Sustainable Social Development in a Period of Rapid Globalization: Challenges, Opportunities and Policy Options

Chapter VI: ICT for the social empowerment
of the rural poor

Poverty in the Asian and Pacific region is concentrated in rural areas, as was noted in chapter II. By their very nature, many rural areas are remote from industrial zones, port facilities, urban markets and urban employment opportunities, thus hampering their opportunities for economic growth. The major economic activity in most rural areas is agriculture, which is generally less productive than industry. Rural infrastructure lags far behind that in urban areas. In addition, rural areas are disadvantaged by less provision of education and health services. Aiding rural areas to overcome these disadvantages is a major policy challenge for government and civil society. This chapter suggests that ICT can be effectively used to overcome some of the obstacles to social development in rural areas and empower the rural poor.

ICT is a key enabler of globalization. It allows for the efficient and cost-effective flow of information, products, people and capital across national and regional boundaries. ICT is not a panacea for rural development problems, but it has the potential to help the rural poor to leapfrog some of the traditional barriers to development, by improving access to information, expanding their market base, enhancing employment opportunities and making government services work better.

Effective ICT strategies must provide the basic infrastructure for connectivity and access, develop human capacity, offer affordable demand-driven ICT services and involve local stakeholders and beneficiaries in project design and implementation. Special attention should also be given to disadvantaged women, youth and persons with disabilities during project development and implementation. Liberalization of the telecommunication sector can dramatically expand connectivity and reduce costs, but strategic government investment or regulatory measures are needed in disadvantaged areas where the private sector does not provide services. Community-based telecentres offer a way of providing affordable access to ICT services in rural areas. Access can also be broadened by combining modern technologies with traditional ones such as radio and print. Government and private sector partnerships have a key role to play in creating awareness, building skills and developing local services and content, including content in local languages. ESCAP can play a critical role in promoting ICT as a tool for poverty alleviation by assisting developing countries in developing relevant local content and providing training, encouraging the exchange of country experiences and disseminating information on successful models.

A. ICT AND THE GLOBAL CONTEXT

The use of ICT is expanding rapidly. ICT comprises a diverse set of technological tools and resources to create, disseminate, store and manage data and information. Traditional ICT tools such as television, radio and the telephone have proven their effectiveness in promoting development in marginalized areas. The emergence of computers, the Internet and wireless communications technology, along with powerful software for processing and integrating text, sound and video into electronic media, comprise modern ICT. The spread of the global electronic network of computers, popularly referred to as the Internet, and wireless telephony has generated an unprecedented global flow of information, products, people, capital and ideas.

Moore’s law predicts the doubling of computing power every 18-24 months owing to the rapid evolution of microprocessor technology. Gilder’s law predicts the doubling of communications power every six months owing to advances in fibre-optic network technologies (UNDP 2001a), which enable the development of new types of services to be used in a digital format. In particular, moving images combined with sound can be stored on high-density compact discs. Previously, the volume of data would have been too large and the storage media too limited to achieve cost-effective storage and manipulation. These swift advances and the wide diffusion of ICT are unprecedented in human history.
Technological advances have also slashed the costs of information and communication. E-mail is becoming a free service. Internet telephony offers much cheaper long-distance communication than the traditional telephone. The cost of transmitting digital information anywhere in the world has also fallen dramatically, and this has enabled developing countries to gain some benefits from modern ICT.
Until the early 1980s, communication was generally restricted to analog signalling. Each telecommunication network was designed to carry different types of information separately. Voice traffic was carried over the telephone system, text used a separate telex network and high-frequency broadcast networks were dedicated to sending video and audio signals. With digital communication, these separate networks are becoming less differentiated. The Internet currently carries a combination of pictures, drawings, moving images, sound and text.

The number of people with access to the Internet grew exponentially from fewer than 20 million in 1995 to more than 400 million in 2000. This number is expected to reach 1 billion by 2005. The number of web sites also grew rapidly from fewer than 200 in mid-1993 to about 20 million in late 2000. Since the early 1990s, the web has been the mainstream environment for creating and disseminating digital information. Currently, access to the Internet is almost exclusively from personal computers. This could change in the near future with the emergence of data-enabled wireless telephones and web-enabled PDAs (personal digital assistants). Internet access through wireless devices is expected to outstrip personal computer access by 2005. This development could enable users in remote areas to access the web without a basic ICT infrastructure. Also coming soon is a whole new range of so-called Internet “appliances” for use in the home, at work or while travelling.

Today, ICT is the fastest-growing industry in the world and it is poised to become the largest in the world. Global spending on ICT is projected to grow from $2.2 trillion in 1999 to $3 trillion by 2003, providing many niche opportunities for service providers in developing countries. Establishment of a national ICT infrastructure and policy framework are prerequisites for developing countries to participate in the emerging global ICT business.

B. ICT IMPACT ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The ICT revolution is having an impact on economic and social conditions around the world, including the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific. With the costs of ICT being drastically reduced, the location of industrial activities has gradually shifted to low-cost developing countries. ICT enables services to be provided by developing countries and delivered to developed countries. These new outsourcing opportunities create employment, generate income and enable poorer countries to participate in the global market.

Developing economies have benefited from the rapid expansion of the ICT sector. In India, ICT revenues rose from $150 million in 1990 to $4 billion in 1999. The global outsourcing market is worth more than $100 billion, with over 185 Fortune 500 companies outsourcing software requirements to India. India currently has 1,250 companies exporting software (UNDP 2001a). In Malaysia, ICT has become the key driver of economic growth. In 1999, the contribution of the ICT sector to GNP was approximately 36.5 per cent (Accenture, Markle Foundation, UNDP 2001). This contribution is primarily from semi-conductors and electronic equipment.

ICT is also proving to be a vital tool in helping to link new civil society networks around key issues, from global warming to women’s empowerment, in attempts to make globalization more responsive to the needs of developing countries and the poor. ICT provides a dynamic new way to help to connect people with their Governments. ICT can also make government services and institutions cheaper, more efficient and more accessible. Some developing countries already have successful experiments under way in these areas. In parts of India, online government licensing is cutting through the red tape of traditional bureaucracies.

Despite the vast opportunities for economic growth and social development offered by ICT, there is a negative aspect. ICT may further widen the gap between developed and developing countries, between the rich and the poor and between those who know how to make use of the new technologies and those who do not. A recent study on the issue of the “digital divide” observed that all countries, even the poorest, are increasing their access to ICT, but the rate of this increase is much faster among the developed than among the developing countries (Bridges.org 2001). Despite this increase, the global electronic network has so far reached only a tiny fraction of the population in developing countries of the region, as shown in table VI.1. Less than 0.1 per cent of the population in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam had access to the Internet in 1999. Although a sharp increase in online users is expected by 2003, the proportion of users will remain very low. Because it is very likely that new users will come largely from the urban populations of these countries, appropriate pro-poor government policies and strong grass-roots programmes are necessary to change the direction of this development and spread the benefits of ICT equitably among the rural poor and disadvantaged groups in developing countries.

This concern has led the United Nations and other development organizations the world over to work cooperatively with developing countries to build “digital opportunities” in order to foster sustainable human development and reduce poverty. The heads of State and Government who assembled in New York for the Millennium Summit in September 2000 resolved “to ensure that the benefits of new technologies” were available to all. The most critical challenge is how to effectively and efficiently expand ICT accessibility in rural and remote areas and develop appropriate pro-poor content so that disadvantaged sections of the population will be able to benefit from the ICT revolution.

C. ICT FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION

The poor lack adequate food and appropriate shelter, and seldom have a regular occupation. When ill, they do not have access to proper medical services. Many cannot read and write. They have little or no access to government services and often have no voice in decision-making processes. They live with day-to-day uncertainties and anxieties about their future. The realities surrounding the poor must be the first consideration. The challenge is to define clearly the role that ICT can be expected to play, where it could be most effectively applied and what it can realistically be expected to achieve in terms of rural poverty alleviation.

Because poverty is a complex phenomenon, there cannot be a single dominant approach to alleviate it. Poverty alleviation strategies have been concerned with improvements in the provision of microcredit to enhance small and medium-scale businesses; effective livelihood and product-marketing training programmes, empowerment of women and disadvantaged groups, improving the management of government-run poverty alleviation programmes and encouraging the work of some NGOs in building self-help networks among the poor. Successful programmes are often those with strong grass-roots participation. However, it is widely acknowledged that there has been a great deal of waste in the way that resources have been utilized in the past.

ICT is currently recognized as a key to improving the resource allocation process and the efficient implementation of programmes. The experience of development agencies around the world provides ample evidence that ICT could play an important role in poverty alleviation. Modern ICT has much to offer in meeting the information-communication needs of rural communities. ICT can improve the access of the poor to health, microcredit and government services, create direct employment opportunities, provide training and education to people, and support the poor in the production, storage and marketing of farm and non-farm products. ICT can also facilitate the generation and exchange of community-based information and stimulate the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises. It can break barriers to knowledge by providing demand-driven information and services to the rural poor. Access to information is a key to building human capabilities. The real benefits of ICT are related to its ability to make critical information easily available and break down barriers to participation. The poor are often isolated and lack the means to take collective action, but ICT can empower poor communities and enable them to voice their concerns publicly to the responsible groups.

The following sections provide some examples of recent ICT initiatives for the poor. These examples are divided into six areas of application: information services, e-commerce, job opportunities, education and training, health and medical information, good governance and social empowerment of women.

1. Information service

Modern ICT makes it easy and cheap to provide customized information systems for the poor. The Internet offers more flexibility in the collection, retrieval, updating and presentation of information than traditional electronic media, such as radio and television. Internet connections are so cheap to set up that even small, community-based organizations with relatively low investment capital can become significant information providers.

There are many pro-poor ICT initiatives in India aimed primarily at improving the availability of market and other information for livelihood improvement. One is the Centre for Research in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As a telecentre, this facility provides public access to telecommunications (for example, telephone, facsimile and Internet) and information services (for example, health, education, market data, technology and livelihood) to a disadvantaged community. The Foundation’s telecentres provide rural farmers with data on agricultural practices, the cost and availability of farm inputs (pesticides, fertilizers and seeds), health and life insurance, welfare opportunities and other useful information. Another pro-poor initiative is the Warana Wired Village in Maharashtra State, which has set up information kiosks in 70 villages to enable villagers to access agricultural, medical and educational information through the Internet. About 20 farmers visit each kiosk daily to access information on crop cultivation practices and schedules, quantities harvested and sold, net income due to them, pest and disease control, and marketing, among other topics. All information is provided in the local language. Farmers consider the Internet a better source of information than traditional sources such as traders, field officers, television, radio and the print media. By providing neutral information, this ICT service also minimizes cheating by unscrupulous traders quoting the prices of farm products.

A similar experiment was reported in Malaysia with the project called “Smart Community”. Launched in August 1999, the project developed multimedia information and databases for village use. Interactive contents were developed based on the needs of the villagers and covered areas such as health, agriculture, tourism, environment, social development, livelihood, product marketing, local administration and village activities. Access is through a village telecentre or kiosk using touch-screen computers. An important feature of the project is the multimedia presentation (audio and video) of information, which enables even illiterate and uneducated villagers to benefit from the services. The location of the village kiosks is also an important consideration for targeted access. In this project, the kiosks are strategically located at rural community clinics so that they are easily accessible by rural women, at primary schools for the benefit of students, at mosques for access by adults and older people and at computer clubs for the benefit of youth. Access to local databases is provided free of charge to the villagers.

These examples show the power of ICT in providing customized information services for a particular community. However, the real power of ICT lies in its ability to provide customized information for a much larger group of users. A good example is Thailand’s national agricultural information system, developed under the Government’s ICT-based Rural Net project. The project provides computer links between the Office of Agricultural Economics and local administrative offices, agricultural cooperatives and communities in nine provinces. The network also connects with other government agencies and private agricultural trading companies. The main services of Rural Net are the dissemination of agricultural news reports and the provision of two-way communications facilities that enable farmers to contact government officials. In 2000, the project established a web site integrating all agriculture-related information from various government agencies and private companies. The site provides links to 870 other web sites related to agriculture, 620 of which are in the Thai language.

