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ICT Applications
> Rural ICT Services
ADB and UNESCAP Signed MOU for the Establishment of Community
e-Centers in South Asia
29 August 2006
The Asian Development Bank and UNESCAP signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) yesterday for the establishment of 20 pilot
Community e-Centers (CeC) in South Asia. As part of ADB’s South Asia
Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program, the project will
be jointly implemented by ADB and the Information and Communication
Technology Applications Section of the Information, Communication
and Space Technology Division (ICSTD) of UNESCAP. The project is
funded by the Japan Fund for Information and Communication
Technology (JFICT) of ADB.
The project aims to reduce poverty, empower communities and improve
the quality of life in rural areas in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and
Nepal through providing communities with access to information and
communication technology (ICT). CeC will provide shared facilities
for the public to use basic telecommunications services access the
Internet and use various ICT applications for socio-economic
activities.
Based on compiled and analysed success cases and lessons learned
across the regions, the project will be implemented in three phases:
1) develop a sustainable CeC model according to the type of
communities covered by the project and their needs; 2) establish at
least 20 pilot CeC in rural areas based on the model and 3) build
institutional and human capacity and share knowledge acquired by
rural communities. The benefits and impacts of the project on the
socio-economic development of the communities will be monitored,
analysed and disseminated on the Internet.
For more information on the project, please visit
www.unescap.org/icstd/applications or contact the ICT
Applications Section at
ICSTD, UNESCAP
UN Building 8th Floor
Tel: +662-288-1332
Fax: +663-288-1085
E-mail: escap-icstd@un.org
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