An annotated list of key on-line sources which focus on how ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) are being used in Asia.

Bhutan Broadcasting Service

http://www.unesco.org/webworld/public_domain/kothmale_docs/Buthan.ppt

Author(s):Sonam Tobgyal

Date of publication:January 22 2001

Summary:Presentation about the Bhutan Broadcasting Service

Connecting People and Organizationsfor Rural Development through Pilot Multi Purpose Telecentres

http://www.unesco.org/webworld/public_domain/kothmale_docs/Philippines.ppt

Summary:A presentation on Multipurpose Community Telecenters (MCTs) in Selected Philippine Barangays

Developing the Internet Across Asia and the Near East

http://www.usaid.gov/regions/ane/ict/internet.htm

Summary: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are powerful tools for stimulating economic growth and social change. The quality of, and access to, information are critical to the successful application and adoption of ICTs by society. ICTs cut across all USAID traditional sectors: health, community development, governance, economic growth and education. They enable groups working on common issues to benefit from each other's experiences and share best practices. They can:

Provide access to improved education and health in remote or inaccessible areas through distance learning, telemedicine, and interactive training.

Improve services to citizens by providing on-line access to government/public services; enable individuals and communities to make informed choices in the decision making process.

Reduce business costs while opening access to new markets through electronic commerce, permitting more informed economic decisions.

Establishing a Public Internet Centre in Rural Areas of Mongolia

http://www.idrc.ca/telecentre/evaluation/nn/15_Est.html

Author(s):Narangerel Dandar for an international working meeting on telecentre evaluation, held at Far Hills,

Date of publication: September 28 1999.

Summary: The main purpose of the project is to broadcast information and deliver Internet access to rural areas.

Examples of Applications: ICTs in developing countries

http://www.iicd.org/base/show_article?cat=1&article_id=13&subcat=7

Author(s): Andreas Crede; Robin Mansell (eds.)

Date of publication: August 13 1998

Summary: This fourth booklet contains a series of case studies illustrating the potential role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in development. The cases that are described highlight possible ICT applications in a selected number of sectors. The first booklet discussed on the nature of ICTs and their importance for sustainable development. The second booklet focused on the gaps in the provision of ICTs in developing countries and the opportunities for bridging this gap. A third booklet examined the need to develop a national ICT policy framework.

Harnessing ICT for cities in Asia and the Pacific

http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2001/june/08june01/index.html

Date of publication: June 8 2001

Summary: Plans are taking shape for a UNDP partnership with the city of Shanghai and information and communications technology (ICT) learning centres across the Asia-Pacific region to set up a training network for city governments and the local private sector.

ICT - Case Studies/ Knowledge Products

http://members.tripod.com/knownetwork/internetinfo-cases.html

Author(s): Part of the KnowNet initiative

Summary: The section is a repository of case studies and knowledge products relating to the use of ICT models in various facets of human development.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Sustainable Livelihoods:

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/AcaDepts/ea/AERDD/ICTs.home.htm

Author(s): Clare O'Farrell & Dr Patricia Norrish (AERDD) and Andrew Scott (ITDG)

Date of publication: November 1999

Summary: The follow material relates to a desk based study on new communication technologies and existing information systems of small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs in rural communities. The purpose of the study was to enquire and to illustrate using case study examples:

Whether and how ICTs might further marginalise disadvantaged communities, to determine what could be done to mitigate those adverse effects.

Whether and how modern ICTs can be used to strengthen and develop the information systems of small-scale farmers and small-scale enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries and contribute to poverty reduction.

Information communication technologies, poverty and empowerment

http://www.imfundo.org/knowledge/skuse.htm

Author(s): Andrew Skuse, Development Communications, Social Development Department, DFID

Date of publication: June 2000

Summary: Some commentators have suggested that the social and geographic distance between certain sections of the world's population is being rendered meaningless by new information communication technologies (ICTs), though is simultaneously creating an 'information excluded' underclass comprised of the world's poor. Arguments that centre on the dissolution of old development dichotomies such and North and South in favour of the 'fast' and 'slow' resound to the language of empowerment and disempowerment. Increasingly, the 'wired' world is being brought together as the global network economy emerges, though it is at a clear cost to the unconnected.

Kids Learn

http://www.iicd.com/base/show_article?article_id=307&cat=8&subcat=62&par=935&back=page_k_s_archive

Author(s): Paul Judge

Date of publication: May 31 2000.

