Month: December 2017

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Digital Divide

In theory telecommunication are meant to bind us together, however as practice shows it often does the opposite. Digital divide refers to the inequalities between people, particularly it refers to the gap between regions and demographics that have access to modern information and communication technology, and those that don’t or have restricted across. And its not just about simply access to the technologies anymore but it also refers to those that have the necessary skills, knowledge, abilities to use the ICT. The divide exists between economic classes, between those who live in urban areas and those that are living in rural areas, who have education or those that don’t and a global scale, between those who are industrially advanced and those who are still in the developing state.

Until the late 20th century the divide split those with phone access and those without phone, which was the missing link in the Maitland Commission. Then with innovation in technology the focus of the divide became the Web: in 1995 the US Department of Commerce published ‘Falling through the net’ report- first report that looked at the digital divide, and found the racial, economic and geographic gap between those who have access to the internet and those that don’t.

Today the digital divide is a grand challenge that needs to be resolve because the lack of access and skills can lead to and reinforce disadvantages between individuals. Digital divide has the power to deprive the opportunities to be included and participate fully in the society, economy and other sectors. Lack of access to ICT in the age of modern technology will impact the individual’s career, lifestyle, safety. It will impact the skills and knowledge of the employees and general public participation.

Coming from a developing nation, seeing and even experiencing first hand the digital divide in terms of access to the internet not just in the nation, but also on a global scale I can say you there are many limitations and disparities.  In many cases children in rural areas (and at times in urban areas) do not have access to the internet, and thus have no access to recent information, they don’t have necessary skills to education, employment and many other opportunities to be part of an inclusive society.  This limits their opportunities on the competitive market, this impacts their communication skills with people their age, as well as their opportunity to learn more and have the chance to go or study abroad, because they lack the simple skills required in the technologically advanced world we live in.

 

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ICTs and Sustainable Development

The spread of information and communication technology has great potential for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by essentially becoming the facilitators and enablers. By using ICT allows to accelerate human progress, upscale critical services in health, education, financial services, bridge the educational and digital divide, enhance public awareness, bring innovation, connectivity, productivity and efficiency across many sectors. This in result will impact and develop a more knowledgeable and inclusive society. ICT particularly has the potential in enhancing access for vulnerable populations, to information, knowledge, health care and education (for example: Collabotory), which is one of the main themes of SDG- inclusivity. Understanding the importance of ICTs in achieving the global agenda the UN Member States have committed to utilizing ICTs to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a two-phase UN summit that was initially created to evolve a platform that was aimed at addressing the issues raised by information and communication technologies. It was created to discuss and bridge the global digital divide that separates rich nations from poor by spreading access to the Internet in the developing world. The goal of WSIS is to build an inclusive and development-orientated information society where everyone can access and share information. The importance of the summit is that it is a multi-stakeholder process where representatives from member states, UN bodies, international organizations, NGO’s, civil societies and private sectors can participate and discuss the new opportunities of the information technology environment and address challenges, which is an important part of an inclusive society. As these forums allow to include and hear out the marginalized groups that are inhibited from accessing these ICTs. The WSIS+10 outcome document and the UNGA Resolution produced an overall review of the implementation of the summit outcomes in 2015, and recognized the significance of the development of ICT in achieving SDGs.

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Inclusive Cities, Habitat III and New Urban Agenda

Cities have been attractors of populations. In cities there are more opportunities, jobs, transportation, close proximity. In cities you experience different cultures, politics. According to the World Bank report about 70% of the world population will live in cities by 2050. Thus, it is essential to make sure that cities provide opportunities and equal living conditions to all, because every individual has a ‘right to the city’.

