I was happy to see this post advocating a return to the concept of "development of basic supporting infrastructure." Especially over the past couple of years I have been in countless meetings and seminars in which many learned participants have climbed all over each other to see who can be the fastest and the loudest to "go beyond" connectivity. The basic reality is that these fundamentals are not yet in place for huge numbers of people, including significant rural and urban populations in Latin America. My personal experience in rural development for more than a quarter century is that if people have the basic infrastructure and tools available, that their own innate creativity and entrepreneurial/survival skills will figure out how to use them. A few well-timed catalytic inputs by others (from the "north" or "south" or both) don't hurt either.
In UNDP we have talked about a "development dynamic" in which a structured dialogue involving multiple aspects of ICTs takes place represented by all sectors of society and that this process, once set in motion, can lead to enlightened and sustainable national policies and strategies toward the information society <http://www.opt-init.org/>. I would submit that something quite similar can also happen at the local community level when innovative technologies and creative social inventions are combined as in <http://www.dos.cornell.edu/cresp/ecopartners/project.htm> and continue to be leveraged in a virtuous circle. But does anybody care? Why aren't such "local solutions" being clustered instead of stove-piped by development agencies and governments so as create a "basic supporting infrastructure"? If they don't do it, who will? The private sector? Gary Garriott E-governance Adviser LAC SURF - UNDP PO Box 6314, Zone 5 Panama City, Panama Tel. 507 265 8168/8153 Fax 507 265 8445 On June 17, 2004, Keith Birkhold <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > ...If a technology can improve productivity or quality of life, if the > infrastructure is there to support the new technology, if the people > with the need have the money or financing for the initial investment, > and if those people have some exposure to the technology so that they > can see how it will improve their situation, then you are correct - they > will adapt the new technology. > ...snip... > > Development of basic supporting infrastructure is how I have seen the > most dramatic tranformation take place. > ...snip... > > I would propose that changes can be made in other countries by finding > local solutions for basic supporting infrastructure as well. Once that > foundation is in place, then information networks, economies, etc... > will evolve. ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. 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 For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org