By: Bikal Dhungel
Few things I passionately wait for to read every year is the
UNDP's World Development Report. Others being 'Least Development
Country Report' by UNCTAD, World Health Report by WHO and 'Global
Wealth Report' by Credit Suisse. All of them is a matter of interest
for those interested in development. The UNDP chooses a topic that is
current and explores the role of this topic in development. Last year
'Mind Society and Behaviour' was a groundbreaking study that lead to
further research in this field. This year the UNDP reported on
'Digital Dividends' which highlighted the role of IT in the field of
development throughout the least developed countries.
The development of IT sector has been phenomenal. Though it was a
slow mover in the 80s, after the new millennium, it took a new
height. Development of advanced machines is not new. The concept of
Computer itself goes back to 100 years but it was only the workshops
of people like Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and
several more that jumped a giant leap forward. Still, no one thought
the there is will a quarter of world population with at least a
computer on the desk. The development of digital technology as well
as telecommunication has led the development process further than it
would have been, without it. Today, there are more mobile phones in
developing countries than toilets. This tendency will grow further.
Digital development has led to increased literacy, increased health
access, empowerment of women and the poor.
The World Development Report mentions 9 major areas where
digitization can have impact and contribute to development namely
Growth Acceleration, Agriculture, Digital Finance, Opportunity
Expansion, Education, Social Media, Services, E-health and Digital
Identity. The second part discusses the policies that should be
undertaken. Digitization can impact in creating smart cities which
the growing world population is making it a vital thing because
otherwise the creation of slums like those in some big cities.
Secondly, it can contribute in data revolution that can contribute to
research and development and better decision making in both public
and private sector. Apart from helping in individual sectors, it
contributes in global cooperation and tend to connect the world which
has mostly positive impact. The Arab Spring would not have been
possible without people connecting through smart phones and iphones.
But at the same time, bad intention can make our data insecure which
can have negative implication. Hacking accounts and personal details
for personal gain has been a serious topic where government and
companies are spending heave amounts to make their system and data
secure.
The main message from the report is that analog development must
take place as well so that the fruit of digital development could be
fully enjoyed. If a country restrict the freedom of expression,
information and human rights, the information cannot flow properly
and there can be no exchange hence no further development. Secondly,
although digitalisation has grown, it has not spread evenly to all
sectors of the society. Hence, inclusion is another most important
thing. Inclusion based on all ethnicity, age groups and sex. The
states should focus on ending the digital divide. In addition to it,
they have to enhance institutions which focus on increasing digital
accessibility, they have to focus on rules and regulation as a base
to new information age, and skills development. A large portion of
people are still barred from using technologies. Over half of the
world population still has no access to it. A globalized market gives
opportunity to prosper in the border-less world if technologies are
used in a right way.
Since a long time, there is a discussion going on if developing
countries can follow the path of today's developed countries to
develop economically. This development was catastrophic for the
environment that caused Climate Change which again has a reverse
impact on both poor and rich countries. Given a right use and skills
development, the next industrial revolution could be digital, hence
not fully counter-productive for the nature. Of course there will be
some impact on the environment because the computers, mobile phones
should be built out of materials that are already rare and the energy
usage connected to it but the environmental impact can le lessened.
At the same time, it also cannot be ignored that there have been
massive development of renewable energy system with no negative
impact on the environment. Combined, the digital technologies can be
an important force for further advancement in science and technology
eventually for development and developing countries are the ones who
will profit the most from it.
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