The New Urban Agenda is the outcome document that was agreed upon at the Habitat III UN conference on housing and sustainable urban development in Quito, Ecuador. The UN conference was the first time in 20 years that the whole international community, led by national governments, collectively took stock of fast-changing urban trends and the ways in which these patterns are impacting human development. In addition, it was the first UN global summit about the adaptation of the 2030 SDG’s. The significance of the conference was that it set a new global standard for sustainable urban development and lets us rethink how we plan, manage and live in cities. It became an opportunity for the whole international community at all levels to harmonize its understanding of the problems by current trends in urbanization. It is roadmap for building cities that can serve as an engine of prosperity and center for cultural and social well-being for all. It also acts as guide to achieve SDG 11. In the NUA, governments are committed to provide basic services for all citizens and ensure that all citizens have access to equal opportunities and face no discrimination, including the most common excluded group­­­– persons with disabilities. PWD make up 10% of the world population, and yet they one of the most marginalized groups with limited access to rights that they deserve.  Habitat III was an important achievement for PWD – through engagement in GAP, PWD became an official stakeholder group of Habitat III and impacted the language of the final draft of the NUA (were referenced 15 times). This is a big achievement and a great leap forward not just toward SDG11, but also in promoting and encouraging inclusive policies towards all groups that been to this day excluded.

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SDGs and HLPF

There is a lot of debates about the successes of the MDG’s. Supporters argue that the earlier development agenda did create an international movement against poverty, it played a role in lifting more than one billion people from extreme poverty, reducing the number of people suffering chronic hunger, preventable death and illness, and enabling more girls and boys to attend school than ever before. However, critics argue that the specific targets have been both regionally and thematically unbalanced.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is an inter-governmental commitment and ‘a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.’  It is a universal call for action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. It consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s ), which focus on three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.

Unlike the MDG’s, The SDG’s are a result of what is arguably the most inclusive process in the history of the UN. First of all, they are universal- they apply to all nations in the world, sectors, publics and everyone in the community, thus removing various distinctions. They are inclusive in nature and are meant to include all marginalized groups. such as older generations, people living in conflict, various minorities, as will as, persons with disabilities.  For example, in the MDG’s, persons with disabilities were not included and consequently excluded from many development initiatives and funding streams. However, now they are addressed specially in the SDG’s target goals.

However, while the SDG’s seem promising and encouraging there are definite challenges: first of all, there is the challenge of successfully implementing the SDG’s as nations governments can choose to focus on one goal over the other (the implementation of goals is fully up to the government and will depend on the resources and government goals). Then, there are obvious challenges with data and monitoring, as access to data can be limited by the government and in result will impact the recommendation policies.

The HLPF is the main UN platform on sustainable development and its main role is to follow-up and review the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDG’s at the global level. It meets every year for eight days under the ECOSOC committee.  It facilitates the sharing of experiences: failures, successes and lessons.  It is the ‘most inclusive and participatory’ forum at the United Nations. One of the main features of the HLPF are the voluntary national reviews, which provide a platform for partnerships including major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

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Development Theory and Actors

All nations aspire to develop and yet what is the criteria in deciding which country is developed and which is less developed? What determinants can accelerate development? And why are some countries more developed over others? The answers to these questions lay in the way we understand the concept of development. The theory and concept of development is complex and as discourse shows there is no single definition on what development is, or what specific measurements it implies. According to the book International Development Studies, development has three inter-related definitions: as a long term process focused on processes of structural societal change; as a a short-to-medium term outcome of desirable targets, which is related to evaluative or indicator led policy (MDG); or as a dominant ‘discourse’ of western modernity, which is related to westernized ethnocentric notions. Robinson and Acemoglu argue that the key to development is the inclusivity of economic institutions, which essentially is the combination of the state and the free market in which the state creates incentives, rewards innovation and allows everyone to participate in economic opportunities. Thus, economic success is due to the government becoming accountable and responsive to its population,

However, the theoretical work of Amarty Sen published in his book Development as Freedom has greatly influenced the contemporary concept of development (which is in accordance with other definitions). According to Sen development is a process of expanding capabilities, creating opportunities but mainly it is the process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.  From his perspective real development cannot be just about increasing basic incomes or GNP, but rather that is one of the determinants of expanding the freedoms enjoyed by the society. Other factors such as social, economic, political and civil rights are also important. Thus, he argues that in the end development is about expanding those freedoms and removing the barriers that prevent expanding these sets of freedom. Health, education, housing, freedom of action and belief are no less important for developing nations as growth GDP. These factors are the key factors for inclusive institutions, alleviating poverty, providing economic opportunities and abolishing repressive regimes- that act as barriers to freedom.

