Smart Cape is an initiative of the City of Cape Town to ensure that all residents have access to basic information and communication technologies, free of charge.
In a digital world, computers are no longer a luxury, but a necessity which enables individuals to create and take advantage of existing opportunities. That is why the City has developed a model for public access, comparable to international local government best practice, which allows Internet facilities to be provided cost effectively using open source software, existing infrastructure and resources.
By joining a municipal library, residents are able to have free access to information technologies, with which they are able to give life to their ambitions.
“Smart Cape is now a Cape Town institution. With over 270 000 registered users at 102 facilities at various libraries throughout the Municipality, we are successfully bridging the digital divide. People use the Smart Cape facilities for e-mail, to type CVs and assignments, apply for jobs, conduct research, play games and so on,” says Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Alderman Demetri Qually.
“Libraries exist to preserve and promote access to knowledge, experience and ideas in a welcoming and supportive environment. It is important that libraries provide an access point to online information services for people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to use them. The Smart Cape Initiative is taking libraries into the 21st century, making them as important an information hub today as they were when the first libraries opened,” says Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services, Alderman Belinda Walker.
Aldermen Qually & Walker with residents in Khayelitsha
Residents who are not yet using the system can sign up at their nearest library where they will be provided with a library card. They can then use these details to register on the Smart Cape computers.
A total of 1548 users are currently registered on the Smart Cape System at the Khayelitsha facility with over 13 000 computer sessions conducted last year at this specific facility. However, anyone with a valid library card from any library in the city may make use of the Smart Cape facilities at libraries anywhere in the city.
