Over the past 11 years, IICD has
been developing programmes in nine different countries in Africa, Latin America
and the Caribbean. These have focused on integrating both modern and
traditional communication tools – computers and the Internet alongside radio
and television – as a way of connecting people and empowering them to change
their own situation. Over one hundred pilot projects, benefiting 6.4 million
people, have proved that ICT can be a powerful tool for generating better
incomes for farmers, for giving people access to education, for creating better
learning environments, for improving healthcare by linking up medical
specialists to understaffed hospitals in rural regions, and for voicing the
needs of underprivileged people and helping them to organise themselves.
Clearly, ICT empowers people.
In 2007, IICD took the first steps
towards ‘leveraging’: creating new programmes through partnerships in order to
increase the actual impact of ICT for Development. There are various ways to
achieve this: by supporting national governments in their effort to develop ICT
strategies and policies and by helping them to roll out their own ICT for Development
programmes; or by entering into partnerships with other NGOs, donor agencies or
private companies and developing national programmes that reach out to a
greater share of the population. IICD has begun to explore these different
routes in three countries: Bolivia, Uganda and Tanzania. It’s exciting for us
to enter this new stage, and though it has proved challenging, it is definitely
a challenge worth facing.
Another challenge that IICD is
tackling is connectivity. Although modern ICT (Internet, computers) has proved
to be one of the most powerful communication tools for solving information and
communication problems, it is undermined by problems such as a lack of power,
the lack of investments for building the necessary infrastructure and the lack
of capacity needed to maintain these technologies. That is why IICD is
constantly looking out for better and more sustainable solutions. In 2007, IICD
started using mobile telephones within a few projects as an alternative to
existing ICTs. Not only are mobile phones more sustainable and easier to learn
how to use, but they also have better network coverage than other forms of ICT.
Another innovative technology that IICD explored in 2007 was the software used
to improve online collaboration and social networking: the so-called Web 2.0 tools.
IICD is constantly working to improve itself by looking out for better ways to
support local partners on the ground with both modern and traditional media.
The Board of Trustees convened four times and participated in numerous
different activities in 2007. In preparation for the new strategic framework,
various Board members took part in strategic sessions, together with IICD staff
members, the International Advisory Board (IAB) and private-sector partners, to
think about the future of IICD: What will the world look like in 2010, and how
could IICD contribute to making it better? Other strategic sessions looked
specifically at new technologies and how they could benefit IICD’s work. The
sessions proved to be especially valuable for the members of the Board of
Trustees, as it brought them into closer contact with the IICD staff and
(private) partners and gave them a better insight into the challenges faced by IICD
and its partners work on the ground. To further strengthen the exchange of
ideas and knowledge between the Board of Trustees and the International Advisery
Board, the chairperson of the IAB attended all meetings of the Board of
Trustees in 2007.
With the approaching retirement of IICD’s Managing Director, Mr Jac
Stienen, in 2007, the Board was also heavily involved in finding a new Managing
Director. After a long and thorough recruitment and selection procedure, a
successor was found in Ms Caroline Figuères. Trained as an engineer, Ms
Figuères has a long-established career in water engineering and management in
both the private and public sectors. While working on assignments in Africa and
Asia, she became deeply involved in the issue of sustainable development in
developing countries. With the appointment of Ms Figuères from 1 January 2008,
the Board of Trustees is most confident that the future development of IICD is
in very good hands as an organisation whose work stands firmly on the ground
and is cared for and owned by the local people and therefore truly demand-driven.
We would like to thank all IICD staff members for their continued
support and commitment to the organisation and to IICD’s mission to stimulate
sustainable development by assisting local partners to use modern and
traditional media. We know how valuable it is for people in developing
countries to be able to manage their own situation, and IICD is making a proven
contribution to this important cause.
Hella
Voûte-Droste
Chairperson of the Board of
Trustees
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hella_Voute-Droste
