Search results

When I was invited ‘to shoot arrows at the year 2000’ to predict what would happen with the use of CDROM products and services in Africa by then, mixed feelings and thoughts first came to mind. To begin with it was easy for me to be taken by the wishes and enthusiasm of the day where technological developments, particularly with regard to electronic communications such as the Internet, are so soon to become the everyday means of access to information on the African continent. My other reaction, however, was influenced by the grim facts of the information provision scenario prevailing on the continent, which will be the prime factor in deciding the direction of any development taking place for years to come: low financial input available, weak technological bases, and absence of conscious and informed guidance and support from governments. My realistic view in the end prevailed, which left no room for wishes but only reality, and I will be looking hard at where we will be by the year 2000, four years from now, and putting together what I know and am convinced of.

Focuses on the information needs of users that are changing as a result of changes in the availability of information content in electronic form. In the course of the discussion, the paper first highlights the trend and nature of the physical form in which information content is currently being made available for users’ access and use in electronic information environments. It then attempts to determine why the prevailing information needs of users are coming into being and how they are shaped in electronic information environments. Finally, makes suggestions regarding how to go about identifying and meeting the prevailing needs in electronic information.

Along with the varied values of heritages which are rationale for their safeguarding, sustainable conservation and tourism development have become central agendas in the field of heritage management in contemporary world. This study attempts to elaborate such interconnected issues at Mandeba Monastery, emphasizing not only cultural heritages but also mutually reflecting on natural features which are integral part of the monastery.

Interviewing and systematic observation alongside secondary sources were used to generate data which were analyzed thematically.

Being a site for incredible collections, Mandeba maintained a tradition of not only heritage conservation and benevolent communal interaction but also of ecological sustainability. The rich collections together with its spectacular location on the shore of Lake Tana enable Mandeba to have highly noticeable tourism potentials. However, Mandeba encounters such challenges as inadequate museum, safety and security problems, lack of sufficient budget, professional, parasitic animal damages, weak promotion and lack of tourist facilities which hamper both conservation and tourism development on the site, which need to be tackled for the overall improvement of the monastery.

This research is original, presenting the ground knowledge and practice regarding the relationship between heritage conservation on the one hand, and local livelihood, environmental management and tourism sustainability on the other hand, with regard to the immovable cultural/religious heritage site of Mandeba Medahinealem Monastery.