Global Map of Digital Inclusion: Access to Information and Communication Technologies

"Global Map of Digital Inclusion" - looking at access to information and communication technologies and the impacts of the digital divide. Initiatives - This section profiles some of the most significant ICT related initiatives. Alliance for Digital Inclusion (ADI) - ADI is a collaboration of businesses, working together to promote digital inclusion. The alliance brings business resources to the issue of digital inclusion and believes effective and sustainable programmes will benefit both business and society. Bridges.org - Bridges.org is an international non-profit organisation with a mission to help people in developing countries use information and communications technology to improve their lives. Computer Aid International - Computer Aid International was set up as a registered charity in 1998 in response to the enormous demand for quality and affordable access to computers in the developing world. It has shipped over 50,000 PCs to more than 90 developing countries - and to educational institutions and community organisations involved in environment, human rights and healthcare. Connect the World - Connect the World is an initiative launched by the ITU to stimulate new initiatives to connect all communities to ICTs by 2015 in support of the UN Milliennium Development Goals. Connect the World places strong emphasis on the importance of partnerships between the public and private sectors, UN agencies and civil society. It has 22 lending partners, including leading international companies, international organisations and government agencies. This global multi-stakeholder effort will showcase the many innovative and successful development initiatives already underway. In doing so, it aims to encourage new projects and partnerships to bridge the digital divide. Connect the World focuses on three key areas of activity considered the primary building blocks required to reach the goal of connecting communities by 2015: enabling environment, infrastructure and readiness, and application and services. Digital Links - Digital Links was founded with the vision of helping people in the developing world to have access to information technology to improve their lives. In order to fulfil this vision, Digital Links secures the donation of redundant PCs from private and public corporations in the UK, refurbishes them and provides them at low cost to schools, charities, community organisations and small enterprises in developing countries. Digital Partnership - The Digital Partnership is an international partnership established in 2001 to facilitate innovation and affordable access to technology, training and the Internet for learning enterprise and development in developing and emerging market economies through a sustainable public-private partnership model. It is an initiative of the International Business Leaders Forum with support from global IT companies and major corporate IT customers, the World Bank and foundations. G-8 Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force) - The DOT Force was created by the G-8 Heads of State at their Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in July 2000 and brought together 43 teams from government, the private sector, non profit organisations and international organisations, representing both developed and developing countries, in a cooperative effort to identify ways in which the digital revolution can benefit all the world's people, especially the poorest and most marginalised groups. Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI) - GeSCI was established in 2003 by the UN ICT Task Force to raise standards of education for communities in the developing world and make the MDGs a reality. UN ICT Task Force - The ICT Task Force of the United Nations was set up by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2001 to build broad-based partnerships, find the means to spread the benefits of the digital revolution in information and communication technologies and avert the prospect of a two-tiered information society. The Task Force represents the public and private sectors, civil society and leaders of the developing and transition economies as well as the most technologically advanced. World Economic Forum's IT Access For Everyone (ITAFE) Initiative - ITAFE initiative was launched as a result of the IT Governors Committee meeting at the 2004 Annual World Economic Forum with the goal of developing a sustainable public-private partnership model between ITAFE companies, local companies, civil society and government that can be replicated in countries around the world. World Summit on the Information Society - Following a proposal by the Government of Tunisia, the ITU adopted a resolution at its Plenipotentiary Conference in Minneapolis in 1998 to hold a World Summit on the Information Society and to place it on the agenda of the UN. WSIS takes place in two phases, the first Summit was held in Geneva on 10-12 December 2003, where a Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action was agreed. The second phase takes place in Tunis on 16-18 November 2005, with a focus on implementing the Plan of Action, identifying achievable targets for 2015, and agreeing on the question of Internet governance and financial mechanisms. The Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors (CCBI) is the voice of business in WSIS. The CCBI was created through the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) as a vehicle to mobilise and coordinate the involvement of the worldwide business community. Scope of this study - Digital inclusion is about enabling access to the information society. This map explores the relative access of countries to the information society using the DAI prepared by the ITU. The map is not intended as an exhaustive study, but rather as an educational tool that highlights the role of ICTs in meeting the MDGs and incentives for business engagement to facilitate digital inclusion. There are limitations to this study. Although the DAI is more inclusive than a single indicator, it does not encompass all aspects of digital inclusion. The DAI does not provide a measure for social inclusion or the degree of gender imbalance in a country. Furthermore, it does not provide analysis of the sub-national (state, province or district) levels of digital inclusion - thus not counting the domestic divide within countries. The "Global maps" series - This map is part of the Maplecroft 'Global maps' series covering a variety of issues, designed to highlight the nature and location of risk and opportunity. The 'Global maps' series is a unique awareness-raising and management tool, which provides a framework for monitoring and analysing a wide range of complex issues that impact on society and the goals of business. Acknowledgements - The DAI was reproduced with the kind permission of ITU. The adviser and overall editor of this map is Professor Alyson Warhurst, Warwick Business School, United Kingdom, and its principal researchers are Dr Kevin Franklin and Susannah Anastasi of Maplecroft. Professor Alyson Warhurst, Dr Kevin Franklin and Susannah Anastasi would like to acknowledge the valuable assistance of Tracey Neate, Ed Cole, Alison Bloor, and Mark Allison of Maplecroft in assembling both the hard copy and interactive editions of this map. Special thanks to Margaret Canter and Esperanza Magpantay of the ITU, and to Francoise Grumberg. Sylvein Cadieu and Anne Roos-Weil of Alcatel for their support and feedback throughout this project. We would also like to thank all companies and organisations that provided case studies, including Elena Bonfiglioli of Microsoft (EMEA), Khalid Shams of Grameen Telecom, Sheile Voth and Eileen Sweeney of Motorola, Virginia Bird and Jorge Garcia of ISTEC, Linda Morris of Citizens Online, Kathy Lane and Lynde Pratt of the International Youth Foundation, Ane Nymark Jensen, Alex Paterson and Joaquim Croca of Vodafone, and Elena Pistorio Contini of ST Microelectronics. Thanks also to Colum Joyce for his excellent peer review and insightful recommendations. The Acronyms include: DAI - Digital Access Index; DBI - Digital Bridge Initiative; DOI - Digital Opportunity Initiative; ICTs - Information and Communication Technologies; IT - Information Technology; ITU - International Telecommunication Union; MDGs - Millennium Development Goals; PPP - Public-Private sector Partnerships; SMS - Short Messaging Service; and WSIS - World Summit on the Information Society. The References (according to the citations in the main text) include: UN. 2005. Kofi Annan, Message in advance of the World Summit on the Information Society (Tunis). 2005; UN. 1948. Universal Declaration of Human Rights; OECD. 2001. Understanding the Digital Divide; WSIS. 2003. The Geneva Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action; UN. 2000. Millennium Development Goals; ITU. 2003. World Telecommunications Development Report Access Indicators for the Information Society: UNDP, the Maride Foundation, and Accenture. 2001. Creating a Development Dynamic. Final Report of the Digital Opportunity Initiative; Alcatel Telecommunications Review. 2004. Bridging the Digital Divide, An Opportunity for Growth the 21st Century; World Economic Forum. 2003. Partnering for Success: Business Perspectives on Multi-stakeholder Partnerships; and ITU. 2005. Task Force on Financial Mechanisms for ICT for Development.