There is a similar effort under way elsewhere in South-East Asia. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development has launched the Farmers’ Information and Technology Services or “Techno Pinoy” Programme. The aim is to empower lowland and upland farmers, processors, entrepreneurs and traders through the efficient and effective provision of information and technology services to facilitate the clients’ decision-making for the purpose of improved production, processing, trading and marketing. Fast and effective access to information and technology is intended to improve agricultural productivity and sustain development in the countryside. Techno Pinoy intends to link various organizations, networks and technology services and make the services easily accessible and user-friendly.

2. E-commerce

Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, involves the sale or purchase of goods or services over computer-mediated networks, particularly the Internet. Such goods and services may be ordered over the Internet, but payment for them and their ultimate delivery may be online or offline. Developing countries could benefit from e-commerce through easier access to markets in developed countries and higher incomes resulting from these new trading opportunities.

E-commerce has also found a niche in some rural areas. For example, one village in Tamil Nadu, India, which excels in making traditional cotton saris and other garments, sells its products to buyers all over the world through a web site operated by an NGO called PEOPLink. Another NGO, the Foundation of Occupational Development, has initiated a similar scheme to sell products made by rural women through the Internet. Similarly, a small NGO in Thailand sells handicrafts produced by poor villagers through its web site. This e-commerce facility also provides information on the lifestyle of the village people and the methods for producing handicrafts, which could attract more sympathetic buyers.

These types of innovations have the potential to reduce transaction costs substantially and eliminate layers of intermediaries who often absorb a large part of the profits. The facility also provides an unparalleled opportunity for people in rural areas to expand their businesses and activities beyond their local confines to a global audience. However, e-commerce applications in developing countries face several serious barriers:

• Most e-commerce applications require expensive secure servers, which are very limited in developing countries. The majority (64 per cent) of the secure servers in the world are located in the United States; the vast majority of other countries have less than 0.1 per cent (Bridges.org 2001);
• A good transport system is necessary to deliver products at reasonable cost to the buyers, especially for developing countries exporting mainly tangible goods such as agricultural products, handicrafts and garments;
• Lack of consumer confidence in e-commerce. Experience has shown that consumers are reluctant to buy products online because they cannot be sure of product quality, or online transactions were found to be too impersonal;
• Poor financial systems which hinder effective e-commerce applications. E-commerce requires significant upgrading of and regulatory changes to financial systems. In particular, national banking systems need to upgrade their infrastructure to accommodate electronic payments and settlements.

Successful e-commerce applications require coordination and partnership at the regional level. The e-ASEAN Task Force exemplifies a regional initiative to remove banking and regulatory barriers for the development of e-commerce in countries that belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Task Force has formulated plans to accelerate the development of e-commerce throughout the region and has identified the following key factors in its ability to do so: cyber laws, secure messaging infrastructure, payment gateways and online services and products. It published a report in 2002 on the e-ASEAN reference framework for electronic commerce legal infrastructure, which provides guidelines for developing e-commerce laws and facilitating cross-border e-commerce applications. An aim of the Task Force is to enable all ASEAN members to develop e-commerce legislation by 2003.

3. Employment generation

As ICT gets progressively cheaper, many tasks can be done cost-effectively at different locations, creating a fast-growing market for outsourcing labour-intensive jobs from developed countries to developing countries. For example, software developers in Bangalore, India, can provide services to companies in the Western developed countries without needing to travel outside of India. Service industries involving labour-intensive tasks such as airlines and insurance can set up operations in lower-wage countries, when they are linked through the Internet. In this manner, a number of service-oriented companies are creating remote “back offices” in offshore locations, which carry out routine clerical support functions at much lower cost than in the home country. This has created ample job opportunities in developing countries. The software industry in India has grown from almost nothing a decade ago into the most dynamic business in the country, employing 400,000 people and generating more than $8 billion in sales in 2000 (The Economist, Getting better all the time, 10 November 2001).

The emergence of ICT services in rural areas has also generated new business enterprises: selling ICT equipment and accessories; providing ICT services such as Internet access, word-processing and telephone operations; providing training and educational support; and repairing and maintaining ICT equipment. Such enterprises provide direct job opportunities for traders, teachers, computer operators, technicians and administrative and secretarial support staff. For example, each telecentre in the Loyola Joseph network in Tamil Nadu has created approximately 50 telecommunication jobs in areas such as writing, translating and data entry. Similarly, the All India Coordinated Programme has established about 420 multi-purpose ICT training and service centres in rural areas of the country. The programme has generated employment for over 2,000 people. While these opportunities tend to attract the educated, some efforts at targeting the poor and disadvantaged groups, particular women, have proven successful.

The Grameen Phone Programme in Bangladesh has been innovative in creating ICT-related job opportunities for rural women. The programme has enabled poor and illiterate women to sell telephone services to others. In 2000, there were about 2,200 “telephone ladies” in Bangladesh (Grameen Trust 2000). If the network coverage of the programme were extended, the number could easily reach over 100,000. An evaluation study concluded that the impact on poverty alleviation at the household level was significant, since the revenue from the telephone business was substantial. The success of the Grameen Phone Programme in Bangladesh has spurred the development of similar programmes in other Asian countries.

ICT also offers innumerable indirect employment opportunities through improving the business prospects of rural-based enterprises by giving them better access to market information, improved production technology and more efficient marketing systems. For example, telecentre services in Pondicherry, India, have encouraged villagers to utilize their considerable knowledge of local herbs for the establishment of a herb-processing centre. Using the services of the telecentre, the villagers have learned how to package and market the herbs. Around 300 village women are currently engaged in herb processing.

ICT can also make information available to the rural poor and disadvantaged groups concerning employment opportunities for low-level jobs such as factory work, domestic help and farm labour. Rural workers normally have no direct access to information on jobs available in urban areas and have to depend on the services of private employment agencies, which often charge exorbitant fees or exploit them. ICT can create a direct link between workers and employers, thus avoiding costly intermediaries. The aforementioned Swaminathan telecentre, which facilitates the recruitment of women workers for an agricultural processing factory, is a good example of such a function.

4. Education and training

Perhaps the most tangible benefit so far derived by developing countries from the ICT revolution is access to vast resources for enhancing education and training at minimal or no cost. The Internet currently hosts thousands of distance-learning and training programmes on virtually any conceivable subject. Distance learning has been particularly successful in the developing countries where affordability and geography are real barriers to access. The six largest distance-learning universities in the world are located in ESCAP developing countries (China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Turkey).

