Digital economy for development - introduction by Reine Essobmadje - Chair
The potential of digital economy has been widely spread among developed and developing economies.
Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Uber are success stories and case studies that confirm the success of digital in 21st Century.
Moreover, it has induced social changes and transform the way humans are interacting with each other’s and citizens with their government.
Nevertheless, Digital has set up several barriers:
1- Language as first as to be digitally educated you must read and speak English (55% of all content on the internet)
2- Digital literacy. If you are not a millennial, Generation X or Y, if you had known TV in black and white then you get it
3- Digital access. Only 40% of the population have access to the internet
4- Digital economy. Despite Government effort to leverage the digital potential, the digital divide is still there but more over the digital dividend
World Bank quote “Digital technologies have boosted growth, expanded opportunities, and improved service delivery. Yet their development benefits have fallen short and are unevenly distributed. For digital technologies to benefit everyone everywhere requires closing the remaining digital divide, especially in internet access. But to get the most out of the digital revolution, countries also need to work on strengthening regulations that ensure competition among businesses, adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and ensuring that institutions are accountable” http://live.worldbank.org/world-development-report-2016
As Governments are struggling to reap the digital dividends for everyone our workshop aims to set the floor for discussion, share some best practice’s and open discussion on building a successful Era of Digital for Economic Development and Inclusion
This session will be interactive. You are kindly requested to share your opinion on our website: www.ICT4SDG.eu
Post you views and share your ideas. Results will be displayed during our session. Digitally Yours.
"Connectivity for universal service - serving the underserved" by Betty Bonnardel-Azzarelli
For most of us, it may be difficult to imagine daily life without the internet. It is quite probable that those lucky connected individuals access the web using more than one device; laptops, tablets, and on a smartphone or even two... Even so, we must acknowledge that accessing internet is still not possible for almost 60% of the world’s population, and the quality of the internet connection in terms of speed and capacity varies greatly, particularly relating to geography.
In order to connect those who don’t get a great coverage, or do not get coverage at all, a lot of efforts are being made to expand the fibre, mobile and satellite connectivity networks. Finding the most cost-effective solutions, that will allow internet access at a reasonable speed and capacity around the globe, is essential for the development of the remote communities in particular.
The provision of universal coverage is a sine-qua-none element that will ensure the survival of remote communities and support their developments. Thanks to the internet, these communities can learn, share, trade, and develop their own “e-ecosystems”. A particular emphasis should also be placed to ensure that the traditional barriers faced by women and the senior population, in these communities, are overcome.
This presentation will discuss how universal connectivity can be achieved, and how the identified barriers can be overcome to allow Internet access to the unserved and underserved.