ICT4D Workshop, Kathmandu, Nepal (March 30, 2010)

Date : March 30, 2010

Time : 2:00 PM – 6:15 PM

Venue: Hotel Himalaya, Kathmandu

This workshop on ICT4D (Information and Communication Technology for Development) is organized by the collectives of researchers, ICT entrepreneurs, social activists, IT experts, healthcare champions, and government officials from Nepal and University of Agder (UiA), Norway. The workshop is open to all those interested and involved in issues and initiatives related to ICT4D. The objective of this workshop is to exchange our knowledge and experience from ICT4D projects and research in general, and to understand the interaction processes between ICT and Social Capital in particular. The World Bank has categorized Social Capital into six dimensions, such as Groups and Networks, Trust and Solidarity, Collective Action and Cooperation, Information and Communication, Social Cohesion and Inclusion, and Empowerment and Political Action. Therefore, the discussions in the workshop will be oriented towards how the interaction between ICT and Social Capital enable (or disable) people to access resources and collaborate to achieve shared goals, for instance, accessibility to healthcare, education, market, likewise, other social, cultural, economical, and governmental services. Likewise, ICT can be an instrumental to build social networking and enhance accessibility to resources which can lead to the development. For these reasons, the primary objective of the workshop is to explore obstacle and possible solutions of the following queries:

-         How can ICT enhance the accessibility of different people to key resources (natural, cultural, markets, communications infrastructures etc.) and/or services (education, healthcare, government etc.)?

-         What are the primary obstacles in ICT4D implementation?

-         How do individuals or households enter into groups and networks and maintain network ties through ICT?

-         Who are the important stakeholders (politicians, IT vendors, donors, entrepreneurs, activists etc.), and who play a leadership or mobilizing role in the groups or networks?

-         What are the particular challenges and obstacles facing poor or marginalized groups in accessing key ICT resources and/or services?

Another key objective of the workshop is to identify future possibilities of collaborative research between Norway and Nepal in ICT4D and eGovernment areas.

The workshop is organized around presentations and interactive group discussion sessions.