ICT has also created new opportunities for greater coordination and networking of educational institutions in developing countries for the purpose of exchanging learning materials, educational curricula and scholarship opportunities for students and teachers. Indonesia’s web-based Dikmenjur (primary and secondary vocational education) information system is one example. The system initially focused on connecting geographically dispersed institutions via the Internet to provide basic information and communications services. Gradually, the network built a strong partnership among participating institutions in sharing training modules online and building up ICT capacities for teachers and students. The system enables students in remote areas to communicate with administrators in Jakarta. About 300 institutions located throughout the Indonesian archipelago are participating in the network.

At the subregional level, the e-ASEAN Task Force has established several pilot projects aimed at establishing cross-border electronic networking among educational and training institutions. The intention is to link students, teachers, researchers and education administrators in the member countries and around the world in order to provide them with access to the wealth of educational and training resources available on the Internet. Three notable pilot projects are the ASEAN SchoolNet, ASEAN Educators Online and ASEAN Training Network.

Efforts have been made in recent years to develop ICT-based education and training tools at the village level: one notable example of this trend is the development of a computer-based software learning system for Indian villagers to gain literacy and acquire basic computer skills. Another, more sophisticated system was developed by the Indian Space Research Organization and is based on a satellite interactive video and audio teleconferencing network. This system is used for imparting training and continuing education to a diverse group of people, including agricultural extension workers, farmers, rural women, local government officials and students. The system broadcasts development-oriented programmes on topics such as livelihood, health, child development, agriculture, forestry and local governance. It enables the simultaneous training of a large number of geographically dispersed people and access to highly-rated instructors and learning resources. It is a good example of the appropriate use of ICT to enhance the social and economic empowerment of the rural population. The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the United States have jointly developed a voice-operated learning system to help illiterate villagers to learn to read and write. This speech technology transcribes the local spoken language onto the screen and reads it back to the computer user. Village-level telecentres also provide learning opportunities through the information provided on the Internet and through training programmes conducted by telecentre operators.

5. Health and medical information

The exchange of information constitutes a major aspect of medical care. Many web sites on medical topics are aimed at doctors and health workers and are venues for the exchange of professional information and experiences on illnesses and treatments. In India, particularly in Mumbai, hospitals are making use of such web sites to provide a link to medical information in other more developed countries. In addition, health workers in some developing countries are obtaining medical training through ICT-enabled delivery mechanisms. Several new Internet sites include innovative “teach and test” self-assessment modules on malaria, among other subjects. Furthermore, centralized data repositories connected to ICT networks enable remote health-care professionals to keep abreast of the rapidly evolving stock of medical knowledge. In Bangladesh, for example, the local MEDINET system provides access to hundreds of medical journals via e-mail for a nominal fee (Accenture, Markle Foundation, UNDP 2001).

Although the web contains volumes of information on health and medical care, this information resource is of little use to the rural poor without the help of intermediaries who can simplify, translate, repackage and disseminate the information. The probability of web-based medical and health services reaching the rural poor is very limited, since only those who can avail themselves of hospital services would indirectly benefit from well-informed doctors and health workers.

If health information services are to have a direct impact on the rural poor, they must be both comprehensible and accessible to the target users. Instructions have to be simplified, well illustrated and adapted to local conditions. Advice on treatments should consider indigenous, inexpensive and locally available materials. “Telemedicine” also offers a new solution for bringing the benefits of medical services and training to remote areas. In this regard, digital still and video cameras have been used by doctors in urban areas to examine patients in remote areas.

6. Good governance

Governments can use ICT to improve the quality and efficiency of public services, to strengthen intragovernment information flows, promote accountability and transparency, procure goods and services fairly and efficiently, encourage citizens’ participation in decision-making processes and inform citizens about government operations and services. Through electronic forums, bulletin boards and e-mail, Governments could enable their citizens to participate in public discussions, report any malpractices by government officials and voice complaints about government service irregularities. ICT could be especially relevant for marginalized communities and groups, such as women, youth and ethnic minorities, by enabling them to share and exchange information of mutual interest, strengthen their collective power and find their own development solutions. Good governance is a crucial element in rural poverty alleviation because delays and corruption in government services adversely affect poor people more than others.
Most Governments in developing countries have made remarkable strides in implementing ICT-based strategies to promote efficiency and transparency in their services to the public. Malaysia is constructing an e-government portal to enable citizens to pay utility bills and traffic fines and renew licences via the Internet. In the Philippines, ICT is a priority on the presidential agenda for combating corruption. Key strategies of that agenda include computerization of election and procurement procedures, which could save billions of pesos and minimize injustices. The Philippine Government has also called for greater efficiency in its services through the expanded use of ICT.

In 2001, the Government of Thailand installed computers with Internet connections in 1,000 subdistrict government offices to improve the communication of government policies and the delivery of government services to rural communities. Subdistricts will receive computers with Internet connections in 2002, thereby connecting about half of all subdistricts in the country. The Government has also established a web-based information system providing local content and communications services within the network.
The e-government initiative in China, the “Government Online Programme”, aimed at making 30 per cent of government services available online by 1998. Several related projects for filing taxes and collecting payments using ICT are under way. Similar initiatives have been taken in India, where an experimental Intranet computer network for government services and local information was introduced in the State of Madhya Pradesh. This network provided citizens with faster and more transparent access to government services. For example, for the equivalent of $0.10, farmers can now obtain copies of land titles for which they had previously been charged exorbitant sums by the officials concerned.

While the potential opportunities offered by e-government are numerous, central Governments should be cautious. Before allocating large sums for investments or undertaking large-scale projects, they should ensure that lower-level government organizations and citizens are ready to accept change and are capable of financially supporting the required infrastructure.

7. Social empowerment of women

Many of the positive aspects of the information and communications revolution had initially bypassed poor women. This issue was considered so important that the five-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action mentioned that, traditionally, gender differences and disparities had been ignored in policies and programmes dealing with the development and dissemination of improved technologies. As a result, women were benefiting less from, and being disadvantaged more by, technological advances. Women therefore need to be actively involved in the definition, design and development of new technologies. Otherwise, the information revolution might bypass women or produce adverse effects on their lives. The outcome of the five-year review recommended that further actions and initiatives be explored and implemented to avoid new forms of exclusion and ensure that women and girls have equal access and opportunities in respect of the development of science and technology.

