Amethyst Wytu, UN volunteers associate on ICT for development, said that the UN body will be hiring consultants to do the study in rural communities in the Philippines. It will end June this year.
"We also want to know how to encourage minority groups to use technology, as part of an effort to bridge the digital divide," Wytu said.
Wytu said that UNDP has not disclosed how much funds would be allocated to this study.
The Philippines, through the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, has been involved in building "e-Community Centers" in areas in the country where there is no Internet or access to technology.
CICT figures indicate that Philippine government has allocated around 100 million pesos to put up e-Community Centers in select areas in rural communities, with help from the Telecommunications Office (Telof).
The project hopes to set up 200 to 300 centers a year, according to the CICT.
Autor: Erwin Lemuel Oliva
Quelle: INQ7.net, 31.03.2006
