"After an introduction which highlights the urgency of improved digital cooperation and invites readers to commit to a Declaration of Digital Interdependence, our report focuses on three broad sets of interlocking issues, each of which is discussed in one subsequent chapter. As a panel, we strove fo
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r consensus, but we did not always agree. We have noted areas where our views differed and tried to give a balanced summary of our debates and perspectives. While there was not unanimity of opinion among the Panel members regarding all of the recommendations, the Panel does endorse the full report in the spirit of promoting digital cooperation.
Chapter 2, Leaving No One Behind, argues that digital technologies will only help progress towards the full sweep of the SDGs if we think more broadly than the important issue of access to the internet and digital technologies. Access is a necessary, but insufficient, step forward. To capture the power of digital technologies we need to cooperate on the broader ecosystems that enable digital technologies to be used in an inclusive manner. This will require policy frameworks that directly support economic and social inclusion, special efforts to bring traditionally marginalised groups to the fore, important investments in both human capital and infrastructure, smart regulatory environments, and significant efforts to assist workers facing disruption from technology’s impact on their livelihoods. This chapter also addresses financial inclusion – including mobile money, digital identification and e-commerce –, affordable and meaningful access to the internet, digital public goods, the future of education, and the need for regional and global economic policy cooperation.
Chapter 3, Individuals, Societies and Digital Technologies, underscores the fact that universal human rights apply equally online as offline, but that there is an urgent need to examine how time-honoured human rights frameworks and conventions should guide digital cooperation and digital technology. We need society-wide conversations about the boundaries, norms and shared aspirations for the uses of digital technologies, including complicated issues like privacy, human agency and security in order to achieve inclusive and equitable outcomes. This chapter also discusses the right to privacy, the need for clear human accountability for autonomous systems, and calls for strengthening efforts to develop and implement global norms on cybersecurity."
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"Unfortunately, the Internet has fallen short of its promises in some other aspects, as its benefits have not fully reached people in the bottom of the income distribution. For example, skilled workers are better able to leverage the Internet to increase their earnings, whereas unskilled workers fac
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e a higher risk of having their jobs automated. High-productivity firms are more likely to use the Internet to grow their business, while mom-and-pop stores face the risk of being displaced. Rich countries, which tend to have stronger institutions than poorer countries, are better equipped to use the Internet to fight corruption and hold public officials accountable. In other words, the past three decades have shown that the benefits of achieving universal Internet access or increasing the size of the information and communication technology sector will not fully materialize unless governments improve their business environment, invest in human capital, and enhance their institutions. This message cannot be emphasized enough, especially for countries in the ECA region with a long tradition of distortionary industrial policies aimed at cherrypicking winners and losers. Reaping Digital Dividends: Leveraging the Internet for Development in Europe and Central Asia provides a framework for governments in the region to maximize the impact of the Internet on poverty reduction and shared prosperity. It highlights the diverse yet surmountable set of challenges. Although many people in the East remain unconnected, the experience of their neighbors to the West shows that achieving nearly universal Internet access does not guarantee success. For example, several factors hamper technology adoption among firms, while rigid regulations constrain the expansion of the sharing economy. This report argues that reaping digital dividends requires policies focused not only on the telecommunications sector but also on the analog complements, such as skills and the business environment. It also highlights that governments should be prepared to address the disruptive effects of new technologies and facilitate the transition of displaced workers to new and more productive jobs." (Foreword)
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"This chapter extends a critical perspective on the economic impact of the Internet to the study of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for development, concentrating on the effects of the Internet on the lives of some of the poorest people and most marginalized communities. The disti
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nction between absolute and relative poverty is central to an understanding of the role of technology, and the Internet in particular, in development. Furthermore, the implications of the relationships between the Internet and ‘development’ are assessed in terms of development as economic growth, development as social equality, and development as political freedom. The Internet has been shaped and developed explicitly by the commercial interests largely of US capital. The success of the Internet in delivering development objectives depends very much on how such objectives are defined." (Abstract)
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"Cyrus Farivar explores the Internet's history and effects in four distinct and, to some, surprising societies—Iran, Estonia, South Korea, and Senegal. He profiles Web pioneers in these countries and, at the same time, surveys the environments in which they each work [...] Skype was invented in Es
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tonia—the same country that developed a digital ID system and e-voting; Iran was the first country in the world to arrest a blogger, in 2003; South Korea is the most wired country on the planet, with faster and less expensive broadband than anywhere in the United States; Senegal may be one of sub-Saharan Africa's best chances for greater Internet access." (Back cover)
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"Produced by The World Economic Forum and INSEAD, the fifth edition of the annual Global Information Technology Report is a comprehensive tool for measuring the progress made in the adoption of the latest information and communication technologies and identifying the obstacles to ICT development in
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more than 100 countries worldwide." (Publisher description)
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"This Facilitator Guide and Reference Manual is to be used when training Volunteers and others who will serve as trainers in information and communication technology (ICT) during Volunteers’ Pre-Service Training (PST) or In-Service Training (IST). It outlines the format, materials, objectives, tim
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e, sequence, and content of the training of trainers (TOT). While this TOT is designed to prepare participants to conduct formal training sessions, the skills and materials can be applied to one-on-one situations or workshops designed to occur over several weeks or months that incorporate short skill-building sessions. The accompanying Participant Handbook is to be distributed to all trainers and participants." (Introduction)
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"Nous vivons une période de l'histoire du monde particulièrement mouvementée. Socialement, politiquement, scientifiquement, techniquement, tout évolue rapidement, et la communication instantanée et globale de toute information renforce l'agitation permanente de nos existences. Décidément, le
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monde va vite, trop vite. La révolution numérique, plus encore l'émergence de l'Internet, a pris tout le monde de court. Cet ouvrage essaie d'évaluer les chances qu'apporte cette révolution à un développement véritable du continent africain." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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