[GKD] Sustainable ICT Case Studies Website
Announcing Sustainable ICT Case Studies website www.sustainableICTs.org The Case Studies that have been uploaded to the Sustainable ICT website have been generated by Gamos and BigWorld as part of a research programme into Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sustainability factors. Funded by the Department of International Development (DFID), the research programme identified activities from across the world that sought to benefit the poor and had an ICT component. In particular it considered programmes where ICTs had enhanced ongoing development activities, the ICT activity could be replicated without sizeable investment, and there was a measure of sustainability. The case studies show that ICTs can enhance development projects. The research has not conclusively proven that an ICT activity directed at increasing income for the poor can, on its own, generate cost recovery inclusive of set-up and replacement costs, i.e. achieve economic sustainability. However, the studies do indicate that this is beginning to happen in some cases, and the prospects for the future are encouraging. More importantly the case studies clearly show elements of institutional and social sustainability. They also show significant developmental impact, and there are indications that ICT activities can be regarded as cost effective. For more information about this project please email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The site is an output of from a project funded by the UK Department for international development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID. Simon ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
[GKD] Kabissa Launches New Website
Dear GKD Members, Kabissa has launched a new Web site for our TIME TO GET ONLINE project. TIME TO GET ONLINE is an Internet capacity-building project for West African civil society organizations that that was launched in November 2002. Initially, we targeted organizations in West Africa whose main agenda concerns human rights, freedom of information, responsive government and democratization. A set of self-learning materials has been developed to help civil society activists and organizers to get online and to integrate the Internet into their organizations. The materials can be used as both a self-taught curriculum and as a reference guide for users with varying levels of Internet experience and expertise. The materials are available for download for African civil society organizations. Local workshops serve as a supplement to the learning materials and give organizations the opportunity for hands-on learning. To date, Kabissa has completed the pilot phase of this project, which involved the development of pilot versions of the learning materials and a first round of workshops. These workshops were conducted in Lagos, Nigeria with over 35 civil society organizations and in collaboration with Nigerianet and Media Rights Agenda. Future phases of the project will include further improvements to the materials and workshops throughout West Africa. We plan to replicate the project in other regions and with a wider range of African civil society organizations. You are invited to visit http://www.ttgo.kabissa.org or write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to learn more about the TIME TO GET ONLINE project and to get your own copy of the TIME TO GET ONLINE self-learning materials. You can pre-order print and cd-rom copies as well as download the entire book in electronic Adobe PDF format. Photos of the February workshops can also be accessed through the Web site. Enjoy! Best wishes, Tobias Eigen Executive Director -- Kabissa - space for change in Africa http://www.kabissa.org ___ Kabissa-News mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/kabissa-news ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
Re: [GKD] RFI: ICT Distance Education
infoDev is supporting the development of a knowledge guide to distance education designed to help distance education practitioners who are interested in using distance education for human development. The Network consists of six Internet sites located around the world. Resources on the site are organized on each site under the four themes. See: http://www.col.org/disted/ Best regards, Louise Chamberlain infoDev Gulshirin Annadurdyeva [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I know all of you are very busy nevertheless I would like to request your kind support. Our project deals with ICT development in Turkmensistan. It is in initial stage. Can you suggest the training for me, manager of the project, where I could learn more and share the experience and ideas on ICT Development. At present I design the project on Distance Learning. Can you recommend the references on that issue in detail? ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
[GKD] Online Course: ICTs for Developing Countries
Hello all, This is a reminder that registration is now open for the ICTs for Developing Countries course offered online through the USDA Graduate School. The course starts April 14 and runs for 12 weeks. It is delivered through a combination of CD-ROM for the course materials and email discussion list (a Yahoo group). Tuition is US$295. You can find out much more on the web site of Knowledge for Development at http://www.knowledgefordevelopment.com I am the course instructor for this English version of the course. A Spanish version of the course is also available for the first time. The Spanish version is being taught by Mila Gasco. Please note that the scholarship application process for the upcoming session is now closed (both for the Spanish and English versions of the course) and no further applications will be accepted for that session. You will also find a free tutorial on Learning to learn online on the web site of Knowledge for Development. If you have questions, feel free to contact me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Best regards, Barbara Fillip, PH.D. President, Knowledge for Development, LLC http://www.knowledgefordevelopment.com ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
[GKD] Can ICT Be India's Growth Engine?
