ICT in poverty reduction

30.12.2005 RUAF is a global resource centre initiated by the international
Support Group on Urban Agriculture and is funded by: DGIS (The
Netherlands) and IDRC (Canada).

29.12.2005 The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa in Collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development are organising the Second IDLELO Conference on Free and Open Source Software to be held at the Nairobi Safari Park Hotel in Kenya from the 23rd to 25th February 2006. IDLELO is a Zulu word for a common grazing ground.

28.12.2005 The phenomenal growth of mobile phones in Kenya and many other developing countries thought to be too poor to afford the technology is a proof that people believe it is crucial to their well being.

27.12.2005 Globally, relevant information has become an indispensable resource in the interaction among civil society, individuals, governments and businesses. It holds the key to growth, development and competitiveness, and to uplifting standards of living. Information can be used in a significant way to improve the quality of life in poor local communities, and in so doing narrow the glaring gap between the “two worlds” in Southern Africa.

26.12.2005 In this paper, the author shows social, cultural, political and economic diversity of rural India and the need for appropriating the ICT interventions according to such diversifications.

26.12.2005 Swaabhimaan 2062, an alliance formed with the Multi-Stakeholder Partnership of government, civil society organizations, public and private agencies seeks to harness the potential of ICTs for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The current Five Year Plan of Nepal also envisions that Nepal will have rural tele-centers in 1,500 VDCs to bring about development.

23.12.2005 How has the country managed to deal with the food crisis, which at its height threatened five million people?

22.12.2005 The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Panos London has recently brought out a publication that shares lessons learnt from ICTs and poverty reduction efforts in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is edited by Kitty Warnock and Ravi Wickremasinghe, in cooperation with Gerolf Weigel.

21.12.2005 The final report for the USAID funded Mali CLIC project is now
available.

20.12.2005 THE government and MTN Uganda have signed a service and licence agreement of extending communication services to rural areas under the Universal Access project.

20.12.2005 Hundred remote community, primary and lower secondary schools around the country should be able to learn the basics of computers when the 2006 academic session begins.

20.12.2005 Indian Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled services (ITES-BPO) during the year continue to chart remarkable growth.

20.12.2005 Having drawn up a “vision” document for Calcutta and its neighbourhood, the government has embarked on a similar exercise for Burdwan.

19.12.2005 In view of the recent accuses of bribery against members of parliament, the Coalition Against Corruption is going to launch a helpline.

16.12.2005 The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India is organising a three day conference on “The State of Panchayats and the Way Forward”, in which one day (17th December 2005) has been kept as an open session.

16.12.2005 Mission2007.Org, the website of the Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre has attracted more than 300000 hits during the month of November.

15.12.2005 In a quiet government office in the Indian capital, Delhi, some 100 doctors are hunched over computers poring over ancient medical texts and keying in information. These doctors are practitioners of ayurveda, unani and siddha, ancient Indian medical systems that date back thousands of years.

15.12.2005 In a world that is increasingly connected, even rural farmers can make use of the Internet to broaden their access to global markets.

15.12.2005 The continuing gap between those who have access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and those who do not -- the 'digital divide' -- is in danger of intensifying existing social and economic inequalities.

15.12.2005 The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Telecom (GT), Mr. Oystein
Bjorge, has stated that although negotiations with other mobile
phone operators (Areeba, Buzz and Kasapa) to change the payment regime of interconnectivity tariffs are still ongoing, he would put onto the table the idea of the Originator Takes All.