In our complex and globalized society, the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a crucial success factor in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The key role of ICT lies in its ability to handle and communicate information whereas information is an indispensable ingredient in decision making and empowerment for improving the livelihood of people, communication the format and packaging of information and technology the enabler of connecting people and the means to distribute information rapidly. However, the benefits of ICT do not only come from an increase in connectivity or broader access to ICT network infrastructure per se. As a driver and accelerator both established ICT (radio, television and video) and new ICT ( Computers, Internet, Mobile) have converged into single powerful communication devices with global reach to give voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless.
The most dramatic growth in the history of ICT has been
witnessed in the Asia-Pacific region with impressive growth figures for mobile
users and Internet connectivity. However, these new technologies have yet to reach
into rural and mountainous life. Asia has now 39.5 (Sep 4, 2008) percent of the
world’s Internet users, inspite that only 15.3 percent of its population is
connected to the Internet, and many of them fall in rural and mountainous life.
This figure, according to Internet World Stats, a market research organization
that tracks Internet usage by region and also by countries, includes all of
ICIMOD member countries (RMCs) as well. At this junction, ICT for development
is at a critical turning point and holding great promise for shaping rural and
mountain life in different ways and accelerating the achievements of equitable
and inclusive development.
Rural people in the mountainous areas of the HKH region have
lived traditionally in much lower levels of economic incomes and general well
being than their counterparts, are more marginalized from digital opportunities
despite ICT as an effective tool to address these longstanding problems of
inequality. In addition, negative perceptions on rural ICT use are prevalent:
rural people are considered to have little demand for so-called e-services
maybe partly infused by the notion of higher illiteracy, absence of electricity
to feed electronic equipment and the returns on investment are low because
rural people are not productive but consumptive users of ICT. Reducing the
information cost and building ICT capacity are of central importance for the
rural and mountain poor and most RMC’s have developed frameworks to improve
accessibility. It is however extremely important that after the provision of
infrastructure, connectivity, complemented by capacity building, providing
useful content is crucial to people living in rural areas and often in the form
they can absorb or understand (local language. Access to education and training
through e-learning, will be important in most sectors, particularly to improve
the participation of woman in development and bridge the gender gap.
Appropriate ICT solutions for improving the efficiency of health service,
governance, disaster preparedness, market information services enables rural
poor to meet basic needs and encourages greater public voice in decision making
and above all, empowers rural people.
