[WSIS CS-Plenary] Development Gateway's New Special Report - Information Society: The Next Steps

[Afrin, Nadia]

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October 24th - New Special Report  -  Information Society: The Next
Steps

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The Information Society has produced a tantalizing array of new
information and communication technologies (ICT) that have transformed
today's approach to development. Access to these technologies is
spreading rapidly. This year, the number of Internet users in developing
countries is crossing the 500 million mark, surpassing industrial
nations for the first time. By some estimates, more than 75% of the
world's population now lives within range of a mobile network. Yet the
long-heralded promise of ICT remains far 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
World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) of December 2003, WSIS Phase
II in November 2005 will assess progress and prompt further global
action to capture the promise of ICT for all. This Special Report
"Information Society: 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. The online report includes:

 

- Interviews with experts on how to create an effective enabling
environment for ICT for development and how to finance it;

- collections of documents, research and statistics on tools and
applications that can benefit developing countries, found on the
Development Gateway portal and other websites; and

- a unique section devoted to the "voices" of those developing and using
ICT from both the North and South, relating stories contributed through
a recent Development Gateway survey of our members.

 

Interviews with the following people, among others, will be featured:

- Charles Geiger, Executive Director, WSIS Executive Secretariat

- Pierre Guislain, Manager of Global ICT Division, World Bank Group

- Aimal Marjan, National ICT Advisor, Afghan Ministry of Communication

- Sam Pitroda, Chairman of Indian Knowledge Commission

- Danilo Piaggesi, Chief of IT for Development Division, Inter-American
Development Bank

- M. S. Swaminathan, Founder, Swaminathan Research Foundation

- Jimmy Wales, Co-Founder, Wikipedia

 

Read the Special Report October 24, 2005 - January 15, 2006
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/special/informationsociety

 

 

 

 

 

Nadia Afrin

Content Coordinator

Development Gateway

Phone: 202 572 9258

 

ICT for Development http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict

E-government http://topics.developmentgateway.org/e-government

 

  

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