...in one study in rural Africa it was being found that the costs of mobile communications were absorbing up to 54% of the total net income of certain farmers
#OWS (occupy Wall Street and the “Occupy” movement) have been widely discussed but not as yet in the context of a broader understanding of an evolving Digital/Information Society.
An even more intriguing possibility would be the fusing of existing rural (political) organizational structures with ICTs and envigorated with new blood from the “ant tribe” and other young people with Internet and ICT skills leading to a rural renewal, extended service delivery and both more efficient and sustainable agricultural and SMME and SME developments. Perhaps once the attention of the Chinese leadership shifts back from the explosive developments in urban areas similar structural developments might begin to be seen in rural areas and among lower income populations as well.
I’ve now had a chance to take a look at what is described as a “draft version” of the Strategic Priorities of Digital Bangladesh: Operationalizing the ICT policy 2009 document prepared by the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office with the help of a local expert team and the UNDP and released in June 2010. The document quite usefully says on its next to cover page “The current version of the document is a work-in-progress, specially prepared for Feedback.” The comments below are meant as a contribution to this work in progress.
Perhaps more important this suggests that even in a context where there is almost universal cell phone access this is not sufficient to bring about the Digital Transition which is necessary to begin to achieve the broader systemic benefits of digital and Internet access and use and ultimately to overcome was has been termed the Digital Divide which is currently dividing both societies within themselves and the world at large between digitally enabled countries and those that have not as yet realized these benefits.
In the context of my visits to various sites in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak I’ve now got a bit of perspective on the current situation in Malaysia and I see that in certain respects at least the goals of the 2005 Plan as evidenced by the document Bridging the Digital Divide in Malaysia have been […]
After leaving Long Lamai we traveled back to Miri and then caught another and different Twin Otter flight to Bario. I’d been in Bario a couple of years ago and knew more or less what to expect. The trip up was as spectacular as before and the airport was more or less the same. But […]
Gurstein's Community Informatics 
November 7, 2011
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