Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home AfricaBib Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Capacity Building, ICT Strategies, and the Science and Technology Perspective
Author:Mansell, RobinISNI
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.
Views
Cover