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infoDev Renews WDR Support
WDR was initiated by infoDev with a 3 year grant, which terminated in June 2004. It has been one of
infoDev's Flagship projects. With infoDev now under the leadership of Mostafa Terrab, the programme has been under review in light of a more focused vision on integrating and synthesizing practical information delivered in timely fashion to ICT policymakers, regulators and those involved with applications and implementation.
As part of this new mission, WDR support has been renewed for another 3 years, and a closer working relationship between WDR and
infoDev has been initiated. At an infoDev workshop for its
donors and partners in Paris on 8 July, Professor William Melody, WDR Managing Director, outlined
the WDR and LIRNE.NET view of the priority issues in telecom reform and infrastructure development today for most developing countries, that
has arisen from WDR research and most recently the WDR Expert Forum in Cairo
in May.
In a presentation on Enabling Environments for Information Societies:
Thinking beyond telecoms policy, Melody noted that for the future, there must be a shift in policy and regulatory priorities to stimulate network
investment:
1) from supply of network facilities to stimulation of demand to justify investment in economic growth;
2) from physical capital to human capital, as:
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a) awareness, skill, capabilities and training; and
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b) service applications by individuals & organisations;
3) from limited and restricted funding sources to diverse sources of private and public investment, including, operators, service providers, intermediaries (e.g., sustainable telecentres), and user applications. The WDR Dialogue theme for 2004-05 will pay special attention to these issues, among others.
infoDev is a consortium of public bilateral and multilateral development agencies, working in close cooperation with partners from civil society and the private sector, and assisted by an expert secretariat housed at the World Bank.
Its mission is to help developing countries and their international partners use information and communication technologies (ICT) broadly and effectively as tools of poverty reduction, sustainable economic growth, and empowerment of individuals and communities.
Its work is rooted in the conviction that information and communication are indispensable elements of effective and responsive institutions (including governments), markets and societies.
infoDev will be announcing its new mission and framework program of activity soon on
www.infoDev.org.
18/08/04 /wm
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