In recent years, a number of ICT-related initiatives aimed at the social empowerment of women have emerged. Most of these initiatives are relevant to women across the rural-urban divide, but some specifically address the situation of rural women. The aforementioned Grameen Phone Programme in Bangladesh and the village herb-processing operations in India both involve women. Elsewhere in India, telecentres and fax booths have created 250,000 jobs in the last four years alone, and many of these have gone to women. Women-owned businesses such as these generate a higher rate of female patronage than male-owned businesses (ILO 2001a: 58).

Another initiative is the project entitled “HIV/AIDS Prevention and Women and Girls Empowerment through Access to Information and Education”. Supported by the United Nations Foundation, the focus of this pilot project is HIV/AIDS prevention. As the project expands, it will cover other development topics important to women and the community. The pilot phase of the project entails establishing 800 sites in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal. At these sites, locally produced information content will be broadcast in local and national languages by using satellite digital broadcast technology and inexpensive portable digital receivers, coupled with portable solar systems, to power receivers in areas that lack a reliable electricity supply.

Recognizing the advantage of ICT for women’s networking for empowerment, a number of women’s organizations have begun adapting ICT to support their information, communication and networking initiatives. ESCAP has been working with the Asian Women’s Resource Exchange since 1998 in providing training in electronic networking for the promotion of cooperation among developing countries. The training targets female information officers in women’s organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, and is aimed at building the capacities of women and their organizations to utilize new information and communications technologies in policy advocacy. The training is focused on running effective web-based information services, using online communications tools to advance their networking and advocacy work, and developing databases.

UNICEF has developed the Meena Communication Initiative in South Asia, which is supported by the Governments of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. This mass communication project is aimed at changing perceptions and behaviour that hamper the survival, protection and development of female children in the region. The Initiative involves the production of multimedia packages, including animated films, videos, radio series, comic books, posters, discussion guides, folk media, calendars, stickers and other materials. The package is aimed at disseminating gender, child rights and educational messages, using the medium of popular entertainment. Topics for the animated film episodes and other multimedia materials are identified through field research.

D. LESSONS LEARNED

Based on the experience of selected initiatives, it is evident that ICT can be an effective tool in enhancing the lives of the rural poor, whether by increasing access to information relevant to their economic livelihood or by providing better access to other information sources, such as health care, education and government services, as a means for rural poverty alleviation.

This section draws some lessons from various initiatives on how ICT can effectively address rural poverty alleviation and what conditions are necessary for successful implementation of pro-poor ICT projects. In assessing these lessons, it should be noted that development-oriented ICT initiatives in rural areas have started only recently and are highly experimental, involving new methodologies and flexible approaches depending on the needs, culture and socio-economic conditions of the target clients. At this stage, however, it would be premature to arrive at definite conclusions.

In general, seven key issues must be addressed before ICT initiatives can truly serve the rural poor. They include connectivity, accessibility, content and services, ICT skills development, sustainability, partnership with local stakeholders and sensitivity to gender concerns and the needs of disadvantaged groups.

1. Connectivity

Connectivity addresses the availability of ICT infrastructure (communication lines, satellites, hardware for telecommunication, computer networks, etc.), including a reliable electrical power supply to operate ICT services properly. ICT cannot be effectively used for empowering the rural poor unless the crucial requirement of connectivity is addressed. Rural and remote areas are often the last frontier for ICT connectivity because such areas offer poor prospects for economic returns for operators or providers.
Owing to the huge investment requirement, ICT infrastructure projects cannot be easily undertaken by grass-roots organizations. Thus, the private sector and national Governments have to assume the role of key players in this regard. National Governments have a responsibility to promote development that will enable their citizens to progress; the private sector is influenced by demand and market forces. Governments have a key role to play in providing legal and regulatory frameworks for a competitive telecommunication sector in order to attract private sector investments. The Government needs to move from State-run monopolies and administered prices to a regulatory environment which promotes competition and leads to major price reductions (Department for International Development 2000). However, government regulation is required to ensure a balance between the provision of such projects in the main urban areas and their outreach to rural and remote areas.

Although privatization of the telecommunication sector encourages rapid diffusion of technologies, it cannot be relied upon to bring technologies to unprofitable markets. Market-led ICT expansion is greatly biased in favour of urban areas. Therefore, the role of government in expanding ICT connectivity in rural areas is critical. Such action requires commitment and strong leadership to be able to allocate large amounts of public funds to achieve nationwide access. For this purpose, Governments should establish partnerships with the private sector by contributing part of the investment costs or providing appropriate incentives such as tax exemptions, interest-free loans and free access to market research data. One example of this in the ESCAP region is a project for the expansion of a high-speed fibre-optic network in the Republic of Korea, which received $53.4 million in funding, contributed in part by the Government (57 per cent) and in part by the private sector (43 per cent). This project will enable the transmission of data at 100 times the current speeds and will provide access in 475 counties throughout the country, including access in small communities in rural areas.

If necessary, Governments could also explore ways and means to make use of their regulatory function to require the private sector to operate in rural areas without ICT services. For example, the Government could require a cellular network operator to establish a certain number of lines in disadvantaged areas under its licensing agreement.

The emergence of wireless communications technology offers the possibility of providing cost-effective ICT connectivity in remote areas. This would enable even small-scale development projects to establish Internet connectivity in areas where market forces are not strong.

These are just a few of the proven strategies to expand connectivity in areas where free market forces alone are insufficient. However, the problem of connectivity in rural and remote areas still remains a difficult one, and for most rural people it poses the greatest obstacle to participating in the information revolution.

2. Accessibility

The installation of ICT infrastructure alone does not guarantee access. In many developing countries, most people cannot afford to pay for ICT services. For example, while Internet users in the United States pay approximately 1.2 per cent of their average monthly income for monthly Internet charges, in Nepal the monthly charge for Internet use would be almost three times higher than the average monthly income and in Bangladesh, the equivalent of almost two months’ wages (UNDP 2001a). Often, the problem lies in State-owned telecommunication monopolies. Many Governments are currently in the process of developing legal and regulatory frameworks for the telecommunications sector in order to be WTO-compliant and attract sectoral investments needed to cover costs. Without a change in pricing structure, there is little hope of providing ICT access for the poor and for disadvantaged groups.

