In 1910, Technical World Magazine reported on pioneering technical breakthroughs of the day: the electric long-distance seer (read ‘television’), the first talking motion picture, and a radio tuner to find different radio stations. Then, as now, people had an insatiable curiosity and sense of excitement about the future: a feeling that a new age was dawning. Yet society could only speculate about the impact these technological changes would have on their daily lives. That much, at least, has not changed.

Fast forward one hundred years and today there is also a sense that a new age is dawning. Within the last decade, Google, Twitter, GPS and FaceBook have become household names, and cell phones and wireless internet make communication faster and bring us closer, at least in the Western world. The new emerging information and communication technologies are changing how we socialise, how we learn, and how we connect with each other. The major difference, compared to 1910, is the speed at which technology is evolving and its explosive uptake.  

Low-cost, sustainable ICT solutions are the way forward

Yet, there are still huge discrepancies between the North and the South, with sub-Saharan Africa still lagging behind in terms of mobile phone penetration and internet access. Today, in Africa, only 30 percent of the population uses a mobile phone compared to Europe where mobile penetration now exceeds 100 percent of the population and close to two out of three Europeans use the internet.

However, despite these challenges, a growing body of practical examples from the South shows how low-cost ICT solutions are being taken up by teachers, farmers and healthcare workers. This is one of the many reasons why I enjoy working with the International Institute for Communication and Development. The nature of IICD’s work means that it is continuously exploring ways in which ICT can be used as a driver for change in the developing world. Building on about 15 years of experience of using ICT to catalyse sector-wide improvements in education, health, good governance and livelihood opportunities in agriculture, IICD is optimistic about what can be achieved with its various partners in the future.

Learning organisation

IICD’s interest in innovation is not limited to ICT. It is also innovative in the methodologies it uses and its management approach. As a learning organisation, IICD strives to continuously expand and adapt its capacity to produce the desired results. Today, more than ever, IICD is convinced that only those organisations that are willing to be flexible will survive in an age of rapid change, not those that stand still, to paraphrase Peter Senge. To achieve this, IICD is actively supporting ‘people’s commitment and capacity to learn at all levels’.

2009: a turning point

In 2009, IICD reached an important turning point in its history. The global recession, the changing climate in the development sector in the Netherlands, and the final year of the 2006-2010 strategic period, meant that IICD had to revisit its strategy for the future. Building on the foundation laid in 2008 with workshops that focused on ‘The Demand for ICT4D in Developing Countries’ and ‘The Influence of New Technologies on Development’, further preparations were made in 2009 to prepare for the new IICD Strategic Framework for 2011-2015. Part of this strategy is the preparation to set up the Connect4Change Consortium, with IICD in the lead, to obtain MFS II funding from DGIS for 2011 and beyond. The Consortium consists of five prominent Dutch NGOs: IICD, Akvo, Cordaid, Edukans and ICCO, involving Text2Change as a preferred partner.

Think big, act together

By the end of 2009, IICD was supporting 12 leveraging programmes, advising its local partners on the best way to replicate in an informed way their more successful ICT initiatives nationally for maximum impact. At this point, 813.000 people were using the ICT activities we support directly and 5.9 million were benefiting indirectly, compared to 500.000 in 2005. We are confident that the impact of our work and the actions and influence of our partners will continue to increase during the next decade, when we plan to make a difference to 15 million people with low incomes in Africa and Latin America. This is the major motivation beyond the creation of the Connect4Change consortium.

Learning from experience

In 2009, IICD continued to gather and share its experiences about e-health and e-learning, e-agriculture and e-governance, both internally and externally, so that others could avoid classic mistakes and replicate good practices. To support this learning process IICD continues to rely on national ICT for development networks. These networks play a vital role in raising public awareness about the benefits of ICT and lobbying government to place ICT on the political agenda.

People - ICT - Development

ICT and development are only two thirds of IICD’s winning formula: without the people, development will not take place. On behalf of the Board, I would therefore like to extend our sincere thanks to all those who helped convert IICD’s vision into reality in 2009: to our worldwide partners and the dedicated team of IICD staff in The Hague.

Mr Jozias van Aartsen
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees