"The iConnect website and monthly e-Bulletin is a major source for information on the application of knowledge and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in sustainable development. In 2005, as part of an effort to get more ‘southern voices’ into the current global discourse on ICT fo
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r development, iConnect formed a team of six coordinators in Africa who regularly commission articles by local journalists on the impact and the use of ICTs for development. The articles, written from a southern perspective, appear regularly on the iConnect website in English, French and Spanish." (Back cover)
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"Contains 11 studies, mainly on information projects, each with between four and eight stories told by people involved in those studies. Each set of stories is prefaced by a summary of the study." (commbox)
"Acacia’s mission is very straightforward; it is to support research on ICTs that improve livelihood opportunities, enhance social service delivery, and empower citizens while building the capacity of African researchers and research networks. Towards that end, Acacia has identified three core res
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earch themes that will serve as a broad framework for the program. They are: People Empowerment: Understanding the individual and social changes that Africans are experiencing that are being brought about through the use of ICTs. Social Service Delivery: Research on how ICTs can help African governments with limited resources to more effectively deliver services to their citizens. Economic Development and Opportunity: ICTs in Africa are transforming both formal and informal economies. This theme explores the broader impact of ICTs on social and economic growth in Africa. Within each of these thematic areas, three or four key research issues have been targeted for investment. Acacia will support research networks (some existing and some emerging) that will pursue these areas of inquiry." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"This book is a review of 56 projects funded by the Pan-Asia ICT R&D Grants Programme for Asia-Pacific from 2002-2005. The aim of this book is to examine trends within these particular information and communications technology (ICT) projects in order to determine factors for success, and, common cha
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llenges. The underlying goal is to understand which projects have a lasting impact and can be replicated on a larger scale [...] In general, the review and analysis show that projects of particular value are those that increase access to information, improve efficiency, and support participation in civil society and governance initiatives. A key factor of success is projects that embrace participation and include a consultative process in their design, planning and implementation phases. However, the research showed that building partnerships and reaching common understandings throughout the planning of these initiatives was a complex and challenging undertaking. The importance of dissemination and marketing of project results is a common thread throughout each of the projects in this book. Some projects with successfully completed research objectives could not progress further without substantial promotional efforts. The analysis in this book also points to a range of strategies in which projects can be expanded on a larger scale. For example, project models can grow by moving to new locations thereby gaining momentum elsewhere." (Foreword)
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"La relación entre comunicación y cultura es un binomio indisoluble, buscar una fórmula equitativa en el perfeccionamiento del mismo, asumir que la participación constituye una de las dimensiones principales de la sociedad de la información; o que la planificación de objetivos en los países e
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n desarrollo ha de estar presente en cada etapa que se aborde son, entre otros atractivos temas, objetivo del análisis de este provocador ensayo, que abre nuevas perspectivas de debate y sitúa la discusión en los fines más ambiciosos de la cooperación internacional al desarrollo." (Tapa posterior)
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"As part of its initiatives to make Information and Communication Technology (ICT) work for the poor, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with four countries in east Africa initiated and carried out a joint project on Pro-Poor ICT. The said countries are Kenya, Rwanda, T
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anzania and Uganda. Primarily, the project aims at designing a community-owned network that will empower the poor people especially in rural areas by providing them with reliable and adequate access to ICT resources and facilities. Furthermore, such resources and facilities will be shared among the people in the area to bring down the operational costs hence ensure affordability to the majority without compromising the quality. In the process consultants from each of the four countries were engaged. Each of the consultants were given nearly the same terms of reference (ToR) to see to it that they all deliver uniform research outcomes that are, of course, tailored to the specificities of a given country. In Tanzania, consultants were from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH). A case study for Tanzania was completed in Bugabo Division of Bukoba District in Kagera Region. The area is in the lake zone along Lake Victoria. The population in Bugabo is about 40,000 people (2002 Census). It is proposed to implement a non-line of sight wireless technology network such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) to cover the division. The major proposed services to be offered by such a local wireless network are Voice and Data. Since the area does not have adequate coverage of GSM Network services, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) facility was proposed. Initial investment cost for the entire project was estimated to US$ 84,040 details of which can be viewed in the report. The annual current cost for the first year was estimated to US$ 93,008 and the annual income for the first year of operation was estimated to US$ 258,000. Section four of the report clearly outlines details of the estimates for initial investment cost, current annual cost, income and expenditure." (Executive summary)