http://www.business-standard.com/archives/2003/mar/50120303.075.asp Value For Money : Subir Roy Can ICT be India's growth engine? Business Standard, March 12, 2003 ICT has already started improving infrastructure and there is enormous potential for future development Can information and communication technology (ICT), or more specifically software, deliver for India when all other models have failed? Is India witnessing, or about to witness, ICT or IT or software led growth the same way as the Asian Tigers rode on export led growth? This was the subject of an Indo-US workshop organised by the department of management studies of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Of all the papers, one of the most esoteric was one by Govindan Parayil (National University of Singapore) who saw two contradictions of ICT-led development, digital divide and increasing returns. The digital divide is not an accessibility issue but an equity issue. There is an asymmetric relation between traditional modes of production (manufacturing, etc) and innovation and knowledge-based production. There is now a dual economy, primary and industrial on one side and information-based on the other. It is constant/decreasing returns versus increasing returns. The divide between these two modes is the digital divide. Under informational or digital capitalism increasing returns are not an anomaly. But they create an instability. They have been marked by the most unequal distributions of income and wealth in human history. His conclusion: development theories of the industrial age are inadequate to explain the ground realities of the information age. K J Joseph (Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum) feels there is an adverse impact of the strategy of excessive export orientation. The contribution of the ICT sector can be viewed at two levels, direct and indirect effect. The direct effect is in employment, income and export earnings from ICT. The indirect effect is in enhanced productivity, competitiveness and growth of other sectors on account of IT diffusion, emergence of altogether new services enabled by ICT and spillovers. He argues that the direct benefits are laudable. The ICT sector itself has shown remarkable vibrancy in terms of output and export growth as well as technological dynamism. These are often cited as the outcome of the export oriented growth strategy that was followed. But the economy as a whole seems not to have benefited because of high regional concentration of ICT activity and low diffusion of ICT to other sectors of the economy. Because of the ICT boom, other sectors of the economy which compete with it for skilled manpower would have been adversely affected. There are also adverse implications on other services like teaching, training, research and development. These are bound to have long-term implications on the overall growth of the economy and as well as in sustaining the current competitive advantage of ICT. Joseph calls for a national policy on ICT diffusion which could mitigate the adverse effect of excessive export orientation. Tojo Thatchenkery et al (George Mason University) address some very basic questions. Does ICT lead to economic development? Has it led to investment in infrastructure, institutions and individuals? What are some of the shortcomings of ICT as a development tool and what policy implication does this have? ICT reduces barriers to knowledge and information asymmetry. It has a large potential for infrastructure, institutional and human development. It increases transparency in institutions, promotes efficient market outcomes and can create jobs and generate incomes. The paper notes several examples of developmental use of ICT. Eye care is delivered in Mettur district in Tamil Nadu through web cameras and the Net. The National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat is digitising milk collection and thereby helping farmers. Under the Gyandoot scheme in Madhya Pradesh, 20 villages have been wired to the central database for access to both government and agricultural information. SEWA provides women in Gujarat with basic computer education to help them manage micro enterprises. What are the problems? Uneven regional development leading to greater inequality between states and also greater rich-poor, urban-rural inequalities; and lack of absorptive capacity standing in the way of knowledge filtering to other sectors of the economy. Importantly, there is poor domestic demand for ICT as it remains outward looking. The paper concludes that ICT can be the answer to unmet demands and needs of Indians. It has already started to improve infrastructure, education, health, gender, private enterprise, governance, rural development and public services. And there is enormous potential for future development. W e can turn to T T Srikumaran (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) for some hard evidence on the ground. He examines the Gyandoot in Madhya Pradesh, village
