WOUGNET Discussion - ICT: Is your wealth a click away?

Submitted by Dorothy Okello on 29 April, 2008 - 13:59.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are widely recognised as key tools in addressing a variety of challenges including governance, poverty, health, market access, and access to information. However, is this more of a promise than it is reality? How can ICTs be used to increase wealth and to reduce poverty? What is not being done to use ICTs for poverty reduction and why is it not being done?

Around the world, ICT potential remains largely untapped particularly by groups experiencing constraints such as time, discrimination, lack of knowledge and access to productive resources. Women are identified as the most affected group of this category. For example, in Uganda, womens'awareness and usage of ICTs is nearly three times less than that of men (2006 ResearchICT Africa!).

However, in the absence of other critical enabling conditions such as education, content development, participation and ownership by the poor, and accessible and affordable infrastructure, ICTs may not deliver on the expectations. In addition, while the private sector is expected to play a key role in facilitating various ICT-related benefits including access and development, poverty often has social and political dimensions.

As we prepare to mark World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2008 on 17th May, WOUGNET seeks your views on the question 'ICTs: Is your wealth a click away'. The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. Over the period, 21st April to 2nd May, WOUGNET invites you to share your views, examples, testimonies, ideas, recommendations and critiques on what is being done and what is not being done to use ICTs to increase wealth and to reduce poverty in all its forms. There will be SMSs sent out on a daily basis with questions for the day as well as highlights of contributions received. Contributions may also be sent in by email, or through the blog on the WOUGNET website.

At the end of the two-week period, a face-to-face workshop will be hosted to further discussion on the key issues arising. A report with recommendations from the workshop as well as a summary of all the discussions will be submitted to the Ministry of ICT on the occasion of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

Your participation and contributions will be greatly appreciated!

You can participate in any or all of the following ways:

  1. Register your mobile telephone number to receive the SMSs that will be sent out
  2. Contribute a short message on the issues. Send your SMS message to 077-758 1433, and it will be sent out to fellow subscribers with you/your organisation credited as the source of the message.
  3. Send your contributions by email to info@wougnet.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
  4. Share your views at the WOUGNET blog to which the daily SMSs will be posted
    http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=83

For more information and/or to register your mobile telephone number, please send a note to info@wougnet.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or send an SMS to 077-758 1433.

For more information about the 2008 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), please visit http://www.itu.int/wtisd/index.html

This initiative has been made possible through the generous support of Fahamu, Tachtical Tech and Hivos through the Mobile Advocacy Project. For information on the project, please visit http://wiki.mobiles.tacticaltech.org/index.php/Main_Page

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