IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

No net, no money, mo' problems

Internet rights groups and lawyers have warned that high internet prices in developing countries could push them further behind in the fight against poverty. They have also said access to the internet should be a basic human right.

The comments by the Open Rights Group and Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of law, and director of Cyber-Rights.Org, follow figures released by the UN looking at the global disparity in fixed broadband access and cost in different countries.

Read more: Internet as a human right in developing countries

Simply the access to information – which is so natural in the developed world – has an immediate positive impact on development. So it is not always about huge engineering projects. It is often the small solutions originating from local problems which are better accepted. In Kenya, for instance, an electronic system was installed, with which cases of corruption could be reported anonymously. It was a novelty in the region and it was implemented with a minimum cost. Concrete contributions in terms of development policy are already in sight in telemedicine and eLearning – says Professor Dr. Tino Schuppan, Scientific Director of the Institute for eGovernment in Potsdam.

Read more: Door Opener eGovernment: Small Solutions with Great Potential for Developing Countries

At the Digital Africa Summit 2010 in Kampala, Uganda, discussion is rightly focused on both telecommunications policy and economic development. Cloud computing is a topic heard among sidebar discussions, although it has yet to hit the mainstream of conference programming.

We will bring a series of reports from Digital Africa – it is a very exciting group of people who truly have the best interests of Africa as their key objective. Kicked off by Dr. Gilbert Balibaseka Bukenya, Vice President of Uganda, the conference also included ministers of communications from Uganda, Niger, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso. Other nations are well represented with representatives from the private sector, government, and education.

Read more: Cloud Computing in Developing Countries

Schon der Zugang zu Informationen, die in der entwickelten Welt als selbstverständlich gelten, wirkt unmittelbar positiv auf Entwicklung. Es nicht immer um große Technikprojekte. Vielfach sind es die kleinen Lösungen, die aus dem lokalen Problemkontext heraus entstehen, die dann auch besser vor Ort akzeptiert werden. In Kenia wurde beispielsweise ein elektronisches System installiert, mit dem anonym Korruptionsfälle gemeldet werden können – in der Region ein Novum. Es wurde mit geringem Investitionsaufwand realisiert. Auch in der Telemedizin oder beim eLearning sind konkrete entwicklungspolitische Beiträge bereits sichtbar – so Prof. Dr. Tino Schuppan, Wissenschaftlicher Direktor des Institutes für eGovernment in Potsdam.

Read more: Türöffner eGovernment: Kleine Lösungen mit großem Potenzial für Entwicklungsländer