the only online resource for electronic copies of legislation. This web site is invaluable in the face of non-functioning sites such as the Parliament of Zimbabwe.

Currently Kubatana’s online archive holds over 3,800 home-grown Zimbabwean documents. Another core objective is to specifically focus on and develop local content. This has been done very successfully and this has strengthened the methods of information delivery by placing audio files of interviews and workshop presentations on Kubatana web site. Kubatana staff bridge the cyber/real world divide by getting out and about with digital cameras and tape recorders. Local views and opinions are captured and Zimbabwean content is consistently contributed to other portals like OneWorld Radio. The photographs and the graphics that are used on our site reflect the country and the challenges that Kubatana is experiencing.


Publications
To complement Kubatana’s work using the Internet, a regular email newsletter is also published that is sent to a diverse and substantial subscriber base. A lot of promotional works have been done to encourage ordinary Zimbabweans, working outside of NGOs in such places as banks, insurance companies, garages and other establishments to subscribe to the newsletter so that they can become involved in civic, social and political issues. Kubatana also assists the NGO sector by publicising their events and public meetings in order to strengthen public participation.