| This study explored perceptions of the most significant opportunities and obstacles related to the future of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for education, training, and development in Lesotho. Interviews were conducted with sixteen participants who had special knowledge and interest in this topic. Participants included leaders from within business, government, broadcasting, research and development, and education.; The methodology used in this study was Ethnographic Futures Research, an approach to studying change. Interviews were used to elicit the participants' perceptions of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most probable future scenarios for ICT in Lesotho given the horizon date of 2025. During the final portion of each interview, participants addressed specific strengths within Lesotho that might be leveraged toward a preferable future as well as challenges that could impede progress toward that goal.; Findings from this study include some commonly held perceptions regarding key drivers of positive ICT development as well as a range of diverse ideas regarding other variables and possible future directions for Lesotho. Two overarching factors, political stability and effective education, were consistently described as essential for the development of a positive ICT future for Lesotho. Other components such as political will, an enabling environment, capacity building, utilization of local expertise, sustainability, fit, and preservation of cultural identity were viewed as both important and interdependent. However, none of these components was expected to be effective unless built on a foundation of political stability and national commitment to education. A discussion of current strengths and challenges related to factors such as human capacity, economic development, the environment, the digital divide, and resource distribution suggests potential foci for efforts to enhance the probability of a preferable future for ICT education, training, and development in Lesotho. |