As mentioned previously, community-based telecentres are becoming a popular model for providing access in rural areas. The communal mode of access is suitable because the cost for an individual to pay for a computer, telephone and Internet subscription would normally be beyond the means of rural people. Tens of thousands of telecentres have been initiated by Governments, international donors, NGOs and the private sector. The India-based NGO, FOOD, serves as a good example; it has taken on the role of a value added Internet service provider by enabling other NGOs and community-based organizations working in remote areas to establish Internet services. FOOD provides computer and telecommunication equipment and necessary technical support to participating organizations until they become financially and technically self-sufficient. Fourteen sub-ISPs and 11 telecentres have been created within the FOOD network.

Telecentres have played an important role in providing access in rural areas. They facilitate the provision of social and economic services to the poor, thereby contributing to poverty alleviation. They also contribute to the development process by providing accelerated community-wide access to ICT, creating self-sustaining community competence in the knowledge-based economy and building markets and opportunities for the private sector. The success and impact of telecentres depend heavily on how well they are integrated into the social and economic environment of the rural community. Preliminary participatory assessment of the needs of the intended users and commitment of the executing agencies are critical elements of successful telecentre initiatives.

Combining new technologies with traditional electronic media (television and radio) and print media (newspapers and magazines, etc.) can also broaden access. Internet radio in Sri Lanka enables information available on the web to be relayed to villages through radio broadcasts. The radio broadcasters browse the web for information requested by the audience, translate it into the local languages and then broadcast it on their daily programmes. Upon request, they also provide printouts of the downloaded information. The broadcasters have also developed their own computer database, containing mostly the information requested by listeners.

Innovative technological adaptation can break barriers to access. An example is the development of a hand-held Internet appliance costing less than $200. Developed by the Indian Institute of Science and the Bangalore-based Encore Software company, the system provides Internet and e-mail access in local languages, with touch-screen functions and microbanking applications, for people in rural India. Future versions of the technology are expected to provide speech recognition and text-to-speech software for illiterate users (UNDP 2001a).

Microcredit can also expand ICT access in rural areas. The previously-mentioned Grameen project in Bangladesh exemplifies an innovative and targeted microcredit scheme that enables rural women to own mobile telephones and provide communications services in villages where no one can afford to own a telephone. The emergence of mobile phones in rural Bangladesh, made possible with the extension of microcredit, has suddenly connected poor villages with the outside world. Demand for telephone services is especially high among village households having relatives who work abroad. The level of demand enables mobile telephone owners to service their microcredit loans despite the fact that handsets can cost about a year’s income.

Mobile telephones are dramatically spreading ICT access in rural areas of developing countries, where fixed-line telephone services are often supplied by highly inefficient State-owned monopolies. Installation of fixed-line telephones can take several years, whereas mobile telephone service can be up and running within a few minutes. As a result, the number of mobile telephone users has often overtaken the number of fixed-line users in less time than it takes to get a fixed-line installed. This trend has been demonstrated in China, where in 2000 the number of mobile telephone users increased by almost 42 million compared with 35.6 million for fixed-line telephones (The Peoples Daily, 8 February 2001).

3. Content and services

Many ICT initiatives have failed to meet expectations, simply because they have not addressed the real needs of their clients or their role in the local economy and have failed to identify locally relevant contents. Such operations are often set up with predefined objectives, but without prior consultation with their intended users; the result is that they may not be reflecting the needs and interests of the local people, who in turn do not use them.

ICT initiatives for the rural poor must be location- and needs-specific. It is not enough simply to assume that the benefits of ICT will trickle down to the rural poor; their information needs must be assessed carefully and their participation must be sought on how best to address their needs. ICT services should also be compatible with the values of the community, thus reducing resistance to technology and encouraging participation. In this regard, it may be necessary to study the living conditions, culture, existing uses of and access to information sources as well as the information networks in the community.

Needs assessment can be carried out through a combination of field surveys, village meetings and consultations with stakeholders working directly in rural areas. Such a participatory approach would help to ensure that the contents closely match the needs of the target groups. A concrete example of a needs-oriented ICT application would be the provision of cheaper telecommunication links and money transfer services for migrant workers and their families at home. Such services would require cheaper telephone services and links with microbanks, which provide digital remittance services at lower cost than existing services.

Despite the enormity of its information resources, the web currently offers little information relevant to the culture, technology, education and socio-economic environment of the rural poor in developing countries. In general, there is a lack of capacity in developing countries to provide locally relevant content in the national language(s). ICT initiatives thus face the challenge of developing local databases that truly address the information needs of the intended users.

Content development requires substantial technical and financial resources and strong cooperation among government agencies, development organizations and the private sector. Government and non-governmental development organizations can play a significant role in harnessing local knowledge and making it available to citizens through the use of ICT. The Agrolink web site operated by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of Malaysia offers a good example. The web site provides a range of information relevant to the farming community, including crop production and management techniques, storage and marketing, the training programmes available, legislation and enforcement, and advisory and technical services. The information is available in both English and Malay.

A number of telecentres have made significant strides in providing relevant content to their target communities. Such content includes information on the sources and prices of agricultural products and inputs, crop production and protection technologies, directories of general and crop insurance schemes, directories of hospitals and medical practitioners, databases on local medicinal plants and their applications, sea conditions for fishermen, school examination results, employment opportunities, entitlements of rural citizens and bus and train timetables.

ESCAP is in a good position to facilitate the regional exchange of local knowledge and best practices among developing countries of the region. Its experience in the promotion of integrated plant nutrition systems and integrated pest management through ICT as the main vehicle for exchanging information and experiences as well as case studies among developing countries has been positive and well received. ESCAP plays an important role in promoting and strengthening the use of emerging ICT to facilitate access by the rural poor to rural development technologies in order to enhance their income-earning efforts.

4. ICT skills development

Building ICT skills is an important component of any ICT intervention because new skills are required for operating the computer, browsing the Internet and making use of various communications tools such as e-mail, “chat rooms” and video conferencing. Providers and users need continuing education and training to learn ICT skills and keep up with new developments in hardware, software and services. Investment in building human capability is essential in ICT initiatives.

