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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Capacity Building, ICT Strategies, and the Science and Technology Perspective |
Author: | Mansell, Robin |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | African Development Review |
Volume: | 10 |
Issue: | 1 |
Period: | June |
Pages: | 52-72 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Africa |
Subjects: | science and technology policy information technology technology Development and Technology Education and Oral Traditions |
External link: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8268.1998.tb00096.x/pdf |
Abstract: | Although the importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is increasingly recognized, it is less frequently acknowledged that the contribution of the new technologies and services to national or regional development depends on local institutional and cultural conditions, the strengths and weaknesses of national systems of innovation, and the priority given to building both the technological and social infrastructure for knowledge-based development. While many people in the African region are benefiting from using the new ICTs, many others have neither the financial resources nor the appropriate skills to take advantage of their potential. There is a need for new initiatives aimed at building technological and social capabilities in key areas. The author emphasizes the importance of learning by interacting and sharing information, organizational change, and the need for coordinated ICT strategies. While widespread access to national information infrastructures is a necessary condition for building distinct 'knowledge societies', universal prescriptions for achieving access are likely to be inappropriate. To ensure that the potential benefits of the wider diffusion of ICTs in Africa outweigh the risks associated with uneven diffusion and marginalization of the poor and other social groups, national and regional ICT strategies that are responsive to specific local and regional priorities need to be implemented. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French. |