Information and Communications Technologies
The introduction and rapid spread of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), such as the world wide web, e-mail, telephones, fibre optics and satellites is revolutionising the way in which societies interact, conduct their businesses, compete in international markets and set their economic and human development agendas.
ICTs enable societies to produce, access, adapt and apply information in greater amounts, more rapidly and at reduced costs and offer enormous opportunities for enhancing business and economic viability.
ICTs can also contribute towards strengthening democracy, increasing social participation, competing in the global market place and removing barriers to modernisation; making poor populations fuller agents in the sustainable developmental process.
However, with the rapid introduction of these technologies in the western world, the gap between the rich and the poor nations is widening.
A 'global information' society threatens to create a new divide between the 'information rich' and 'information poor' people of the world as poorer and marginalised people in developing countries are excluded from the benefits of new communication technologies.
While poor nations grapple with the problems of investing in these technologies, recent experiments show that convergence of new and traditional communication media is still relevant to poor communities who lack basic infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity and telephones.
ICTs are not just about technologies, but more about information transfer and communication.
Considering the potentials as well as constraints of these technologies, Practical Action is seeking to explore whether and how the traditional and new ICTs can be effectively used among the poor to reduce poverty and enhance their productivity and competitiveness in the global market place.
Our work in ICTs includes:
- Women's voices
- Radio and HIV/Aids
- Access to ICTs in Zimbabwe
- Podcasting in Peru
- Second Voice
- InfoDes telecentres
- Communicating with video
Practical answers to information poverty
ICTs are considered increasingly important in the effort to eradicate poverty. Supported by the World Bank, Practical Action is now actively involved in seeking practical answers to 'information poverty' by testing out how new information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be used by small-scale producers to improve their livelihoods.
It is widely recognised that ICTs can provide access to information which can in turn create earning opportunities, improve access to basic services, increase the impact of education and health interventions, and give the poor a voice to demand government support and reforms.
Despite these potential links between ICTs and poverty reduction, direct access by the poor to ICTs is extremely limited. Citizens of poor countries, especially women, have significantly less access to ICTs than those living in rich countries. Factors such as excessive domestic workload, illiteracy and lack of formal education prevent these groups from accessing information.
Practical Action believes that poverty reduction means focusing on particular groups within societies not on 'poor countries'. Considering the potential risks as well as opportunities, Practical Action seeks to apply traditional means of information dissemination as well as ICTs to empower particular groups within societies.