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Grand Challenges

Grand Challenges are big ambitious problems that face the society. Usually they tend to focus on the sciences and technology. While these goals don’t have a solution and are ambitious- they are not unachievable. Instead, they act more as motivational and require multi-disciplinary collaboration. An ‘iconic example’ of a grand challenge is when president Kennedy challenged the scientific community to achieve spaceflight in a given timeline. The science community had to use moon shot thinking in order to complete the impossible at that time task. Now, many years later this is why many refer to using ‘moonshot thinking’ when thinking about breaking intractable goals.

Grand challenges relate to a wide variety of issues such as new energy sources that are clean, affordable and reliable, cures for cancer, improving health care delivery and reducing the cost and others. Another grand challenge that is relevant today and closely linked with the 2030 global agenda are the new ways of teaching and learning, particularly that are inclusive in nature to excluded communities, such as persons with disabilities.  Disability and development is a grand challenge for the world: more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability, which is 10% of the world’s population. Unlike many, persons with disabilities are the ones that face many barriers in accessing transportation, ICT’s, education, employment, political representation.  And these barriers are not the individual’s problem, but they are societal problems also. It is the society that created these barriers and it is our responsibility to help get ride of them.  This sort of exclusion isn’t just a moral rationale but it also has economic rationales. PWD have the potential to benefit everyone, by adding onto the labor market and economic development opportunities. In addition, incorporating people with disabilities is also now a legal responsibility thanks to the adaptation of the CRPD, which is designed to protect the rights and freedom and insure inclusion for persons with disabilities. Thus, it is up to our society to help incorporate inclusive educational policies. An example of a solution to this particular grand challenge is collabotory.

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Including the 15%: a More Complete Development

Development has been historically a matter of whole populations, lifting countries up wholesale in order to improve, in theory, the lives of the poor and disadvantaged. In comparison, Inclusive Sustainable Development focuses on those left behind by previous efforts of development in order to improve their standards of living. In recognizing the different needs of persons with disabilities and other disaffected groups, the paradigm of ICD enables a just and successful way to development. By recognizing that developing for persons with disabilities in mind is a separate process from blindly developing for the general population, inclusive sustainable development creates spaces for persons with disabilities in the discourses around development, giving them a voice to address inequalities and injustices that they experience. The inclusive aspect of ICD creates a more just model of development, and creates a paradigm that is built towards justice.

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Intersectionality in Development

Intersectionality is the idea of looking at solutions for a problem that considers all intersecting inequalities that could be affected by the problem. By looking at a development problem through the lens of intersectionality, it is possible to understand the impact different identities have on access to rights and opportunities. For example, if there were a policy that is meant to advance girls’ education, an intersectional approach would look at girls with disabilities and of various races to make sure it is intersectional. A truly intersectional policy would consider a wide variety of identities not only in the proposed creation of the policy, but in the proposed solutions and implementations as well. Multistakeholder approaches and intersectionality are similar ideas, but not all multistakeholder approaches are intersectional. It is possible for a policy to be formed by multiple groups representing different constituencies to not be intersectional to the truest form.

Intersectionality is incredibly important to inclusive sustainable development because it would help to make development more inclusive. By getting the opinions of every group that could be affected, the possible solutions are better suited to fit the needs of those groups. Race, gender, youth, and persons with disabilities are all groups that can be sometimes left out of policy consideration. Intersectional policies are important because different groups experience events and problems in different ways. Policies by governments and NGOs that do not consider the various identities even one person can have can produce ineffective policies. Underrepresentation can make it difficult for certain groups within larger marginalized groups to have their voices heard. For example, with gender there are multiple subcategories that need to be addressed when it comes to development policies. There are women of different ages, races, finances and women with disabilities. For gender issues to be effective, they need to include input from all of the different identities a woman could possess.

