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Concluding Remarks

Advances in information and communication technology have brought many opportunities and also challenges There are major barriers in bridging the digital divide, the most important being
infrastructure, which a pre-requisite for the real access of ICT. Many other issues are involved in bridging the digital divide. Nevertheless, positive developments should not raise misguided expectations. In many ways, the Internet is simply beyond regulation, and in other aspects, it has been left unregulated by governments and legislatures. However, the medium has no inherent mechanism to deliver on its promises of transparency, participation and economic prosperity. Delegates at a UNESCO Conference in Mexico last year pointed out that there is little evidence of less corruption and nepotism in government procurements conducted electronically.

Technological tools cannot reform institutional and social rigidities and maladies by themselves. A commitment by governments globally to take a good first step towards promoting sensitive Internet regulations and/or non-regulation and sensible policy-making would enable the Internet to expand in a more inclusive manner. The Internet can be a dynamic platform for the use of knowledge through new forms of learning, so that individuals and organizations can achieve their creative potential - a central focus of public policy. The nations around the world are realizing that even though their countries are connected with ICT services, it is to their benefit to improve the world's connectivity. Education and information are greatly improved through the use of ICT, and it should be one of the primary goals of each modernized nation. It solves many of the world's problems, including: hunger, the spread of disease, clean water, pollution, and even violence. Technology will be essential in educating individuals across the planet. People need to realize that they are no longer simply a citizen of the country of origin, but a global citizen. Community-based technology programs are expanding quickly and the research community is starting to gain some insight into how ICTs are supporting the needs of disadvantaged communities.

However, important questions remain: how community organizations can make best use of existing research and how additional data can be collected to enable programs to continue to grow, innovate, and refine their technology initiatives. There is a need for community leaders, government agencies, policy-makers, industry people, community-based program staff, and researchers to look beyond simple access to hardware and software. It is more valuable to address issues of teaching and learning with technology in informal settings located in disadvantaged communities. Moreover, any digital divide program which does not take into account the emerging hand-held technologies' capacity to support the development of new distributed childhood risk having no or only partial impact on the youth that they serve. There are new ecologies of childhood learning that people are barely aware of happening at the local level: homes, schools, and community centers. No doubt, the hurdles are complex, but a systematic approach to bridge the digital gap is possible.

Concluded.

Dr. Gursharan Singh Kainth specializes in Quantitative & Development Economics, and is currently Director of GAD Institute of Development Studies, Amritsar, a self-financed research institute. Has been honoured with various awards, including Guru Draunacharya Samman, Vijay Rattan Award, etc.
Ms. Kamalpreet Kaur is Research Scholar at GAD Institute of Development Studies.
Article posted on December 28, 2008.