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"This publication aims at understanding the nature and importance of various configurations of social and technological networks in community settings that combine to form a Local Information Networks (LIN). In this study LINs are conceptualised as comprising of two very different elements: one soci
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al, the other technological. Disaggregating the social and technological dimensions of local information networks helps us to understand how they work in practice and how they might be strengthened to bring greater social and economic benefits to the poor communities in which they are located. Hence, in both a practical and theoretical sense, a local information network can be thought of as a larger living field of social connections and communicative that determines the nature of information flow. On the technological side, the ICTs respond to specific local information needs expressed by recipient communities. On the social side, the combination of technological and human capacities embodied in a given intervention is superimposed upon a pre-existing field of social relationships. The three initiatives have been selected for the ways in which they demonstrate the use of social and technological elements within the local environment. Namma Dhwani and Nabanna were established through UNESCO’s Information and Communication Technologies for Poverty Reduction project, developed under UNESCO’s crosscutting theme on the eradication of poverty, especially extreme poverty. Akshaya on the other hand, is a State Government of Kerala initiative aimed at ICT literacy. The study concludes with the understanding that the technical dimensions of communication can never be fully divorced from the social if ICTs are to genuinely reach the poor with the information they need. Investment in social networks is critical since traditional forms of communication like word-of-mouth remains the most powerful, intimate and effective form of communication available to the very poor. The study also highlights the importance of local content production and the need to involve communities in the content creation process as key to achieving success is the quality, reliability and relevance of the information communicated." (Foreword)
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"In 2006 IICD celebrates its 10th anniversary of working with Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for development: ten very full years of working on people, ICT and development. And if one thing has become clear, it is that while ICT for develop ment forms the central theme in our work
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, the people are the key to our successes. Ultimately, our work is really all about people: their motivations, interests, capacities, achievements and difficulties. This booklet will demon strate what ICT can mean for our end-users, and cele brates how, over its first ten years, IICD has evolved to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities in this field." (Foreword)
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"Produced by The World Economic Forum and INSEAD, the fifth edition of the annual Global Information Technology Report is a comprehensive tool for measuring the progress made in the adoption of the latest information and communication technologies and identifying the obstacles to ICT development in
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more than 100 countries worldwide." (Publisher description)
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"OECD-DAC’s previous efforts of information collection exercises had already shown that it is difficult, if not impossible, to come up with an overall figure of the investment DAC members have made in the field of ICT for development. The recent attempt has not proved different from the previous o
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nes. Its summary outcome on DAC members’ ICT4D programmes and expenditures is included in Annex 2 and detailed information in Annex 3. Because the financial data are not comprehensive and compatible, the aggregate figure of financing cannot be calculated. However, some reported figures (including some non-ODA) should be highlighted:
• Canada estimates a minimum expenditure of US$ 33 million per annum.
• European Commission has € 250 million commitment of multi-year ICT-specific programmes in addition to € 110 million from the European Development Fund and € 750 million from the European Investment Bank (1999-2003).
• France committed about € 40 million (2002-2005) to global programmes over and from above its country programmes and other facilities.
• Germany at present supports ICT applications with an amount of approximately € 180 million.
• Japan launched its Comprehensive Co-operation Package for bridging the digital divide which consists of non-ODA and ODA funding with a total of US$ 15 billion over 5 years (2000-2005).
• Sweden spent approximately US$ 18 million in 2003.
• The United Kingdom committed ICT-specific programmes and projects, amounting to approximately a total of US$ 83 million.
• The United States estimates its spending of ICT for development at more than US$ 200 million in 2003, and through leveraged or matching outside resources a further US$ 240 million was mobilised." (Page 5)
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