This is the website to the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID).  It contains a multiude of information regarding GAID activities, ICT development projects, and publications regarding relevant ICT and development issues.  There are various articles on the use of Open Source Software in development projects, which I will use as examples in this paper. 

The GAID is an organization launched by the United Nations in 2006 to address the use of ICT in acheieving the Millenium Development Goals, particularly for reducing poverty in the developing world.  It formed from the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), during which a need for a global ICT and development policy forum was established.  The GAID serves to facilitate collaborative development projects between the private and public sectors, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups.

As stated on the website, the Objectives of the GAID are as follows:

"The Alliance will seek to contribute to:

(1) Mainstreaming of the global ICT agenda into the broader United Nations development agenda

(2) Bringing together key organizations involved in ICT for development (ICT4D) to enhance their collaboration and effectiveness for achieving the internationally agreed development goals

(3) Raising awareness of policy makers on ICT4D policy issues;

(4) Facilitating identification of technological solutions for specific development goals and pertinent partnerships

(5) Creating an enabling environment and innovative business models for pro-poor investment and growth and for empowering people living in poverty

(6) Acting as a "think-tank" on ICT4D-related issues and as an advisory group to the Secretary-General."

Haddad, Wadi D. 2000, ‘Is the divide digital?’, Techknowlogia, March/April 2000,

pps. 5 – 6, viewed 23 July 2009,

<http://www.techknowlogia.org/TKL_active_pages2/CurrentArticles/main.asp?Fi leType=HTML&ArticleID=85>.

This article will inform my discussion on the Global Digital Divide and its relevance to development issues.  The Global Digital Divide, as defined in this article, is the gap between the ICT "haves" and "have nots."  However, this gap cannot only be defined by physical access to ICT tools, the concept must be broadened to include the gap between human knowledge and skills necessary to use these tools.  Thus Haddad focuses on the human capital side of the divide in addition to the technical disparities.

The importance of ICT in the global economy is also discussed in this piece. Today’s economy is global, high speed, knowledge-driven, and competitive. Without the proper ICT skills and knowledge to participate in economic endeavors, whole countries and groups within countries become marginalized.  This economic marginalization limits the possibilities for impoverished communities in the developing world to improve their situation in the age of globalization.  I will use this article to inform my discussion about the disadvantages that are created and/or exacerbated by lack of ICT tools and technical literacy.  Solving these problems pose significant challenges to development policy makers and local communities.

Inveneo 2008, Inveneo, San Francisco, CA, viewed 23 July 2009, .

Inveneo is a California-based Non-Profit working to bridge the Global Digital Divide (GDD) in Africa. This website has some concrete examples of ICT development projects that have been completed in Africa. It also has various links to information about the digital divide and actual technological information about Inveneo's products and processes. This website can inform various parts of my paper including: a general discussion of the GDD, specific tactics that have been used in the developing world, and specifically the use of Open Source Software.  Inveneo has designed computing and networking systems built upon Open Source Software. This is a specific example of how OSS can be used effectively for development purposes.

The social mission of Inveneo is "to get the tools of information communications technology (ICT), such as computers, telephony, and Internet access to those who need it most — people and organizations in rural and highly underserved communities of the developing world." Inveneo’s approach is to work with local groups to train individuals to use ICT to improve lives within communities. Inveneo’s clients include other NGOs, local governments and local private enterprises. The computing and communications systems developed by Iveneo are low power, wireless and uses open-source software to reduce licensing costs. Their work began in Uganda in 2005 and now they have 25 projects in seven African nations. Inveneo’s goal is to match relevant technology to local organizations that provide education, healthcare, economic development, microfinance and relief services. The products and solutions offered by Inveneo include the Inveneo Computing Station, the Inveneo Communication Station, the Inveneo Hub Server and the Inveneo Desktop Linux. All of these systems require ultra-low power and are designed to perform in conditions of high dust and humidity, and these systems are compatible with Open Source Software programs. Inveneo systems are designed for beginner level users and are equipped with multi-lingual word processing capabilities. Inveneo also provides on-going training and support for its clients.

Block, W. 2004, "The "Digital Divide" Is Not a Problem in Need of Rectifying", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 393-406.

This article provides a starkly different perspective on the digital divide than most of my other sources. As the title clearly suggests, Block does not believe that the digital divide is a problem at all. He challenges claims that limited access to ICT is detrimental to individuals and populations and posits that these claims suffer from the fallacy of proportionality, egocentricism, and economic illiteracy.

In terms of the proportionality argument against the digital divide, Block says that proportional representation is a utopian goal of egalitarians. Simply put, different segments of a given population have different interests, skills and goals and therefore achieving proportional representation in any human activity, including the use of computers, is impossible. He compares the digital divide to other "product" divides such as yachts. Block asks if wealthy individuals have more yachts than low-income individuals, shouldn’t we be concerned with the "yacht divide?" I find this to be a faulty comparison, because as I have seen in my other sources, ICTs are no longer considered luxury goods in today’s world. Technical literacy has become a necessity to participate in society at large. Block uses similar comparisons to challenge the global digital divide, as well as divides based on race, gender, etc.

Block takes a very libertarian approach to the digital divide. From this article, it is clear that he believes a "hands off" approach to the spread of ICT is the right one. I disagree with this view, but I find it a valuable perspective to discuss in order to have a balanced research paper. I believe the evidence is strong to counter Blocks claims, and the potential value of ICT to developing nations is clear.

