ICT in poverty reduction

31.08.2007 Deutsche Welle, Germany's foreign broadcaster has made its television programs available live on many mobile devices, making it possible to watch DW-TV while away from TV and computer.

30.08.2007 e-Krishi centre in an Indian state of Kerala is making people of Malappuram district more happy in Onam festival by offering them cheap goods than any other place.

27.08.2007 United Nations officials called on top Chinese executives to utilize information technology to improve the plight of poor people and to fight against poverty, illiteracy and disease in their home country and around the world.

23.08.2007 An e-Book entitled, ICT in Agriculture: Perspectives of Technological Innovation provides an overview of successes and failures in the development and adoption of ICT in agriculture and the rural sector.

23.08.2007 ICT4D dgCommunity has taken an extensive interview of Barbara Fillip from the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and Mark Surman from Telecentre.org, on major telecenters' issues, the outputs of a recent publication untitled "Making the connection: Scaling Telecenters for development" .

22.08.2007 The Spices Board of India is going to launch electronic auction (e-auction) to ensure transparency in commodity trading. The new initiative will provide proper and error-free documentation, facilitating speedy billing and invoicing to eliminate the chances of hidden costs for the benefit of small growers.

21.08.2007 According to the Report by the Centre for Public Policy at Brown University in the US, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are capable of developing websites to offer best possible electronic services.

20.08.2007 The former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam has inaugurated the web-based telemedicine link which is believed to eliminate healthcare disparities in the country, at the IIT campus of Hyderabad with the cooperation of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, US.

20.08.2007 The Brunei Ministry of Education has allocated US$5.9 million fund for Information Technology project, which will connect students in Brunei schools.

17.08.2007 The first conference on the use of Web 2.0 for rural development and natural resource management will take place from 25-27 September in Rome. 40 speakers have been selected from organisations with various backgrounds from North and South, among them the representatives will be from IBM, Oxfam and UNESCO.

17.08.2007 The government of the south Indian state of Karnataka will assist communities in setting up 12 community radio stations to empower rural people.

16.08.2007 The latest (2006-2007) World Economic Forum Global Information Technology report shows that African countries are still lagging behind in terms of using opportunities offered by ICT so needs to enlarge efforts in the development and application of ICT in all the sectors of the economy to compete globally.

16.08.2007 According to the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), technology is transforming Australia’s agricultural landscape and bringing new levels of precision to farming, solving traditional agricultural challenges in new and improved ways and making the industry more efficient.

15.08.2007

14.08.2007 The private telecom operator Hutch has partnered with the Department of Post, Uttar Pradesh a north Indian state to take the mobile telecoms services to the masses of the state. The urban post offices will provide specific space for Hutch services, while rural post office will share counters for providing both postal services and Hutch services.

13.08.2007 UNESCO’s programme for Creative Content is aimed at boosting the production and dissemination of local content in both the traditional and new media in the most disadvantaged communities of the developing world.

08.08.2007 The Indian Minister of Communication and Information Technology has announced that about one lakh broadband enabled service centres will come up in the country by March, 2008. He added that one centre will come up for every six villages with all e-governance services.

06.08.2007 North Indian state, Haryana has launched the first mobile court in the country for people living in remote areas and incapable of bearing the cost of travel to courts. The mobile court would be staffed like a regular court and transact serious judicial business in both civil and criminal cases through a full-fledged trial.

06.08.2007 Myanmar will implement a cyber village project that aims to enable every village in the country to have access to the Internet. Investment is being invited from the private sector for the establishment of public access centers in villages

03.08.2007 UNESCO has launched a pilot initiative in Indian capital Delhi to deploy ICTs to address urban poverty and cultural bondage in areas that are characterised by low-income groups, poor civic amenities and lack of opportunities.