This Sourcebook, intended for parliamentarians, provides a broad overview of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their use as powerful tools to accelerate social and economic development. Examples from the Asia-Pacific region are provided to demonstrate how different stakeholders have successfully applied ICTs to development.

Preface:

This Sourcebook acknowledges the varying needs of parliamentarians in different geographic, social, economic and political environments and seeks to provide a broad overview of ICTs and their use as powerful tools for accelerating social and economic development. It highlights the key and fundamental ICT for Development (ICT4D) issues by emphasizing the importance of ICT4D policies, the development of national ICT agendas, the application of ICTs in specific sectors,and the role of government and members of parliament in the process of implementing ICT4D in their respective countries.

Examples from the region are provided to demonstrate how different stakeholders have successfully applied ICTs to bridge the digital divide with concrete socio-economic benefits.

To supplement the information that is available in this Sourcebook with timely and up-to-date information relevant to parliamentarians on ICT4D initiatives taking place in the Asia-Pacific region, a website—the Asian Parliamentarians Forum (www.eAPF.net) —has been created.

The Sourcebook and the accompanying website are outputs of e-ASSAP, a UNDP-APDIP project, supported by the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) and funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). These seminars aimed to sensitize parliamentarians who are responsible for debating development priorities and making decisions on the allocation of resources with government representatives and international agencies.

The seminars also provided an opportunity for Asian parliamentarians to discuss and share their knowledge and experience in the various ICT4D initiatives. The seminar series was structured to provide and equip participants with key skills required to evaluate and monitor ICT initiatives within their respective countries, with an emphasis on the importance of analysing the objectives of ICT4D programmes, determining appropriate ICT components, empowering and encouraging stakeholder participation, and evaluating the eventual outcomes of ICT4D initiatives.

On behalf of UNDP-APDIP,SDC and GKP,we hope that you will find this publication useful and beneficial in understanding the process of conceptualization, design, implementation and evaluation of ICT4D initiatives.

Shahid Akhtar, Walter Fust, Rinalia Abdul Rahim

Download Information and Communications Technology for Development: A Sourcebook for Parliamentarians

PDF format, 2.5MB, 92Pages. From apdip.net.

Editorial Team: DR. B. K. GAIROLA, DR.MAHESH CHANDRA, POOJA MALL, JAMES GEORGE CHACKO, PHET SAYO, HELENA LOH

ISBN: 81-8147-512-7. 2004
© United Nations Development Programme - Asia Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP)

Foreword:

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has proven its role in accelerating sustainable development and bridging the ever-growing divide in our present day society.There is,however,a critical need to channel the vast potential of ICT in the right direction for the betterment of society and effective human development.

I am personally delighted to see the efforts of the UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP–APDIP), the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), in actively promoting and building awareness about the vast potential of ICT for human development in different sections of society.

The e-Awareness Seminar Series for Asian Parliamentarians (e-ASSAP) organized by UNDP-APDIP in Hanoi, Colombo and New Delhi, has been extremely well received by the members of parliament who participated and has been considered by many as a timely initiative and a critical area of interest for most parliamentarians across the Asia-Pacific region.

As the Chair of the New Delhi phase of e-ASSAP, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to deliberate with my distinguished colleagues on the journey ahead and the importance for parliamentarians to grasp the fundamentals of this new and challenging digital economy and networked society.

Asian economies are growing at a phenomenal rate.However, the rate of growth varies vastly among the different countries in Asia, thus creating a digital divide among nations. It is, therefore, imperative that Asian countries work together to harness the potential of ICT for development and ensure the divide is not a permanent chasm that marginalizes and excludes the less developed nations from the interconnected digital economy.

Some of our nations have acquired a high degree of competence in the applications of ICT and are leading in the field of software and hardware development. Thus, initiatives in sharing their experiences and best practices will facilitate other countries to learn from their knowledge and leapfrog in the race of human development. However, it must be noted that developing countries have specific issues and needs that have to be carefully examined. In view of this, the identification, selection and customization of the choice of technology have to be undertaken seriously and with a great degree of planning.

The use of ICT for providing cost-effective tele-education and tele-medicine to farflung areas of our nations is a dream that all of us cherish. Empowering the poor, women, and the disabled through ICT to live an honourable and dignified life should be our dream.

To take our respective nations towards a knowledge society by using ICT necessitates that all the stakeholders in society take a pro-active role in this development. Parliamentarians, as the representatives of the people, have a greater responsibility and the political leadership through parliamentarians can and should play a pro-active role in this endeavour. The Information and Communications Technology for Development — A Sourcebook for Parliamentarians is a timely contribution to encourage parliamentarians to assume their new role in this ICT era.

Dr.Najma Heptulla,
Deputy Chairperson,Rajya Sabha,Parliament of India
Honorary President, Inter-Parliamentary Council,Geneva,Switzerland
Chairperson,Parliamentarians’Forum for Human Development

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