World Summit on the Information Society and the role of ICT in achieving the
Millennium Development Goals
The first meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) takes place in
Geneva on December 10-12, 2003, and will discuss mechanisms for harnessing the
potential of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to promote the
development goals of the Millennium Declaration, through cooperative efforts among the
donor community, the private sector and government. It will also chart a path towards the
Summit’s second phase, scheduled for 2005 in Tunis, as outlined in its Draft Plan of
Action.
The Summit is an important event, symbolizing the recognition by the global community
of the role ICT can play in social and economic development and the reduction of
poverty. The Millennium Development Goals, sanctioned at the UN Millennium Summit
in September 2000 and ratified by countries around the world, set ambitious targets for
improving people’s lives in the developing world, and policy makers are increasingly
realizing the potential of ICT in furthering their progress towards these targets.
The e-development services thematic group of the World Bank has produced this special
feature on ICT and the Millennium Development Goals in support of WSIS, and of the
message it seeks to deliver to the world.
The World Bank is the donor with the largest development assistance portfolio. It is now
testing an e-Development framework which moves beyond the incorporation of ICT
segments in sector specific projects (important as that is), towards e-Development
projects that achieve synergies by coordinated ICT investments in a number of sectors.
Nagy Hanna, Senior Advisor on e-Development at the World Bank, in an interview with
our editors describes this approach and relates it to WSIS and to the MDG.
In addition, John Daly, one of our editors, has produced a series of essays over the last
several months on the role of ICT in meeting each of the Goals. These are compiled in
our first feature into a monograph-length presentation titled “Information and
Communications Technology Applied to the Millennium Development Goals.” Together
the essays describe enormously complex social processes by which ICT enters and
permeates society and changes the lives of people. The essays advocate a similarly broad
process to change the information and incentives affecting millions of decision makers in
such a way as to make the benefits of the technology available to the poor.
Hanna’s interview and Daly’s paper appear to offer complementary approaches -moving developing nations in the direction of the Information Society
.
“ICT and MDGs: A World Bank Perspective” has been prepared by a group from the
Bank’s Global Information and Communications Technology Department. It is a
complement to the World Bank’s “ICT and Development: Enabling the Information
Society” prepared for WSIS. The paper provides introductions to the ways ICT relates to
each of the Goals, and provides examples from the Bank Group’s experience.
"ICT for Development: Contributing to the Millennium Development Goals" contains
lessons learned from seventeen projects funded by infoDev out of a portfolio of more
than 400 projects. All projects funded by infoDev are intended to facilitate the application
of ICT to meet the MDGs. These seventeen projects were selected not as the most
successful, but as those likely to offer the best lessons and knowledge about how to use
ICT for development purposes. An independent team of seven people led by Simon
Batchelor, commissioned to do case studies of the projects, analyze them in terms of the
MDGs, and extract those lessons.
The “World Telecommunication Development Report 2003: Access Indicators for the
Information Society” provides both a tool kit for measuring access to information and
communication technologies (ICTs) and a synopsis of the current state of readiness for
the information society. While the entire book is relevant to the Partnership goal of the
MDG, Chapter 4 is devoted specifically to ICT and the MDG. The International
Telecommunications Union has only provided the Executive Summary and the chapter
on the Digital Access Indicator online but they are well worth your attention. (The entire
book will be available for a fee after the start of WSIS,)
The Secretariat of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for
Development, for an October 2003 meeting in Tunis, prepared an issues paper titled
“Promoting The Application Of Science And Technology To Meet The Development
Goals Contained In The Millennium Declaration.” The paper places ICT in a broad
perspective of science and technology. Section IV of the paper discusses “promoting
universal Internet access and building strategic partnerships for development and
competitiveness.”
“Tools for Development: Using Information and Communications Technology to
Achieve the Millennium Development Goals” is a Working Paper of the United Nations
ICT Task Force. It is primarily a mapping exercise, developing a matrix of ICT goals and
indicators related to the specific MDG targets (and their indicators). Kate Wild provided
two discussion papers for the Task Force relevant to our theme which are linked below.
One focuses generally on ICT for Development strategies and their link with the MDG,
while the second focuses more specifically on measurement of the impact of ICTs on the
MDG. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development staff worked with
other agencies to prepare “How ICTs can help achieve the Millennium Development
Goals.” It also provides a matrix illustrating applications of ICT for the individual Goals.
It was prepared for the Joint OECD/UN/World Bank Global Forum: “Integrating ICT in
Development Programs” held on March 16, 2003. The OECD matrix is much less
detailed than that of the UN ICT Task Force.
Tthe philosophical bases of development efforts, were considered in a long paper by
Tariq Banuri presented at the Asian Forum on Information and Communication
Technology Policies and e-Strategies in Kuala Lumpur in October. Banuri encourages a
human development approach. The paper considers the dissemination of ICT within
various conceptual frameworks, calling for approaches that start with the needs and
desires of poor people for information. All of this is strongly illustrated with examples
from India and Pakistan. Banuri then turns to the MDG, and to the potential of ICT to
support progress in meeting these goals. Finally, he criticizes government for lack of a
coherent, human development based ICT policy emphasizing the MDG, while suggesting
that civil society has done better.
A “Global Practice Meeting” of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was
held on the theme of “ICT for Development” in July 2003. One of the background papers
for the meeting was titled “ICT for Development and the MDGs.” The paper describes a
number of “service lines” for programs: Development of ICTD Strategies and Policies,
Enhancing Government Capacity and Public Services, Strengthening Citizen
Participation, Promoting Entrepreneurship, and Global Issues, Local Responses Networking National Stakeholders. For each it briefly sketches the role of the UNDP, and
notes countries in which relevant actions are taking place.
In “Networking Development: ICT for Millennium Development Goals,” Frederick S.
Tipson addresses our topic in verse! We quote:
But if it is development that truly drives our actions,
All these other challenges cannot just be distractions.
Otherwise, we simply spread technology on top,
As if, like fertilizer, it will stimulate the crop.
Join our editors in a discussion of “WSIS and the Millennium Development Goals” on
Who’s Who Net.
Join our WSIS Videoconference “Geneva and Beyond: Operationalizing
Recommendations of the World Summit on the Information Society to Achieve
Millennium Development Goals”!
Links to the Featured Resources




Information and Communications Technology Applied to the Millennium
Development Goals
Interview with Nagy Hanna
ICT and MDGs: A World Bank Group Perspective
ICT for Development: Contributing to the Millennium Development Goals.










World Telecommunication Development Report 2003: Access Indicators for the
Information Society
Promoting The Application Of Science And Technology To Meet The
Development Goals Contained In The Millennium Declaration
Tools for Development: Using Information and Communications Technology to
Achieve the Millennium Development Goals
A Global Overview of e-Strategies – Making the Link with Poverty and the
Millennium Development Goals
Measuring and Enhancing the Impact of ICTs on the Millennium Development
Goals
How ICTs can help achieve the Millennium Development Goals
ICT, PRSPs, and MDGs
ICT for Development and the MDGs
Networking Development: ICT for Millennium Development Goals
Links to further WSIS, ICT and MDG Resources
This Special Feature was prepared by John Daly with the help of the following
contributors: Oleg Petrov, Pat Daly, Asheeta Bhavnani, Nadia Afrin, Tatiana Yeremina,
and others.
Published on Dec. 5, 2003