Ict as Enabler of Socio-Economic Devt (Taheer Amid)
ICT as an enabler of Socio-Economic Development
Tahir Hameed* School of Engineering, Information & Communications University, 305-732, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. Abstract: Today’s is a world of many divides, one of the most typical being the Digital Divide which in itself has given birth to or is worsening other economic and social divides. In this world more suffer and less are able to benefit from technology. This paper fosters the importance and need of international cooperation for use & promotion of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) trying to bridge the digital divides within countries, regions and the world. The concept of “Information Society” has made it imperative that no country can develop without involving & focusing on regional and global development perspectives. Collaboration has become the key word. When we talk of integrated socio-economic development, it takes into account many areas which can benefit from faster access and enhanced productivities by using ICT in each of these. Some case studies on use of ICT for different initiatives within Pakistan are reviewed and conclusions drawn on how it does support the socio-economic development, which may be similar and bear lessons for many developing countries. Keywords: Digital Divide, Digital Opportunity Index (DOI), ICT for Development (ICT4D), ICT Policy, International Cooperation Introduction A formal definition of IT terms it as a broad subject concerned with technology and other aspects of managing and processing information and that it deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information 1 . The term Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) was coined to reflect the seamless convergence of digital processing and telecommunications. As commonly perceived it is not limited to the modern hi-tech gadgets or networks. In fact, the ICTs have been in use since long for
Tahir Hameed* School of Engineering, Information & Communications University, 305-732, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. Abstract: Today’s is a world of many divides, one of the most typical being the Digital Divide which in itself has given birth to or is worsening other economic and social divides. In this world more suffer and less are able to benefit from technology. This paper fosters the importance and need of international cooperation for use & promotion of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) trying to bridge the digital divides within countries, regions and the world. The concept of “Information Society” has made it imperative that no country can develop without involving & focusing on regional and global development perspectives. Collaboration has become the key word. When we talk of integrated socio-economic development, it takes into account many areas which can benefit from faster access and enhanced productivities by using ICT in each of these. Some case studies on use of ICT for different initiatives within Pakistan are reviewed and conclusions drawn on how it does support the socio-economic development, which may be similar and bear lessons for many developing countries. Keywords: Digital Divide, Digital Opportunity Index (DOI), ICT for Development (ICT4D), ICT Policy, International Cooperation Introduction A formal definition of IT terms it as a broad subject concerned with technology and other aspects of managing and processing information and that it deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information 1 . The term Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) was coined to reflect the seamless convergence of digital processing and telecommunications. As commonly perceived it is not limited to the modern hi-tech gadgets or networks. In fact, the ICTs have been in use since long for
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