ICTD News for 22 January 2007

[ICTD Newsmaster <ictdnews@undp.org>]

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CONTENTS

E-GOVERNANCE/E-GOVERNMENT
	Transforming Recent Gains in the Digital Divide into Digital Opportunities: Africa and the Boom in Mobile Phone Subscription
	A new model for Zambia's Virtual Parliament

TELECENTRES/SCHOOLNETS
	Content Divide: New Challenge for Rural ICT Initiatives

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
	The Recasting of Copyright & Related Rights for the Knowledge Economy

POVERTY ALLEVIATION
	Post-War Reconstruction Aid Risks Fuelling More Conflict




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E-GOVERNANCE/E-GOVERNMENT
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---- Transforming Recent Gains in the Digital Divide into Digital Opportunities: Africa and the Boom in Mobile Phone Subscription
Drawing on data from case studies, the paper explains that mobile phones may not just help create new jobs and new sources of revenue to the state but can also contribute to economic growth by widening markets, creating better information flow, lowering transaction costs, and becoming substitute for costly transportation that is lacking in rural Africa. On the social front, the paper contends that the mobile phone can help create unique personal identities and status symbols for some users. The technology also facilitates the democratic process as groups can use the enhanced communication tools for political and community action thereby reducing the reliance on conventional and often government controlled media.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9267&do=gpage



---- A new model for Zambia's Virtual Parliament
The Zambian Parliament needs about One million US $ dollars to complete the process of creating a Virtual Parliament which will enable the Zambian citizens to participate in development matters of the country. the Parliament web site has received a lot of support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other well wishers in the past three years the project has been running.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9265&do=gpage




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TELECENTRES/SCHOOLNETS
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---- Content Divide: New Challenge for Rural ICT Initiatives
Services available in any rural ICT center are through 'Content', but the basic question about content is, what does it mean? Content is basically 'information' that can be offered through ICT media at the telecenter. Content may be tangible or intangible. When it is obtained from a web interface or a computer, it becomes intangible or virtual; and when it is obtained through traditional media like printed copies, it becomes tangible. In terms of diversity, content can be everything and anything. Information on agricultural farming or health related advice or contact details of legal service providers or training material for youth groups are a few examples of wider diversification of content. 
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9269&do=gpage




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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
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---- The Recasting of Copyright & Related Rights for the Knowledge Economy
In the long run, if the Community is serious about creating an internal market for copyrightbased goods and services, is must inevitably confront the problem of territoriality in a fundamental way. This would imply the adoption of a Community Copyright Regulation to replace the existing directives and partially pre-empt the national laws on copyright of the Member States. Besides its obvious deregulatory effect, a regulation of this kind might provide a certain ?rebalancing? of rights and limitations, in order to rectify the overprotection resulting from 15 years of ?upwards? harmonisation.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9268&do=gpage




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POVERTY ALLEVIATION
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---- Post-War Reconstruction Aid Risks Fuelling More Conflict
Billions of dollars of reconstruction aid are spent without accountability to its intended beneficiaries, according to major country studies on integrity in post-war reconstruction, launched today by Tiri, a new nongovernmental group dedicated to raising levels of integrity around the world, and local non-governmental organizations in eight post-war countries.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9266&do=gpage




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