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ICTs : information and communication technologies for the poor

TORERO, Maximo
VON BRAUN, Joachim
November 2005

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This 'issue brief' describes the proliferation of electronically communicated information, which has accelerated economic and social change across all areas of human activity worldwide. It observes that the rapid growth of ICTs in developing countries is partly a result of very low initial access, and therefore in absolute terms developing countries are still well behind the developed world in access to ICTs. It concludes that ICTs offer an opportunity for development, but not a panacea. For the potential benefits of ICTs to be realized in developing countries, many prerequisites need to be put in place: prompt deregulation, effective competition among service providers, free movement and adoption of technologies, targeted and competitive subsidies to reduce the access gap, and institutional arrangements to increase the use of ICTs in the provision of public goods. The paper advocates for the importance of all three "Cs": connectivity, capability to use the new tools, and relevant content provided in accessible and useful forms

Financing ICTs for development : efforts of DAC members. Review of recent trends of ODA and its contribution

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE (DAC). OECD.
2005

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This report provides policy-oriented analysis of donor support for information and communication technologies for development, with particular attention to recent trends in bilateral ODA commitments for ICT infrastructure as well as other ICT assistance. This analysis is illustrated with an abundance of statistical charts, highlights and annexes. The study furthermore seeks to analyse the rationale of the donors and other stakeholders to withdraw from the ICT infrastructure support in the 1990s and shift to integrating ICT components into development assistance projects and programmes. New forms of multi-donor partnerships are appearing not only as a joint financing mechanism but also as a platform for exchange of experiences and learning among donor institutions

Low cost access and connectivity : local solutions

UN ICT TASK FORCE
2004

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This publication, a UN ICT Task Force Working Group Paper, brings together case studies of local initiatives which highlight innovation in meeting the information and communication needs in developing countries. Seven papers explore connectivity and access issues in different countries. Papers on Benin and Cameroon are in French

Revisiting the "magic box" : case studies in local appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICTs)

BATCHELOR, Simon
O’FARRELL, Clare
2003

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This book looks at the way communities and groups in developing countries are appropriating information and communication technologies (ICTs) to address their needs. It finds that ICTs are being integrated into wider community-based activities and adapted to fit different contexts. It follows on from the paper "Discovering the Magic Box". It finds that there are still few examples of community-driven and locally appropriated ICT initiatives and an absence of standards or guidelines to evaluate ICT-based projects. The book includes some analytical frameworks and indicators to identify good practice and evidence of impact A significant development has been in the growth of telecommunications, in particular mobile phones, that are relatively cheap and powerful tools for poor communities, even in remote areas. The book concludes that the power of oral communication through telephones and radio cannot be underestimated. The book proposes that the main challenge is to adapt the new, usually computer-based ICTs to the needs of poor, predominantly oral-based communities so that they can be appropriated effectively and quickly

Ethics and the Internet in west Africa : toward an ethical model of integration|Les enjeux éthiques d’Internet en Afrique de l’Ouest : vers un modèle éthique d’intégration

BRUNET, Patrick
TIEMTORE, Oumarou
VETTRAINO-SOULARD, Marie-Claude
2002

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This book focuses on ethical questions related to the use of the Internet in west Africa. It examines the manner in which the spread of the Internet in Africa raises serious ethical issues; issues that should be identified to ensure that, in the future, the adaptation and integration of Internet technology will be compatible with the development of Africa's nations. The book is based on field suveys in five west African countries, two anglophone and three francophone. For each country, a portrait of Internet users' ethical behaviours was created. The book demonstrates how the Internet, by virtue of its content and how the technology is uses, is creating upheaval in the practices and modes of communication within African communities. The book culminates with a proposed ethical model for the assimilation of the Internet that could serve as a reference for development policies in each of the respective countries and, more broadly, throughout Africa

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