It is important to name various identities, and then make sure that those identities are included in policy decisions. By having a clear idea of all of the possible intersectional identities that exist, then there is an easier pathway for governments and other policy makers to make effective policies. Intersectionality is still a challenge with everyday policies, and a recent example is the gender wage gap. Many people know the fact that a woman makes only $0.78 to a man’s $1 but that is only true for white women in the United States, African-American and Latina women receive much lower wages. If intersectional identities are not known, then people are given the wrong information and the policies that follow from that are not as effective as they could be.

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Disability Inclusive Education

Disability-inclusive education is education that meets the individual needs of every student. Disability-inclusive education includes raising awareness of the rights of children with disabilities not just to governments, but also to teachers, their parents and other families. Often times, children with disabilities are considered too different than other children and therefore should not be allowed to attend school. The stigma or superstitions surrounding children with disabilities often is a factor in keeping them out of school. Besides raising awareness, disability inclusive education includes training parents and teachers on how to work with children with disabilities. Schools then need to be built that are designed with certain standards that make the school inclusive and accessible to all students. This includes things like Braille books, tactile maps and literacy and numeracy teaching aids to help students with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, there should be rooms within the school that are devoted for children with disabilities, and teachers that are properly trained to work with students with disabilities. Finally, disability inclusive education works with governments and schools to create inclusive education policies. Once policies are created, there need to be resources dedicated to implementing them, which can be a struggle considering the getting basic education to rural and/or developing parts of the world is already difficult enough.

Education is an important step in social and economic development, because it can open so many doors for further development. Education is beneficial not just to persons with disabilities, but to all minority or underrepresented groups. Education is seen as a way to a better life, but it is not met without its own challenges. For example, fees for books, uniforms, and other school materials can make it difficult for persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups to afford to attend school. If children were also considered earners in their households, it would also be difficult for them to attend school, as their family would be losing money. Providing financing or loans would be one way to make sure students are able to attend schools.

Once students are able to attend schools, it is important that the schools be able to accommodate the children with disabilities. ICTs can play a crucial role in this. Technology can provide schools and teachers with multiple platforms to accommodate those students who have disabilities. However, there is an issue of cost and infrastructure for putting ICTs into rural and developing schools, which makes it harder for schools to be truly inclusive. High costs and stigma against children with disabilities are difficult challenges that must be overcome to provide disability inclusive education.

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The Multistakeholder Approach to Development

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multistakeholder platform where public policy pertaining to the Internet is discussed. The IGF was established in 2006 and its goal is to work towards a more sustainable and inclusive Internet. The Multistakeholder approach is so important because it allows for a wider range of ideas and interests to come together to help solve the problems surrounding the Internet. Additionally, because the Internet itself spans across countries and it makes sense that a multistakeholder approach would be the most useful. The Netmundial initiative is a platform that allows multistakeholders to come together to solve issues about Internet governance. This includes work from governments, academia, civil society, the private sector, and the technical community. Together, these different stakeholders are able to work on work on Internet related public policy and build a community of Internet governance.

Even though the multistakeholder approach is not a single solution, for something like the Internet it seems to be the best solution to solving problems and coming up with a framework for Internet governance. For example, having multiple actors working on policy helps to make sure there is more of a consensus among everyone, especially since the Internet is a global tool. A multistakeholder approach to IG is important to inclusive sustainable development because of how important the Internet and communications are to the world and to development. It is vital that the Internet remains free and open for everyone, which is why something like the IG is so necessary.

The IGF is open to all organizations and individuals with WSIS accreditation or any other group that is able to prove they have some relevance to Internet governance. The multistakeholder approach that works so well for Internet governance should be applied to other areas of development. It is important to get numerous viewpoints and experiences when it comes to solving problems related to development. By including groups that represent different constituencies into the discussion, it is possible that outcomes can be more inclusive. However, this doesn’t mean that every development issue is going to be easily solved with an international multistakeholder approach. Some issues would need to be solved within countries or within specific regions, like education and certain environmental issues. Countries that are surround by water have more cause to be concerned about flooding than landlocked countries. That does not mean that working with other countries or governments isn’t helpful, but having multiple parties discussing at one time can make reaching a consensus difficult.