Home > dgCommunities  > Information Society: The ...

Search by Keywords: Advanced Search In Numbers Charts and graphs on how internet usage and spending on information and communication technologies have changed in developing countries- click here. ICT at the Development Gateway AiDA - Projects dgMarket - Tenders dgCommunities – ICT for Development About this Report This Special Report provides a forum for diverse perspectives on the Information Society and what's ahead for ICT as a development tool. Participating in this Special Report are our online communities focused on: Afghanistan Reconstruction Culture & Development E-Government E-Learning Environment  Food Security Foreign Direct Investment Gender and Development HIV/AIDS ICT for Development Indigenous Issues Iraq Knowledge Economy  Microfinance  Non-Governmental Organizations Poverty Space Applications Trade and Development Urban Development  Water Resources Management Youth for Development       Please take our online survey for the next Special Report "Online Education: What Can It Deliver?" coming in March 2006. Become a Development Gateway member, and you will be notified of our upcoming reports. Sign-up! See previous Special Reports here. Special Report Information Society: The Next Steps The Information Society has produced a tantalizing array of new information and communication technologies (ICT) that today have transformed the approach to global development. Access to these technologies is spreading rapidly. In 2005, the number of Internet users in developing countries will cross the 500 million mark, surpassing industrial nations for the first time. By some estimates, more than 75 percent of the world’s population now lives within range of a mobile network. Yet the long-heralded promise of ICT remains out of reach for most of the developing world. For the information poor, economic and social gaps are in fact widening both within and between countries. Following on the rapid expansion of the Information Society, the United Nations called for a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) organized under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union. The two-phase summit, begun in Geneva in 2003, and concluded in November 2005 with WSIS Phase II in Tunisia. The goal of this meeting was to assess progress and prompt further global action to capture the promise of ICT for all. This Special Report "Information Society: The Next Steps" looks at how the ICT landscape is changing in the developing world and what lies ahead. Experts from governments, donors, NGOs and the private sector speak out about effective policies, promising applications and innovative business models. Updated January 4, 2006 Roundtables (NEW) E-Leadership What Role Can it Play in Development?   Nagy Hanna, e-Leadership Institute Peter Knight, Telemática e Desenvolvimento Ltda Read Civil Society Where Can ICT Contribute Most? M S Swaminathan, India Shafika Isaacs, South Africa Yahya Tabesh, Iran Cornelius Hopmann, Nicaragua Read Development Banks Do They Promote Knowledge Societies? Daan Boom, Asian Dev. Bank Pierre Guislain, World Bank Danilo Piaggesi, IADB Read Case Study How ICT Has Transformed India   Kiran Karnik, NASSCOM Sam Pitroda, Knowledge Commission  Read Issues WSIS How Can WSIS Facilitate Development? (updated) Despite advances since 2003, the digital divide still exists  Read  Blogs and Wikis Ushering in an Era of Change New tools for citizens are changing ICT Read In-Country Putting ICT to Work for Development (updated) Examples from Africa and South Asia  Read ICT Awards Recognizing Leaders and Pioneers Promoting ideas through competitions  Read How Is An Effective Enabling Environment Created for ICT? Open Source Software: Building Local Talent in Developing Countries  Youth and Access to Technology E-Waste: A Mounting Environmental Problem Civil Society at WSIS and Beyond A Glimpse into ICT and the Development Paradigms Are We Ready for E-Learning? Afghanistan: Making Swift Strides in Telecommunications ICT to Empower Women   How Can ICT for Development Be Financed? (updated) Bilateral Donors: Perspectives from the US and Switzerland Can a Digital Solidarity Fund Work? Outsourcing: The India Experience FDI and Information Society: Synergies for Development Telecommunications and Development: Successful Business Models from South Asia ICT and Microfinance Institutions   What Tools and Applications Can Benefit Most? (updated) Prodem Fondo Financiero Privado: Providing Rural Bolivians with Access to Banking ICT Applications for Water Resources Management How Digital Development Sustains Cities Making ICT Works for Food Security How The eApproach Can Tackle The HIV/AIDS Epidemic Global Sound: Harnessing the Internet for Cultural Exchange Internet Projects Aimed at Indigenous Connectivity How E-Learning Can Be Used to Create Employment and Business Opportunities Email this page Sign-up Sponsored by: From Our Members How did Development Gateway members respond to our Information Society Survey questions?: Has ICT been an effective tool for development?  What are good examples of how ICT has worked for the poor?  How do you use ICT for development? Is the development community’s support necessary to ensure that ICT is used as a tool in the developing world or should it be left to market forces? Is ICT socially and politically neutral or biased as a tool for development? Speak Out: What impact did the World Summit on Information Society have? (NEW) Speak Out: How should the language of the Internet be determined? (NEW)   Partners Global Events Nov 3, Fill-the-Gap!, Netherlands  Nov 9-Nov 11, World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities and the role Information Society, Spain  Nov 10 -11, Libraries and the Information Society in Action, Egypt Nov 13-15, Past, Present and Future of Research in the Information Society Nov 16-18, World Summit on Information Society, Tunisia  Nov 17, Creating Transformations: Intel at WSIS, Tunisia  Nov 28-Nov 30, IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education, Japan  Nov 28 - Dec 5, GKP/MSSRF South-South Exchange Traveling Workshop 2005, India Mar 7 - Mar 9, Second Annual SANGONet "ICT and Civil Society" Conference May 25 – May 26, First International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, USA

Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Editorial | Copyright Notice | Make this Your Home Page