THE ROLE OF ICT IN DEVELOPMENT
‘ICT is a strategic instrument for achieving the Millennium Development Goals’ said Korean President Han Seung-soo, President of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in his summary of the two-day session on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Development held on 17 and 18 June in New York (USA). The Assembly’s plenary sessions took in a wide range of inputs from representatives from around the world regarding ICT for development, in particular regarding the UN ICT Task Force and the forthcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Running through the debate was, amongst other things, the issue of the role of developing countries in international ICT decision making. President Han Seung-soo concluded: ‘We have stressed the importance of ICT for development and reaffirmed our commitment to mainstreaming ICT in development issues. The realisation of the potential of ICT for development requires a broad international commitment of political leaders to act in concert. It is up to us to bridge the digital divide and turn it into a digital opportunity’.
The plenary sessions also had two informal panels which ran in parallel alongside the session (see UN: The UNs role in Supporting Efforts to Promote Digital Opportunity, Summary of Panel Discussion and UN: How ICTs Leverage Development to Meet the Millennium Summit Goals, Summary of Panel Discussion). The highlights of the session included the following(emphasis added in bold0:
‘The countries of the South’, said Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, ‘those suffering most from the serious ill-effects of the digital divide, had initiated the meeting today’. Indeed the New Partnership for the Development of Africa (NEPAD) had made closing the gap in the use of new information technologies a high priority on its agenda, he said. The struggle to harness the benefits of new technologies was well under way, he continued, and signs were pointing hopefully in the direction of a digital revolution for Africa.
North-South Co-operation, And South-South Co-operation
‘Developing countries are well aware of their ICT needs for national development, but require support from the international community to fulfil these needs’ said President Han Seung-soo. ‘We must provide adequate resources to realise the digital opportunity for developing countries and countries with economies in transition. The cooperation between developed and developing countries is thus one crucial element for bridging the digital divide, but the potential of collaboration among developing countries (South-South cooperation) should also be fully explored. At the same time, regional collaborative efforts should be recognized and promoted. For example, the President of Senegal shared with us in his keynote speech yesterday the challenges faced by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in achieving economic and social development objectives. ICT has been recognized as one of the main priorities of NEPAD. These regional initiatives need full international support’.
Ma Songde, the Chinese representative, said that international cooperation was the optimal approach to bridging the digital divide. It was imperative to combine the market potential of the developing countries with the technological advances of the developed world. That would not only benefit the developing countries, but open up more markets for the developed countries, as well. Developed countries should also work towards promoting South-South cooperation.
Multistakeholder Participation
The meeting recognized the significance of multi-stakeholder partnerships for leveraging development with the use of ICT, noted the Assembly President in his summary. Many delegates emphasized the importance of collaborative partnerships between governments, civil society and the private sector in order to ensure that the benefits of ICT become available to all. The private sector has a key role in developing and disseminating ICT. Governments are responsible for providing transparent regulatory and legal frameworks that integrate the specific needs of developing countries. Civil society can bring a broader, participatory and inclusive approach to ICT development.
Chuchai Kasemsarn, the representative of Thailand, stressed that international cooperation was critical to ensuring that all people received the benefits of the technological revolution. It was also important to bring together all relevant stakeholders, particularly private sector partners. In that, he continued, the United Nations could play a unique role. He highlighted the work of the United Nations ICT Task Force and DOT Force, and urged the Secretariat to ensure those two important mechanisms cooperated more closely.
The Private Sector
‘All participants had agreed on the need for equitable rules governing access to ICT that did not penalize Africa and the developing countries,’ said the representative from France in summarizing the discussions of an informal panel discussion. He said that speakers from the private sector did not see Africa and the least developed countries (LDCs) as welfare recipients, but rather as a particularly lucrative emerging marketplace. The best way to promote that idea was to create partnerships, he said.
Ethiopia's representative, Abdul Mejid Hussein summarizing the discussions in a second informal panel, said participants saw ICT as an arena where development concerns could be converted to legitimate business opportunities. Speakers felt it was imperative that businesses recognized the merits of overcoming the digital divide as it related to customers, investments, savings and earnings. Participants, he said, had noted that ICT could have considerable leverage to promote development and reduce poverty, but there were many complications to overcome. Most immediately, countries with the lowest levels of telephone and Internet usage had the highest phone, connectivity and band-with costs. A related concern was how the goals of business and development could be merged.
On the other hand, Mochamed Slamet Hidayat of Indonesia, associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said that although the private sector was fundamentally important in making the benefits of ICT available to all, market forces alone could not bridge the digital divide and promote digital opportunities. Financial resources for promoting ICT in the service of development had remained insignificant in comparison to the size of the task, he said. That trend had been significantly aggravated by the impact of rapid globalization and liberalization.’
Government
Alexandru Niculescu,the representative of Romania, said that the expansion of Internet usage in Romania made e-governance possible and necessary. ‘To that end, the concept of Government activity had to be re-envisioned. The Government was committed to ICT and e-initiatives, in order to better fulfil its obligations, particularly in areas of education, social protection, the promotion of economic growth and ensuring free access to competitive markets. Providing such services on-line would encourage better integration of ICT in and among local communities and boost infrastructure development, as well’.
Civil Society
José Figueres Olsen, the Chairman of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force, said amongst other things that two years along the road towards 2015 [the target dates for the Millennium Goals], there was a need for a new approach, as well as for the mainstreaming of ICT in all development efforts, if those goals were to be achieved. A new approach required a collaborative effort, relevant intergovernmental organizations, good working public institutions, a more engaged private sector with a better sense of global corporate responsibility, and a civil society that not only pointed out the issues to be tackled, but also participated actively in tackling them.
