Young Professionals and Students involvement in ICT for Poverty Alleviation

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Young Professionals and Students involvement in
ICT for Poverty Alleviation

• Ayesha Haque
• Executive, Regulatory Affairs
• Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. (Banglalink)

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Agenda

• Introduction
• Forms of information technologies
• Observations
• The Module
• Development, Information ICTs- Roger W. Harris
• Opportunities and Challenges
• Limitation
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Poverty is the undeniable truth of the people
  most Least Developed Countries, yet today we
  still stand and wonder how we can involve
  ourselves in alleviation of a plague that is
  indelible as the Ten Commandments. We have heard
  of the digital divide and are aware of the
  immense possibilities that the Internet has in
  store for all those who have access to the
  man-made phenomenon. Scientists, scholars and
  leaders of the nation have tried to formulate
  theories, hypotheses, strategies and guidelines
  on the means to save mankind from the vicious
  circle of poverty but sadly, the incurable plague
  still persists. So, one must still wonder then
  why should the access to information technology
  help in eradicating poverty. The answer lies in
  the way we practice, preach and pursue the
  technology.

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Forms of information technologies

• Radio
• Reach
• Impact
• Usefulness/Programs
• Accessibility
• Barrier language
• Telephone
• Availability
• Proven grounds - According to a Case Study of the
  GSM Association, mobile services contribute
  US650 million to the economy every year.
• Contribution to economy
• Barrier poor infrastructure

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Forms of information technologies

• Television
• Reach
• Effective communication
• Education at grassroots level
• Barrier Infrastructure , electricity
• Computer The Internet
• Telecenters - shared access to the Internet
• Faster communication and implementation
• Barrier Expensive, poor infrastructure

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Observations

• Access to well-established technologies such as
  telephones, radio and television can transform
  the lives of poor people. Much remains to be done
  to maximize access to and effective use of these
  technologies.
• In developing countries, e-mail remains by far
  the most common application of Internet access,
  partly because it is a powerful and convenient
  communication tool, but also because surfing the
  web may be very expensive or unreliable because
  of poor infrastructure. Satellites and other
  advanced technologies will also make new things
  possible.
• The challenge for developing countries is to
  ensure that old and new technologies are used in
  the most appropriate ways, to combat poverty and
  empower the poor.

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The Module
Poverty Alleviation
ICT can alleviate poverty
Question is How?
A tool to alleviate poverty
The basic idea is to combine different medium of
ICT both old and new
New universal simple platform
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The Module
Forming a group
Student
Professional
NGO/field Worker
Philanthropist

• Team East
• Student
• Professional
• NGO/Field Worker
• Philanthropist

• Team West
• Student
• Professional
• NGO/Field Worker
• Philanthropist

• Team North
• Student
• Professional
• NGO/Field Worker
• Philanthropist

• Team South
• Student
• Professional
• NGO/Field Worker
• Philanthropist

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The Module
All team search for a problem
Student NGO Field workers
Conduct a survey (questionnaire)
Send the survey report
Compile, organize analyze report to identify
the problem
Professionals Philanthropists
Find a solution
Send the proposals/solutions back to the teams
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Development, Information ICTs- Roger W. Harris

• Development strategy where is development going
  and why?
• Information strategy what information is
  needed?
• Technology strategy how can it be delivered?

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Opportunities and Challenges

• ICTs can help a range of intermediary
  institutions and agents work more effectively and
  be more responsive to the needs of the poor.
• Increased level of e-commerce
• The challenge for LDCs is to differentiate
  between the barriers that could be resolved by
  the help from private sector or community-led
• initiatives and those that require the
  commitment of government
• resources.

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Limitation

• Illiteracy
• Infrastructure
• Cost
• Disadvantaged groups
• Local innovation (Govt. monopoly of radio
  broadcasting)
• Trust

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Conclusion

• Policy making for rural development must take
  each of the aspects of rural life into account.
  A pro-poor ICT policy begins with a development
  commitment that targets poverty alleviation, with
  government acknowledging its role as a major
  employer and user of ICTs. We, as young students
  and professionals can only this much, we can
  revolutionize thoughts and processes but it is
  for the higher powerful individuals who can
  really make a difference. One person can write
  ideas and thoughts but it takes an entire country
  to put it into action.
• Let us not just sit and wait for somebody else
  to help us,
• Let us not wander any further,
• Let us all help ourselves, by consuming less and
  giving more
• Let us all inflate our hearts a bit larger!

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Thank You