Wagner, D. A. 2001, ‘IT and education for the poorest of the poor: constraints,

possibilities and principles’, Techknowlogia, July/August 2001, pps. 48 – 50,

viewed 23 July 2009, <http://www.literacy.org/products/WagnerTechKnowLogiaArticle.pdf>.

 

I will use this source to inform my discussion of the Global Digital Divide. In this piece Wagner is discussing the implications that information and communications technologies can have on the lives of poverty stricken populations. He outlines the challenges for poor communities in the developing world and stresses the interconnectedness of literacy and ICT tools and skills. He discusses the role that ICT can play in overcoming poverty in these areas.  Wagner states that between two and three billion people, roughly half the world's total population, are in need of these skills.

Additionally this piece focuses on the digital divide as a broad development gap including social and cultural factors as well as technical needs in poor areas. This relates to my paper by setting up the context for what the digital divide is, why it is relevant to international and national policy makers, and what the potential benefits may result from closing the gap.  Wagner outlines some core principles that are necessary in closing the digital divide.  First, today ICT tools are too cheap to ignore and may offer more cost effective solutions to poor areas than ever before possible.  Additionally, he stresses the interconnectedness of literacy and technology in today's world, and the need for culturally-sensitive ICT tools.  Finally, he places emphasis on the collaboration of the private, public, and civil society sectors in bridging the digital divide.  Due to the complexity of the issues, no one sector will be successful if acting alone.  I will be able to use these core principles to evaluate some of the GAID projects I will discuss in my research paper.

Murelli, E. 2002, Breaking the digital divide: implications for developing countries, 1st edn, Commonwealth Secretariat: SFI Pub.

 

This book discusses the nature of the global digital divide (GDD) and the potential benefits that can be achieved by closing the ICT gap. According to Murelli, the digital divide can be defined as "the relative differential in access to information and communications technologies between and within regional groupings, markets, countries, sectors, communities, together with the consequential relative effects and impacts of the differential access (pg. x)." In her view, the potential benefits of ICT to developing nations are immense. First, they can be instruments of reform in the process of government and public sector management. Second, the private sector can achieve significant competitive advantage by implementing ICT into its operations and organizational management processes. Finally, individual citizens can be empowered through the use of ICT by debating public issues, communicating new ideas with broader audiences, and taking advantage of new opportunities for self-expression.

Other potential benefits to be reaped from the effective proliferation of ICTs are: poverty reduction, improved health care, easier access to public services, new employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, innovation, among others. This book also outlines the significant challenges that face governments seeking to expand the use and knowledge of ICTs in developing nations. In many areas of Africa, for example, the physical infrastructure to support computing and communications systems simply does not exist. In addition to the lack of physical infrastructure, the human resources necessary to install, use and maintain these systems is also lacking. Adding to these significant obstacles, other social and cultural barriers may exist in some areas. Murelli focuses on the role of government as the catalyst to overcoming these obstacles and facilitating the spread of ICT through effective policymaking and positive relations with civil society and the private sector. This book gives a good overview of the global digital divide and the issues surrounding this complex issue. I will use this work to inform much of my discussion of the GDD and its impact on development policy.

 

 

 This is a very extensive text that covers a wide range of internet policy issues.  I will focus on two chapters specifically for this paper: Chapter 26 "Globalizing the logic of openess: open source software and the global governance of intellectual property" and Chapter 30 "Internet diffusion and the digital divide: the role of policy making and political institutions."

Chapter 26 will inform my discussion of the use of and debate surrounding open source software.  The author argues that the global economy dictates the dissemination of information and skills necessary to complete in the era of globalization. Thus corporate powers such as Microsoft, and national powers such as the US and Western Europe are dominating the spread of information and communication technologies to the disadvantage of developing nations.  Liscensing costs and copyright laws serve to protect the interests of wealthy elites and international finanical organizations, while those without access to relevant knowledge and skills fall farther behind.  It is argued here that open source software is a kew way, possibly the key way, to counteract these forces of globalization that contribute to the global digital divide.  Specifically the use of free and open source software in Africa is discussed as is the support for open source software offered by the United Nations and many non-governmental organizations.  This will be a key text for my analysis of the use of open source software.

Chapter 30 focuses on issues surrounding the digital divide and policies that impact it.  It focuses on four countries as case studies: Brazil, Estonia, Singapore and the US.  The aim of this chapter is to discuss what role political policy and institutions may have in addressing the digital divide.  The conclusion is that policy and leadership in a society can in fact impact the diffusion of ICT.  Additionally, as I have seen in my other sources, civil society groups and non-governmental organizations are also key players in addressing issues of ICT disparity.

This research paper will focus on the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in achieving the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The specific issue I will focus on is the debate regarding Open Source Software (OSS) and its potential for spreading ICT's to developing nations at lower costs than proprietary software. I will investigate the UN's Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Also I will look at some development projects that have benefitted from the use of OSS and present arguments in opposition to OSS. The first part of this paper will analyze the concept of the Global Digital Divide and how it impacts other social problems such as poverty, literacy disparities, etc. Next, I will discuss efforts by the UN to use ICT in the achievement of the MDGs. Specifically I will focus on the creation of the GAID as a forum for addressing issues surrounding the digital divide and international development policy. Finally, I will discuss the specific issue of Open Source Software. This is one area of ICT development that may have potential for bringing low cost and efficient technologies to impoverished communities to improve lives. Some development projects have been successful in their use of Open Source Software, such as the non-profit organization Inveneo. However, Open Source Software does have is critics, and I will discuss these views as well.