Resources:
Full reportage from the meeting, including all contributions from representatives, are published by the UN ICT Task Force.
UN ICT Task Force http://www.unicttaskforce.org
UN http://www.un.org
The plenary sessions also had two informal panels which ran in parallel alongside the session (see UN: The UNs role in Supporting Efforts to Promote Digital Opportunity, Summary of Panel Discussion and UN: How ICTs Leverage Development to Meet the Millennium Summit Goals, Summary of Panel Discussion). The highlights of the session included the following(emphasis added in bold0:
‘The countries of the South’, said Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, ‘those suffering most from the serious ill-effects of the digital divide, had initiated the meeting today’. Indeed the New Partnership for the Development of Africa (NEPAD) had made closing the gap in the use of new information technologies a high priority on its agenda, he said. The struggle to harness the benefits of new technologies was well under way, he continued, and signs were pointing hopefully in the direction of a digital revolution for Africa.
North-South Co-operation, And South-South Co-operation
‘Developing countries are well aware of their ICT needs for national development, but require support from the international community to fulfil these needs’ said President Han Seung-soo. ‘We must provide adequate resources to realise the digital opportunity for developing countries and countries with economies in transition. The cooperation between developed and developing countries is thus one crucial element for bridging the digital divide, but the potential of collaboration among developing countries (South-South cooperation) should also be fully explored. At the same time, regional collaborative efforts should be recognized and promoted. For example, the President of Senegal shared with us in his keynote speech yesterday the challenges faced by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in achieving economic and social development objectives. ICT has been recognized as one of the main priorities of NEPAD. These regional initiatives need full international support’.
Ma Songde, the Chinese representative, said that international cooperation was the optimal approach to bridging the digital divide. It was imperative to combine the market potential of the developing countries with the technological advances of the developed world. That would not only benefit the developing countries, but open up more markets for the developed countries, as well. Developed countries should also work towards promoting South-South cooperation.
Multistakeholder Participation
The meeting recognized the significance of multi-stakeholder partnerships for leveraging development with the use of ICT, noted the Assembly President in his summary. Many delegates emphasized the importance of collaborative partnerships between governments, civil society and the private sector in order to ensure that the benefits of ICT become available to all. The private sector has a key role in developing and disseminating ICT. Governments are responsible for providing transparent regulatory and legal frameworks that integrate the specific needs of developing countries. Civil society can bring a broader, participatory and inclusive approach to ICT development.
Chuchai Kasemsarn, the representative of Thailand, stressed that international cooperation was critical to ensuring that all people received the benefits of the technological revolution. It was also important to bring together all relevant stakeholders, particularly private sector partners. In that, he continued, the United Nations could play a unique role. He highlighted the work of the United Nations ICT Task Force and DOT Force, and urged the Secretariat to ensure those two important mechanisms cooperated more closely.
The Private Sector
‘All participants had agreed on the need for equitable rules governing access to ICT that did not penalize Africa and the developing countries,’ said the representative from France in summarizing the discussions of an informal panel discussion. He said that speakers from the private sector did not see Africa and the least developed countries (LDCs) as welfare recipients, but rather as a particularly lucrative emerging marketplace. The best way to promote that idea was to create partnerships, he said.
Ethiopia's representative, Abdul Mejid Hussein summarizing the discussions in a second informal panel, said participants saw ICT as an arena where development concerns could be converted to legitimate business opportunities. Speakers felt it was imperative that businesses recognized the merits of overcoming the digital divide as it related to customers, investments, savings and earnings. Participants, he said, had noted that ICT could have considerable leverage to promote development and reduce poverty, but there were many complications to overcome. Most immediately, countries with the lowest levels of telephone and Internet usage had the highest phone, connectivity and band-with costs. A related concern was how the goals of business and development could be merged.
On the other hand, Mochamed Slamet Hidayat of Indonesia, associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said that although the private sector was fundamentally important in making the benefits of ICT available to all, market forces alone could not bridge the digital divide and promote digital opportunities. Financial resources for promoting ICT in the service of development had remained insignificant in comparison to the size of the task, he said. That trend had been significantly aggravated by the impact of rapid globalization and liberalization.’
Government
Alexandru Niculescu,the representative of Romania, said that the expansion of Internet usage in Romania made e-governance possible and necessary. ‘To that end, the concept of Government activity had to be re-envisioned. The Government was committed to ICT and e-initiatives, in order to better fulfil its obligations, particularly in areas of education, social protection, the promotion of economic growth and ensuring free access to competitive markets. Providing such services on-line would encourage better integration of ICT in and among local communities and boost infrastructure development, as well’.
Civil Society
José Figueres Olsen, the Chairman of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force, said amongst other things that two years along the road towards 2015 [the target dates for the Millennium Goals], there was a need for a new approach, as well as for the mainstreaming of ICT in all development efforts, if those goals were to be achieved. A new approach required a collaborative effort, relevant intergovernmental organizations, good working public institutions, a more engaged private sector with a better sense of global corporate responsibility, and a civil society that not only pointed out the issues to be tackled, but also participated actively in tackling them.
Resources:
Full reportage from the meeting, including all contributions from representatives, are published by the UN ICT Task Force.
UN ICT Task Force http://www.unicttaskforce.org
UN http://www.un.org
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