Introduction
Part I: Case Studies
1.1 Introduction to Case Studies
1.2 Women’sNet
1.3 Kubatana
1.4 Satellife
1.5 Global Teenager Project
1.6 Malico VSAT Connectivity Project
1.7 HP i-Community
1.8 Arid Lands Information Network
1.9 CPSI - Dokoza Project
1.10 SchoolNet Namibia
1.11 Ekowisa
Part II: Toolkits
2.1 Introduction to Toolkits
2.2 Gender Evaluation Methodology
2.3 The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System
2.4 NGO-in-a-Box
2.5 Strategic Technology Planning
2.6 Building community wireless connectivity in developing countries
Glossary
Acknowledgements
Credits
Introduction (Page 1) Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6
The year 2005 is a critical one for global policy debates and action towards improved communications for sustainable development. In September, world leaders gathered at the World Summit in New York to evaluate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), five years after this global policy framework was adopted under the United Nations (UN) Millennium Declaration.
In November this year, the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) takes place in Tunis. At this meeting, heads of state will review implementation of the Plan of Action agreed to at the first WSIS gathering in 2003. They will finalise agreement on two key issues pertaining to the information society: how to finance infrastructure that will better integrate the poor into the information society; and who should govern the networks and technology infrastructure underpinning the information society.
These two important meetings of global leaders under the UN banner have seen much debate about the points of intersection between these processes, specifically asking how Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) can help to achieve delivery of the MDGs. Also under discussion are the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders involved – governments, civil society actors, the private sector and inter-governmental institutions – and the imperatives imposed on development philosophies and practices by the so-called “information society”.
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: A NEW DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
The Millennium Declaration was embraced by all 191 UN member states in 2000, resulting in a multi-dimensional framework working towards a set of development targets through the MDGs. Countries pledged to play their part in achieving eight goals by 2015, using development indicators from 1990 as a baseline to monitor their progress. The eight MDGs set out targets to fight poverty and improve access to heath, education, and sanitation and clean water. The goals also call for empowerment for women and a global partnership for development. The eighth goal calls for systemic changes in financing development and global governance structures, in order to underpin more effective development practices.