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In practice, notwithstanding the superhuman possibilities of
ICT, there are still large populations that live on or below the
poverty line, barely able to sustain themselves in the essentials
of living. And so, although many agree that ICT is an effective
vehicle for progress, its use in most developing countries is still
limited. Instead, in its place is a stumbling block called the digital
divide, a widening gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’
Less than 15 per cent of the world’s Internet users are to be found
in developing countries, which have more than half of the world’s
population. So, what can be done?
It is not clear what will work, but it is clear what does not:
there is no magic bullet. Clearly, affordability is a factor. So are the
political, cultural and social contexts in which ICT is introduced.
A friend says that youths from low-income Hispanic families in
Texas view the computer as a feminine device used by their
mothers. Unless educated otherwise, that superhuman potential
of the computer will never be realized by those youths.
Faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem, the only
rational response is not to give up, but to work within the
boundaries of what can be done. Here is where governance, and
for the purposes of this book, Internet governance, at the local
and international levels can serve development. The Working
Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) has defined Internet
governance as follows: “The development and application by
governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respec-
tive roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making
procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use
of the Internet.”
1
Action at the local level
Access
– The first barrier to overcome is to allow greater access
to ICT in general, and in the context of the present discussion,
to the Internet in particular. In general, a competitive environ-
ment has been shown to be a structurally sound approach to
lowering costs while maintaining quality. At the international
level, the issue of Internet connection costs will remain for some
time yet, but developing countries can reduce the scale of the
problem through regional peering arrangements, which effectively
share data traffic.
Capacity Building
– ICT policies that are adopted at both national
and international levels impact all segments of society. Local
understanding is therefore important as citizens need to know
that the use of ICT use can be directed through sound policies.
This issue is best addressed by education and has been the focus
of many non-governmental organization projects.
An example of a project that has been developed to address
some issues related to this is the World Conference on Harnessing
the Potential of ICT for Capacity Building in May 2005 at
UNESCO. Besides its theme, the conference also identified the
key strategic role of ICT for building knowledge societies and
achieving the UN MDGs.
Action at local and international levels
Multilingualism
– Another significant issue in the path of devel-
opment identified by WGIG is the lack of non-English content
on the Internet. Currently, 90 per cent of Internet content is in
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A home away from home for the younger generation an Internet café in Viet Nam
Photo: Randolph Kluver