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one of the 12 major languages of the world; speakers of the other
6 000 languages in the world are thus both directly and indi-
rectly barred from accessing the Internet. As the Internet plays
an important role in the dissemination of knowledge, multilin-
gualism on the Internet comes to the forefront as an important
issue to be addressed in light of using ICT for development.
Furthermore, the very nature of the Internet includes much of
the inherent biasness of the more developed world, which inad-
vertently precludes its use by other groups that do not share
similar histories and cultural backgrounds.
The issue of multilingualism needs to be addressed at both the
local level – ensuring that more native-language content is
produced – and the international level. At the international level,
domain names need to be reproducible in the native language.
One example of such a project is UNESCO’s
Initiative B@bel,
which is aimed at promoting multilingualism on the Internet to
increase equal access to information and the Internet. As part of
the overall project, UNESCO has awarded research funds to
several organizations including the University of California at
Berkeley for the Universal Scripts Project, a project that will
support the authoring of 16 Unicode script proposals including
languages used by minorities in Asia, India and Africa.
Action at the international level
International Forum
– The challenge facing developing countries
is unquestionably daunting. One shortcut is to learn from the best
practices of others while avoiding the pitfalls of yet others. This is
one reason the WGIG report recommended an international forum
for Internet governance. Enforcement is difficult and unrealistic,
as all governments will want to assert their own sovereignty. But as
an opportunity to meet, to network and discuss common concerns,
such a forum would be useful for developing countries.
Finding a way forward
As evident from the examples presented above, there are many
different areas and ways in which Internet governance can play a
role in helping to implement the ICT for development (ICT4D)
programmes, which are intended to improve the quality of life of
developing and under developed nations. ICT can help the
quicker realization of the UN MDGs. But the use of ICT to that
end needs to be directed.
The issues in ICT use and Internet governance differ between
developing and developed countries. And while the hurdles facing
developing countries may seem formidable, no one is totally help-
less. There are actions that developing countries can take to
ameliorate the effects of the digital divide. Locally, a competitive
telecommunication and Internet environment will help reduce
the costs of consumers. Regionally, cooperation among neigh-
bouring countries on such efforts as peering will help to lower
the costs of operation for service providers.
Internationally, developing countries need to be actively
engaged in discussions on Internet governance. To be sure, the
interests of developed and developing countries do diverge. But
there are also overlaps between them, and it would be in the inter-
ests of developing countries to pursue those common interests.
It is, after all, in everyone’s interests that the developing world
climbs the development ladder. It does not require a superhu-
man being to do so, but it will always help.
A mobile phone shop-come-Internet café in Viet Nam
Photo: Copyright, Randolph Kluver
Internet café for every purpose – from gaming to chatting (Viet Nam)
Photo: Copyright, Shyam Tekwani