The Lure of Magic
UN Millenium Development Goal 8.7: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies - especially information and communications technologies.
Absolute bullshit.
I am one of the strong supporters of the UN, but I do think that the whole approach in the MDG is flawed.
Over the past several years, a broad international consensus has emerged that technology offers a potentially powerful mechanism for promoting social and economic growth. Several recent studies have described remarkable success in using technology to help underserved communities and to create new opportunities in developing countries.
Yet these same studies often also cite other examples of squandered resources and unfulfilled expectations, of costly technology investments that did little to improve the lives of the target community.
"the digital divide is not a problem in itself, but a symptom of deeper, more important divides: of income, development and literacy. Fewer people in poor countries than in rich ones own computers and have access to the internet simply because they are too poor, are illiterate, or have other more pressing concerns, such as food, health care and security. So even if it were possible to wave a magic wand and cause a computer to appear in every household on earth, it would not achieve very much: a computer is not useful if you have no food or electricity and cannot read." - The Economist, 10 March 2005
I think we need to move beyond this unbridled enthusiasm for technology in developing countries and replace it with pragmatic realism; one that seeks to look beyond the hype and to analyze how technology can be used sensibly and cost-effectively to promote development.
There is no technological silver bullet that can "solve" illiteracy, eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, or eliminate high child mortality rates or poor maternal health. However, I do believe that as new technologies continue to drive rapid globalization, developing countries have a unique opportunity to harness the power of information and communication technologies to address issues such as public administration, and collective education - the real drivers of a developing society.
And that is when people from the developing world will close the divide themselves.
posted by /A @ 1:23 fm
6 comments
6 Comments:
hey Aloke,
howz it going , great to hear from u ?
wow u have been like everywhere.
It is great reading your blogs .
Keep in touch.
I will add u to my blog list
Cheers,
Parin
One perspective is that for years there have been food programs in Africa, Billions of dollars have been pumped in by Private sector, Governments etc, you still have many hungry people, the point of the MDGs is that technology should be used to empower people, and be innovatively integrated into various aspects of development as you pointed out, but not having access to information which is freely available will only take them further away from reality , Technology gives them hope for a better world, I have seen the face of a ten year old glow when he recieved an email, his face was shining all day ! That shine can change the way he lives and thinks about life !
I still remember reading this [in one respected magazine the name of which I do not remember] for my Globalization and Developement class a couple of years ago:
As a part of his official visit to some African country, Bill Clinton is visiting a rural primary school when he realizes that that school has no Internet access. In his genuine attempt to help the local youth and/or make the intensively discussed digital divide smaller, he turns to his secretary and resolutely says: "Make sure this school will be connected ASAP". His secretary replies however: "Mr. President, unfortunately, there is no electricity in this village."
While I cannot swear this story really happened, I believe it is still perfectly illustrative not only of the complexity of the problems of the developing world, but above all of our frequently great-ideas-on-wrong-places-in-wrong-time that aim to fix these problems.
And, on a more scientific note (as published in the Economist on 10 March 2005 - we do have the same sources, Aloke:) ):
"Given the mixed opinions on the ground, then, the real issue is not whether investing in ICTs [=Information and telecommunication technologies] can help development (it can, in some cases, and for some people), but whether the overall benefits of doing so outweigh those of investing in, say, education or health. Leonard Waverman of the London Business School has compared the impact on GDP of increases in teledensity (the number of telephones per 100 people) and the primary-school completion rate. He found that an increase of 100 basis points in teledensity raised GDP by about twice as much as the same increase in primary-school completion. As Dr Waverman acknowledges, however, his calculations do not take into account the respective investment costs?and it is the cost of ICTs that makes people such as Mr Gates so sceptical of their applicability to the developing world."
so i came across your blog on nomadlife and was wondering...were u ever enrolled in NIIT in Bombay back...way way waaay back?if so very cool to have been reading yr blog. if not,sorry for the confusion!
ok so u might think i'm weird or something but at times i recall the oddest details:
think if memory serves correct it was sometime around 1995 or '97 that I was enrolled,and i think i had a group presentation with you and one topic was something to do with data warehousing...
regardless good to meet you.you should post and update yr blog it makes for really interesting reading:)
msn: Urmi1982@hotmail.com
Your last comment, "And that is when people from the developing world will close the divide themselves." - Better connectivity will enable them to close this divide.
You are right, poverty, education, hunger, will not disappear because of better connectivity directly, however, a few empowered individuals, who are educated, but live in villages and lack resurces, might do amazing things that might help the whole community one day. It is the probability of this happening, that better connectivity increases significantly.
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