Stories about The Future of ICT for Development from September, 2009
People with disabilities and the promise of ICTs
More than 600 million people in the world live with disabilities. Oftentimes, poverty and disabilities go hand-in-hand. Can the promise of ICTs help disabled people better integrate socially and economically?
Brazil: Socio-digital Inclusion through the Lan House Revolution
The poorest and most excluded population of Brazil have increasingly more access to the Internet through Local Area Networks. But, has the digital inclusion promoted by lan houses across the country affected human development in Brazil?
Harvard Forum – Faith and focus
Ethan's final live-blog post from the Harvard Forum about internet and communications technology ICT for development with concluding thoughts from several participants.
Harvard Forum – What do we need to know?
Today's conversation starts with discussions of “knowledge gaps”, open questions we need to answer through research so we can understand what's succeeding and failing in our field.
Harvard Forum: ICT4D and, and, and
Ethan brings the live-blog from day one to a close after questions and lively discussion with conclusion from Mike Best who suggests there's no way to summarize these discussions… with anything but an observation that the field is filled with “ands”.
Harvard Forum: Are we satisfied with what we've got?
The live-blogging continues, as Michael Spence helps identify questions that are top research priorities for the ICT for development field with input from Yochai Benkler, Rohan Samarajiva, Hernan Galperin, Alison Gillwald, and Bill Melody.
Harvard Forum: the complex world of ICT and gender
The live-blog continues with panel presentations on ICT for development by Clotilde Fonseca, Sabri Saidam, Ineke Buskens, Nancy Spence, and Ethan Zuckerman.
Harvard Forum: Markets, Mobiles and the ability to make culture
The live-blog continues with panel presentations on ICT for development by Ronaldo Lemos, Anita Gurumurthy, Ophelia Mascarenhas, and Lawrence Liang.
Update from the Harvard Forum on ICT4D
Ethan Zuckerman and Jen Brea from Global Voices are live-blogging a conversation today and tomorrow at Harvard on the future of information and communication technology and development (ICT4D) hosted by Canada's International Development Research Center and Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Africa: Will technophobia crash the ICT party?
With the growing influence of ICT for development, can fear of technology and misunderstanding of its uses disproportionally affect the developing world? Here are a few examples of initiatives to combat technophobia in Africa.
Mobile-empowered to serve you better
The mobile phone has grown to be a tool that enables, farmers, small traders and service providers to take information-based decisions, thereby leading to their economic empowerment
Can social media help make microfinance sustainable?
Microfinance agencies provide loans to small businesspeople who often can’t meet the strict credit terms of large banks. Either these entrepreneurs don’t have the capital or the cash to back the loan. Or as the large banks argue, their credit needs are too small.
