“This study seeks to explore the role of ICTs in climate change awareness in rural areas. It is based on a cross sectional study that was conducted in Seke and Murewa districts in Mashonaland East province of Zimbabwe. The findings indicate that the majority of
respondents in the two districts were aware of climate change. Significant differences in the level of climate change awareness were observed between those who had access and those who did not have access to ICTs (radio; television; video cassette recorder (VCR); digital video disc (DVD) player; fixed telephone; mobile phone; satellite decoder; computer;
internet; and the traditional print media (newspapers; farming/environmental magazines; business magazines; entertainment magazines; church magazines; and posters)), with those who had access having a higher level of awareness than those who did not have access. However not all ICTs were found to significantly influence the likelihood of a respondent
being aware of climate change. The following ICTs were found to have a significant positive influence on the likelihood of an individual being aware of climate change: reading farming/
environmental magazines; access to radio; access to mobile phone. A negative relationship was observed between access to television and the likelihood of an individual being aware of climate change. However this does not mean access to television reduces climate change
awareness but it means that in the study area it decreased the likelihood of a respondent being aware of climate change. These findings highlight an important aspect of ICTs which is, ICTs are just technologies that facilitate information dissemination and communication, but
how these technologies and their capabilities are utilised is dependent on the users.”
