ICT Success Stories Portal: showcasing ICTs power for development

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ICT Success Stories Portalshowcasing ICTs power
for development
www.itu.int/ict_stories

• Official launch of the Portal,
• 31 March 2006, ITU Headquarters, Geneva
• Youlia Lozanova, Strategy Policy Unit, ITU

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Outline

1. Goals
2. The Portal WSIS
3. Leveraging the Portal
4. Functionality
5. Selected ICT Success Stories
6. The Portal Next steps

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Goals

• showcase innovative projects and examples of the
  multi-stakeholder approach
• exchange fresh ideas and learning experiences
  about creative uses of ICTs in different cultural
  contexts
• raise awareness about the potential of ICTs for
  the achievement of the MDGs and the WSIS goals

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Key Message

• There is no one size fits all approach to using
  new technologies to promote development with a
  human face rather, in the trial-and-error
  process of learning to use ICTs effectively in
  the local context, the insights of projects and
  development activities gained from stakeholders
  experience can be extremely valuable.

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ICT Success Stories Portal and WSIS

• e) Develop and launch a website on best practices
  and success stories, based on a compilation of
  contributions from all stakeholders, in a
  concise, accessible and compelling format,
  following the internationally recognized web
  accessibility standards. The website could be
  periodically updated and turned into a permanent
  experience-sharing exercise.
• Geneva Plan of Action, Paragraph 28,
• Geneva Phase of WSIS 2003

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Brief overview

• Over 600 projects
• Stories from 64 countries
• Projects designed and implemented by all
  stakeholders
• Concerted action at the local, national, regional
  and international level
• Cross-cutting issues are considered
• Focus on developing countries

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Leveraging the Portal

• The ICT-related or driven initiatives in all
  aspects of life
• Projects by all stakeholders and for the benefit
  of all
• Partnerships, cooperation strategies and
  unilateral efforts at all levels
• In the spirit of the WSIS and the MDGs, ICTs
  offer unlimited opportunities for bridging the
  digital divide
• New promising solutions to developing
  countries challenges

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Criteria applied

• Based on or making use of ICTs
• Focus on developing countries
• Activities and goals emanating from the WSIS Plan
  of Action
• Activities and goals aimed at achieving the MDGs
• Scale
• Outcome of the project
• Innovative multi-sector approaches
• Target at vulnerable groups
• Partnerships, multi-stakeholder partnerships

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Functionality I

• The website
• Projects by categories
• Brief thematic highlights
• Online questionnaire
• Feedback

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Themes
Empowerment
Gender
e-Inclusion
Youth
Poverty Reduction
Indigenous people
Community Dev.
Disabilities
Good Governance
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Functionality II

• The search tool
• Theme
• Key-word
• Country of origin or implementation
• Technology
• Stakeholder
• Cross-cutting issue

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Mobile Internet on Boats - Bangladesh

• Project designed implemented by Shidhulai
  Swanirvar Sangstha
• The Mobile Internet Educational Units on Boats
  program provides free public access to computers
  and the Internet through the use of indigenous
  boats converted into mobile libraries and schools
  
• Target group local remote communities, with a
  special focus on women and children
• More information on sss.interconnection.org
• Other projects Rickshaws Connect India's Poor

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e-Homemakers Network - Malaysia

• Enabling marginalised Malaysian women to use ICTs
  to generate income from home, supporting their
  active participation in the information economy.
• Designed to enable homeworkers to teletrade,
  network, and support each other through creative
  problem-solving and idea-sharing, an trilingual
  e-community offers services such as a platform to
  enable online product marketing.
• Implemented by the Government of Malaysia
• More information on www.ehomemakers.net

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OSISA ICT Programme

• communication project deployed in Angola,
  Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia,
  Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• aiming to contribute towards creating an
  atmosphere where there is free and equitable flow
  of information, and at deploying appropriate
  technologies, systems and knowledge
• ICT networks are applied to enhance and deepen
  citizen's rights, access, usage and participation
  towards an open society through ICT
• More information on www.osisa.org

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Connect the World - ITU

• International commitment to promote development
  and connectivity
• ITU and over 40 other partners from all the main
  categories of stakeholders (KADO, Microsoft,
  Child Helpline International and UNESCO, among
  others)
• Platform to encourage new partnerships to bridge
  the digital divide and meet WSIS commitments by
  2015
• More information on
• www.itu.int/partners/projects.html

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Trends

• Growing number of projects using ICTs
• Multi-stakeholder Partnerships
• Increased e-Inclusion
• Pluri-disciplinary approach
• Long-term commitment action for sustainable
  results
• Explicit effort to harness a very extensive range
  of peoples concerns activities
• Mainstreaming innovative solutions

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The Portal Next Steps

• Archive of more detailed case studies of
  successful experiences
• More interactive tools
• Link to more resources on ICT4D
• Regular up-date
• Related events

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Thank you!

• Tell us about
• ICT success stories you contribute to
• at spu_at_itu.int