ICT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE MDGS
ICT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE MDGS
At the present time, there is broad consensus on the impact Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have at different levels of society. ICTs come into being as new instruments for which a wide variety of uses is thus generated, being one of the main conditions that they should operate as efficient tools for development. This correlation between ICTs and development has been thoroughly studied and researched and, in general, it is believed that a positive association exists between both variables, so that investment in TICs is considered as an important dimension for the successful achievement of development projects. In spite of this, there is still a long road ahead before such technologies are included in the development agendas, given the fact that Southern countries do not usually give priority to investment in these areas
The interaction ICTs-development takes a new approach as of the adoption by the UN of the so called "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) in the year 2000, within the framework of the Millennium Summit. Such goals set targets to be met by the year 2015 which concisely refer to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, strengthening of gender equity, improvement of sanitary conditions, promotion of environmental sustainability and, in general terms, the promotion of development in poorer countries. One of the issues included in the latter goal is precisely referred to ensuring that the benefits provided by new technologies, particularly ICTs, are made available to all people.
From the moment of their formulation, MDGs have been adopted as reference framework for the evaluation of progress and regressions in the quality of life of people in those regions facing a critical socio-economic situation. In this way, the virtuous interaction ICTs-development is currently conceptualised in terms of the categories included in such goals. Thus, for example, a large number of studies have been carried out with regards to the contribution of ICTs to the processes of local development through the consumption and production of ICTs (examples of these are the creation of jobs, improvement in the quality of public services, increase in private sector productivity, etc.)
The participation of civil society in the elaboration of programmes aimed at implementing this type of projects has been acknowledged as an essential factor for the successful fulfilment of MDGs. Likewise, among those studies carried out, emphasis is laid on the need to set a universal system of indicators that may allow to measure the impact of the above-mentioned technologies on the fulfilment of MDGs as well as to enable the comparability of such incidence in different regions. In effect, this will be one the essential issues to be dealt with at the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
However, one of the recurrent problems that reverberates on the possibilities of investing in ICTs as instruments for the fulfilment of MDGs is that which refers to the lack of financing mechanisms for such investments, either at private, public or private-public level; and also to the secondary role ICTs are allocated by governments within public programmes or services.
Finally, although the relationship ICTs-development is not generally placed in doubt, the existence of proposals that, from a critical point of view, suggest a revision with regards to the current relevance of MDGs and their idyllic relationship with ICTs, cannot be avoided. In these cases, it is mainly claimed that such goals arise from a hierarchical and paternalist vision of Northern countries towards the South, which lack the necessary flexibility to face the changes experienced by Southern societies and fail to adequately address their specific realities.
At the present time, there is broad consensus on the impact Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have at different levels of society. ICTs come into being as new instruments for which a wide variety of uses is thus generated, being one of the main conditions that they should operate as efficient tools for development. This correlation between ICTs and development has been thoroughly studied and researched and, in general, it is believed that a positive association exists between both variables, so that investment in TICs is considered as an important dimension for the successful achievement of development projects. In spite of this, there is still a long road ahead before such technologies are included in the development agendas, given the fact that Southern countries do not usually give priority to investment in these areas
The interaction ICTs-development takes a new approach as of the adoption by the UN of the so called "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) in the year 2000, within the framework of the Millennium Summit. Such goals set targets to be met by the year 2015 which concisely refer to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, strengthening of gender equity, improvement of sanitary conditions, promotion of environmental sustainability and, in general terms, the promotion of development in poorer countries. One of the issues included in the latter goal is precisely referred to ensuring that the benefits provided by new technologies, particularly ICTs, are made available to all people.
From the moment of their formulation, MDGs have been adopted as reference framework for the evaluation of progress and regressions in the quality of life of people in those regions facing a critical socio-economic situation. In this way, the virtuous interaction ICTs-development is currently conceptualised in terms of the categories included in such goals. Thus, for example, a large number of studies have been carried out with regards to the contribution of ICTs to the processes of local development through the consumption and production of ICTs (examples of these are the creation of jobs, improvement in the quality of public services, increase in private sector productivity, etc.)
The participation of civil society in the elaboration of programmes aimed at implementing this type of projects has been acknowledged as an essential factor for the successful fulfilment of MDGs. Likewise, among those studies carried out, emphasis is laid on the need to set a universal system of indicators that may allow to measure the impact of the above-mentioned technologies on the fulfilment of MDGs as well as to enable the comparability of such incidence in different regions. In effect, this will be one the essential issues to be dealt with at the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
However, one of the recurrent problems that reverberates on the possibilities of investing in ICTs as instruments for the fulfilment of MDGs is that which refers to the lack of financing mechanisms for such investments, either at private, public or private-public level; and also to the secondary role ICTs are allocated by governments within public programmes or services.
Finally, although the relationship ICTs-development is not generally placed in doubt, the existence of proposals that, from a critical point of view, suggest a revision with regards to the current relevance of MDGs and their idyllic relationship with ICTs, cannot be avoided. In these cases, it is mainly claimed that such goals arise from a hierarchical and paternalist vision of Northern countries towards the South, which lack the necessary flexibility to face the changes experienced by Southern societies and fail to adequately address their specific realities.
posted by mwesigye herbert at 12:55 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home