Dear GKD Members, The final report for the International Conference on Information Technology, Communications and Development 2001 is now available on the conference website at <www.itcd.net>.
The summary is provided here for your reference. The website www.itcd.net has all the papers that were meant for the conference. The papers are a really valuable resource for all of us. thanks gaurab ----- International Conference on Information Technology, Communications and Development (ITCD 2001) 29-30 November, 2001 A Summary Report More than hundred participants and thirty three speakers from over 25 countries came together to share their individual experiences and knowledge in the fields of information, technology, communications and development. The two-day conference included six sessions * Information communication technology and development (case studies) * Policy and legislation * Communication media and Internet * Web and society * Using ICT in development * E-learning and democratisation using the Internet In addition to these sessions were opening and keynote addresses, a panel debate and a panel session. The forum provided a good opportunity for experts to familiarise themselves with a broad spectrum of trends and experiences in the wide field of ICT&D. The presentations and discussions were in a language refreshingly free from jargon and the conference has raised a potential for collaboration between institutions and organisations. The problems and constraints in using ICT for development were discussed and solutions suggested. The limitations included, among others, the lack of infrastructure in developing countries, the high costs of information and communication technology, language, illiteracy, shortage of trained and skilled personnel, lack of adequate amount of relevant content, accessibility and the digital divide. In this sense, the stated objective of the conference for participants to learn from each other and to draw up a list of recommendations for the most appropriate deployment of information, technology and communications for development was realised. Overall, barring the keynote address by Kunda Dixit, editor Nepali Times, the importance of ICT for development was taken as a given. Perhaps as a continuation of the efforts of the conference, the participants could discuss the role of ICT in development. The empowering possibility of information was also taken as a given whereas information could be seen as a necessary but not a sufficient condition for development. More discussion on the nature of the IT industry and the impact of its structure and working for the field of development would have been welcome and will perhaps be explored in the follow up to the conference. At times a clear definition of 'development' seemed to be missing as some participants erroneously equated development with economic growth. Prominent speakers and participants included Kunda Dixit, Dr Ramesh Anand Vaidya (Member, National Planning Commission of Nepal), Lochan Lal Amatya (President of the Computer Association of Nepal), Dr Raslan Ahmad (Executive Secretary National IT Council, Malaysia), Professor P.A.V. Hall (Cross-cultural Studies, Department of Computer Science, Open University, UK), Shahid Akhtar (Regional Co-ordinator APDIP, Malaysia), David Madie (Director, Metrocomia, Denmark) and Alfred Diebold (Resident Representative, FES, Nepal). All the conference papers are available at <http://www.itcd.net> and further information and updates are also made available on the website. /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\ | Gaurab Raj Upadhaya | | GPO BOX 13655, Kathmandu, Nepal, +977 1 499 393 | | [EMAIL PROTECTED] , www.lahai.com | \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, an NGO that is a GKP member*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