Basic literacy is a prerequisite for learning ICT skills. This requirement could pose a major challenge in expanding ICT in developing countries where illiteracy is widespread. Based on figures collated by UNESCO in 1995, well over 1 billion men and women, mostly from developing countries, lack basic literacy. Women are much more likely to lack the ability to read and write in their own language. Across a wide range of different cultures, for every illiterate male there are two illiterate females (IICD 1998). Because English is the predominant language used in ICT applications, the ability to read and write English is becoming an important skill in itself. English is also the dominant language of the Internet, reflecting the origin of this network in the United States and that country’s continuing strong presence.
There is no short-term solution to the problem of illiteracy and lack of ICT skills in developing countries. Some Governments have adopted long-term solutions by integrating basic English-language and ICT courses into the early stages of learning.

Governments must assume a leading role in building ICT skills among their citizens. National ICT policy needs to address the provision of basic literacy and education for disadvantaged groups and the creation of educational and training materials that are suited to local needs. Educational reform is needed to integrate ICT into standard curricula from the primary to the university level. There is also a need to design a policy to promote informal and lifelong education through new ICT-based educational services. One model of a government and private sector partnership in ICT skills development is being implemented in Malaysia, where illiteracy is not a key issue.

Non-governmental organizations are also doing their part. In one initiative in India, for example, practical and participatory approaches are adopted in ICT skills training. The Self-Employed Women’s Association has trained rural women in the production and use of videos to generate income, disseminate new skills and advocate changes in policy (Balit 1999: 21).

5. Sustainability

Sustainability can be viewed as the ability of a project to proceed with little or minimum financial support from an external donor and to move forward on its own with mainly the project beneficiaries as the implementers. The financial sustainability of telecentres has been difficult to achieve because of the high cost of telecommunications and the low prospects for generating income from the rural poor. Nonetheless, the value of telecentres should not be determined merely by their ability to generate income, but more by their social impact and intangible results, such as being a source of lifelong learning for the rural population.

One common observation about telecentres is that they address only the provision of the physical infrastructure, without strong promotion of services and contents. Hence, there is a general lack of awareness among the rural population concerning the benefits of telecentres. The income prospects of telecentres could be enhanced if they provided locally relevant content and services.

A study by the National Telephone Cooperative Association of the United States draws the following conclusions with regard to the sustainability of telecentres:

(a) Telecentres that have tried to serve areas with a sparse population and few or no small and medium-sized enterprises have generally not been sustainable;
(b) Small projects whose ownership and control are based within the community are more successful than large donor-driven telecentre projects;
(c) Consideration needs to be given to the location of telecentres in gender-neutral institutions. Telecentres should preferably be located in institutions that are accessible to both men and women, such as libraries and schools;
(d) Telecentres may meet existing demand, but they can also create new demand, in particular from small and medium-sized enterprises that can grow as a result of their presence. It should be ensured that telecentres do not work themselves out of existence.

The sustainability of ICT projects in rural areas especially must be considered from the start. Such projects should have the support of the Government, private sector and community. The possibility of users paying for services may also be considered, but the costs to them must be affordable.

6. Partnership with local stakeholders

The success of ICT initiatives is enhanced if they involve the participation of community leaders and residents in the assessment of information and communication needs and implementation of the project concerned. Constant dialogue is necessary to make adjustments and refine the content and services offered. No matter how poor or lowly educated, the target beneficiaries should not be treated as passive ICT users; rather, they should be considered as co-decision-makers and co-implementers of the project. Where local leaders are not available, the project should form a partnership with a local community-based organization.

The success of pro-poor ICT initiatives may be enhanced if supported by a “local champion”, that is, a person or an organization rooted in the community who spearheads the project and coordinates with other community members. The existence of a champion could also attract interest from prospective beneficiaries and even foster their participation in the project.

The information needs of the rural poor cover wide-ranging topics, including trade, agriculture, education, health and culture. As such, collaborative efforts by various local stakeholders are crucial in developing relevant content and services. The role of government agencies is crucial in building an information system of government services, providing initial investment for ICT connectivity and access and developing ICT skills. NGOs are in a better position to work together with people in putting together indigenous knowledge, providing training and promoting the services. The private sector can take part in this effort through advertising, thus providing an income for the ICT initiative. Such an income-generating opportunity, however, may not be of interest to the private sector owing to its low revenue and the relatively small number of ICT users and clients.

7. Gender and disadvantaged groups sensitivity

Men and women play different productive and community roles in rural development and have different needs and preferences. For example, women produce more than half the world’s food. In this regard, they face many problems in addressing food security and rural development, such as weak extension services, non-adoption of technologies, low status and therefore non-involvement in decision- and policy-making, varied and heavy workloads, poor access to credit and lack of access to education and training. When new technologies are introduced, they are seen as the domain of men; women have often been left out of initiatives associated with new ICTs.

Rural women, however, have the wisdom and indigenous knowledge that is rooted in culture, traditions, values and experience. At the same time, access to ICT among rural women in recent years has been enabling them to participate in economic development through entrepreneurship and small-scale businesses. Their methods of communication and information exchange should thus be harnessed and be complemented by appropriate ICTs. Women’s needs with respect to ICTs, therefore, concern not only access to education and training that will support their participation, but also the social and policy recognition that the participation of women is appropriate and worthy of recognition, as well as an important resource for development. Support of women’s existing technology activities and recognition of their role as economic contributors and possessors of most of the indigenous knowledge in developing countries are critical to community development. Surveys of women innovators in the Philippines and elsewhere show that women’s inventions tend to have direct application to improving family and community well-being or increasing efficiency. Examples include a power tiller matched to women’s physical specifications and agricultural practices, an improved cloth diaper, an improved kit for diagnosing leishmaniasis and a fireless cooker.

ICT has profound gender implications for both men and women in employment, education, training and other productive and personal development areas of life. What becomes clear from these discussions and case studies is that access for rural women will depend critically on where the technologies are located. The most efficient and beneficial use of ICTs is closely related to the kind of information produced and distributed, that is, information that directly supports women’s activities and responsibilities. In order to facilitate access for women from various classes and sectors, ICTs will need to be located in places which women frequent and to which they have open and equal access, such as health centres, women’s NGOs, women’s employment centres and perhaps even places of worship. In this context, location also pertains to the practical, specific kind of information that women require as a result of the time constraints they face. When women can understand and experience the benefits of ICTs, they are quick to use such technologies. Establishing telecommunication centres in local communities is also a potentially useful strategy, if gender obstacles to access to them by women are taken into account. Information production and distribution strategies will also be an important consideration in order to make the most of each point of access. They will need to be flexible, mixed-media and multi-technology systems in order to reach the greatest number of women effectively. Further consideration should also be given to the social background of women. For example, because girls in many developing countries tend to leave formal education earlier than boys, ICT training should be started at an early level of education.