Summary: An Indian physicist puts a PC w/ a high speed internet connection in a wall in the slums and watches what happens. Based on the results, he
talks about issues of digital divide, computer education and kids, the
dynamics of the third world getting online.

Knowledge Networking for Sustainable Development

http://www.bellanet.org/gkaims/documents/docs/exchanges-ict.html?ois=y;template=gkaims.htm

Author(s): Vikas Nath (http://members.tripod.com/nvikas), Programme Officer SDNP India (Sustainable Development Networking Programme)

Summary: The paper aims to stimulate discussion on knowledge-based networking approach to sustainable development. Knowledge is and will continue to be critical to the social and economic activities that comprise the development process. The cornerstone of this approach is global access to information and human resources, enrichment of information during different steps and an efficient mechanism for collective learning and sharing of knowledge between nations, communities and individuals through bridging of gap between users and sources of information. The paper advocates that pursuit of knowledge networking when supported by vision, leadership and right value framework can secure considerable gains towards sustainable development.

Knowledge System for Sustainable Food Security

http://www.idrc.ca/telecentre/evaluation/nn/08_Kno.html

Author(s): V. Balaji for an international working meeting on telecentre evaluation, held at Far Hills, Quebec

Date of publication: September 28 1999

Summary: The information villages research programme has now been renamed "Knowledge System for Sustainable Food Security" to reflect the growing international and national interest in the role modern information and communication technologies can play in promoting sustainable agriculture.

News Clippings on ICT and Knowledge Management

http://www.cddc.vt.edu/knownet/internetinfo-news.html

Summary: Part of the KnowNet initiative

"Partnerships and participation in telecommunications for rural development: exploring what works and why"

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D-UniversalAccess/johan/papers/guelph.doc

Author(s): Johan Ernberg, ITU (http://www.itu.int/ITU-D-UniversalAccess)

Date of publication: October 26 1998

Summary: From a Conference at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada:

The overall objective of the Programme is to develop best-practice, sustainable and replicable models of ways to provide access to modern telecommunication facilities and information services, particularly to people in rural and remote areas. To this end pilot projects are implemented in a number of countries in different regions, at different stages of development and with different geographical, social, economic and cultural conditions.

Problems and Prospects in the Utilization of New Information Technologies by Developing Countries in Asia

http://www.unesco.org/webworld/public_domain/kothmale_docs/paper_goonasekera.rtf

Author(s): Anura Goonasekera, Deputy Secretary-General and Head of Research at AMIC.

Date of publication: January 22 2001

Summary: This paper was submitted to the international seminar on Integrating Modern and Traditional Information and Communication Technologies for Community Development, Kothmale, Sri Lanka.

With the exception of a few countries, most Asian countries have not benefited from the fruits of developments in communications technology. Growth, in most cases, has been deceptively slow. However, there are some indications that the traditional communication infrastructure gap between developed and developing countries - the one based on the total number of basic telephone lines - is narrowing

Statement on ICT's from G-15 Meeting

http://www.sittdec.org.my/g15/news/g15%20summit.html

Author(s): Prime minister of Malaysia the hon. Dato Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

Date of publication: May 30 2001

Summary: Extract of statement by the prime minister of Malaysia the hon. Dato Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad on behalf of Asian member states at the inaugural session of the eleventh summit of the g-15 in Jakarta, Indonesia on

Telecentre Evaluation Methods and Instruments: What works and why?

http://www.idrc.ca/telecentre/evaluation/nn/28_Tel.html

Author(s): George Scharffenberger for an international working meeting on telecentre evaluation, held at Far Hills, Quebec from September 28-30, 1999.

Summary: This paper summarizes the principal elements of that methodology and the lessons learned during the process of baseline data collection in Mali and Uganda. It incorporates lessons learned by Pact in similar information needs assessments/communications mapping exercises over the past year in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Mongolia.

The Internet Comes to Rural India

http://www.idrc.ca/reports/read_article_english.cfm?article_num=552

Author(s): Keane Shore

Date of publication: November 5 1999

Summary: A pilot project is bringing the Information Age to rural Indian villagers in the form of communal telephone and Internet access. Based on the experiences to date of a half-dozen local 'information shops' in southern India, another 12 villages have requested their own information shops, if funding can be found.