ICT in poverty reduction

27.06.2005 Dowry is the most commonly discussed social issue amongst women in the Nabanna network , a UNESCO supported initiative that has been working with local women in India to identify information needs and appropriate materials

27.06.2005 Noted Indian scientist Prof. MS Swaminathan in this opinion piece for Chennai-based newspaper The Hindu says that among the serious problems confronting them, farmers see access to water, credit, technology, and market as the most important.

27.06.2005 UNESCO this week installed the first of the new community multimedia centres it is establishing in Mali as part of a scale-up initiative also involving Mozambique and Senegal

24.06.2005 Public access points have contributed significantly in extending the access to and outreach of information and communication technologies to common people though mostly in urban areas. In developing countries such shared facilities provide access outlets outside the office and home model of Internet access.

22.06.2005 Who are the winners and losers in the ICT revolution? What are the likely consequences of the slow development of ICT infrastructure in many developing countries?

21.06.2005 Six finalists have been chosen from a field of 135 nominations for the Development Gateway Award 2005.

20.06.2005 The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has a strong base here in India, and Richard Stallman has met the leaders of the country on more than one occasion.

17.06.2005 A case study that illustrates the OKN experience of using Information and Communication Technology(ICT) to collect, consolidate, document and disseminate the enormous hidden and fading knowledge available in Indian villages, which will be useful for the future generations and humanity.

17.06.2005 Providing insurance services to the working poor in the rural sector is a major challenge for both community-based organisations and the government alike. Micro and public insurance programmes present an interesting opportunity to enhance the social protection level of poor households by managing their risks significantly.

17.06.2005 Daniel J. Gustafson, the FAO Representative for India and Bhutan, shares FAO’s perspective on the various aspects of rural livelihoods and the important role of ICTs in an interview with Manish Kumar of OneWorld South Asia.

17.06.2005 Prolonged conflict has devasted the agricultural growth and development in Palestine, which is traditionally rich in resources. This has severe implications for the entire Palestinian economy.

17.06.2005 The heterogeneity of poor, food insecure people and the communities in which they reside necessitates a portfolio approach in which policy makers, programme managers and donor agencies may consider selecting from a choice vector of different instruments, including IT-based to respond to emerging needs.

16.06.2005 Effective utilisation of ICT has the potential to make the rural communities in India prosperous. Failure to exploit the benefits of ICT would make them isolated, victims of the vicious cycle of poverty and widen the gap between the haves and have nots, thereby affecting social equality and livelihood security.

14.06.2005 Rural India should be given a chance through digital networks for farmers, e- ooperatives, and digital SMEs to usher in a “digital inclusion” for fostering rural prosperity and grassroots level development.

14.06.2005 The School of Information Management and Systems at the University of Berkeley, California, in partnership with Microsoft Research India is organising the First International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2006) on May 25-26, 2006 at Berkeley, USA.

14.06.2005 The substantial increase in the budgetary allocation for rural development reflects the strong commitment of the Central Government to sustainable development in rural areas and also towards creating more livelihoods opportunities.

14.06.2005 A study of Mangrove forests in Orissa that aims at providing the policy planners, implementation agencies, communities and other stakeholders adequate analysis and insight into devising and implementing a self sustaining livelihood system on the ground, which can ensure the preservation of the mangrove.

13.06.2005 “The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has emphasised the government’s commitment to the launching of a “Second Green Revolution”. The ‘New Deal’ aimed at ensuring food and nutritional security of the people, would augment farm incomes and employment.”

13.06.2005 The TARAhaat initiative has created a unique platform to overcome the traditional contradiction between social and environmental goals and the imperatives of business – a prerequisite for scaling up sustainable development interventions.

13.06.2005 It is essential to make the community realise the need and importance of such ICT interventions, which can help them in improving the quality of their life. However, such projects can become sustainable in the long run only if they help in the improvement of livelihood patterns.