Youth comprise another group that deserves special mention. Youth have been given little opportunity to contribute to rural development issues, despite their numbers, and fresh and innovative ideas. Youth as well as women and persons with disabilities will therefore require affirmative action and should be deliberately integrated into all ICT projects and initiatives during the development stage and implementation. It is only by so doing that a critical mass of information-aware people can be developed to ensure that national social development goals are realized.

Persons with disabilities are doubly disadvantaged if they reside in rural areas because of the lack of access to appropriate education, training, health care and employment opportunities. ICT can benefit these persons in a number of ways. Most important, it can be a source of information that would not otherwise be available to persons with disabilities. They can avail themselves of opportunities for distance learning, obtain critical health information and better communicate with organizations devoted to assisting persons with particular disabilities. Computers can aid the speech-impaired and hearing-impaired in communicating, while text readers can permit the visually impaired to understand text.

E. FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The rapid expansion of ICT will continue in the foreseeable future. Regional growth forecasts estimate that by 2003 Asian users will surpass North American and European users. The base of Internet users could exceed the 1 billion mark by 2005, with 700 million users located outside North America (Accenture, Markle Foundation, UNDP 2001). Current estimates indicate that 78 per cent of all web sites and 96 per cent of all e-commerce applications are in English. By 2003, the majority of the web content is expected to be in languages other than English (Romulo 2000).

Developing countries in the region are faced with the difficult task of developing a national policy framework that would enable the rural poor to benefit from ICT. Experience with pro-poor ICT initiatives has demonstrated that ICT has the potential to help the rural poor to leapfrog some of the traditional barriers to development, by improving access to information, expanding their market base, enhancing employment opportunities and making government services work more effectively. Although there is limited hard evaluation of grass-roots ICT initiatives, what is available offers valuable lessons on what works and what does not work.

A national media strategy can help to ensure that ICT contributes to social development in rural areas. Such a strategy must determine the information and messages that it is important for rural persons to receive. The strategy must take into account the most effective ways to provide that information, whether through private sector, government or NGO channels. It must also consider the appropriate medium to communicate each type of information to persons in rural areas, fully exploiting the comparative advantages of radio, television, newspapers, telephones, films or the Internet.

ICT cannot be effectively used for development unless the crucial problem of the digital divide is addressed, not only between developed and developing countries, but also in terms of gender, class, age, ethnicity, language, geographical location and physical ability. A policy promoting competitive telecommunication sectors could attract investment in expanding ICT infrastructure and in lowering costs. However, market forces often ignore the poor and disadvantaged groups and cannot be relied upon to use ICT to alleviate poverty. The poor require targeted products and services, which may not yield a financial profit for the provider.

Ensuring that the rural poor obtain access to ICT requires coordination and the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders. This type of effort could take the form of formal task forces or more loosely connected public-private partnerships and should include local-level participation to ensure that initiatives are demand-driven and implementation incorporates bottom-up approaches. There is also evidence that national strategies are critical to using ICT effectively for development goals, but there are significant limitations on what a single country can accomplish on its own, even if it takes advantage of all the opportunities within its control. There has to be coordination and partnership, not only at the national level, but also at the regional and global levels in order to bring together developed and developing countries, multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector for the purpose of assisting developing countries – particularly the least developed – in using the great potential of ICT for facilitating the achievement of development goals.

Strategies for the use of ICT are not universal. Countries face different circumstances, priorities and financial means and therefore adopt different strategies. There are no unique answers to finding the right ICT formula for a country; each has to determine its own approach. Implementing a framework for action involves creating processes to build consensus on national priorities and addressing barriers in different areas through advocacy, consultation, incentives and reforms. For developing countries, the challenge will be to align the interests and strengths of various constituents of society and find appropriate strategies to make ICT work for the poor.

Governments should ensure that national programmes for putting ICT at the service of poverty alleviation and the development of rural and disadvantaged areas are in place. These national programmes could include the following: (a) the establishment of a transparent and consistent legal and regulatory framework that fosters ICT development, including, as appropriate, removal of impediments to growth in the ICT sector, (b) the maintenance of an appropriate regulatory environment while promoting privatization to facilitate ICT-related private sector investments, (c) the promotion of private investment for ICT infrastructure development through supportive activities and incentives such as build-own-operate and build-own-transfer, (d) the development of ICT applications with a rural poverty alleviation orientation in public institutions such as schools, libraries, hospitals and government departments and agencies, (e) the development of local ICT contents reflecting the knowledge level of target groups, (f) the promotion of access to ICT for all by supporting community-based ICT services, (g) the development of strategies to link established technologies, such as radio and television, with new ICT technologies and (h) the integration of ICT into general education and professional courses as well as into specific initiatives to raise ICT awareness and develop ICT skills.

From an international perspective, Governments of developing countries should become more fully involved in the negotiations on communications-related WTO agreements and play a greater role in other international organizations which have an impact on ICT policy. Poor countries are currently on the sidelines of the global information economy; thus, it is important that the international community agree on policies and standards that encourage rather than act as barriers to their entry.

From a regional perspective, ESCAP plays a critical role in promoting human resources development, the regional exchange of country experiences on pro-poor ICT initiatives and the identification, review and dissemination of best practices or successful models in the application of ICT for rural poverty alleviation in the region. It does so through the organization of regional conferences or consultations and the development of regional ICT-based rural poverty initiatives and the use of its web site for the exchange of relevant information and documents. ESCAP also provides a neutral regional forum where members and associate members can consult and be given advice on key policies related to the expansion of ICT connectivity in rural areas and the promotion of universal access to knowledge and information for promoting development. ESCAP can collaborate with other international development agencies to provide assistance to developing countries in the region, especially with regard to identifying development strategies, implementing related pilot projects at the national level, building human resource capacity and disseminating information on the lessons learned at the regional level.