Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategies for Developing Countries

Abstract

The ADB Institute conducted a capacity-building workshop on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategies for Developing Countries from 21 to 27 February 2001 in Singapore. The workshop was jointly organized with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Technical Cooperation Directorate (TCD) of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The participants were government officials and policymakers from seventeen developing member countries of the ADB. The workshop, organized under the overall design and management of Dr. Ramesh B. Adhikari, Senior Capacity Building Specialist, ADB Institute, featured prominent resource speakers from academia, government agencies, multilateral institutions and the private sector. The workshop aimed to strengthen the participants' understanding of the various issues involved in harnessing and utilizing emerging ICT to promote economic and social development in the Asia and Pacific region. The workshop provided the participants with exposure to the various conceptual and practical policy issues pertaining to fostering ICT development as well as using ICT to help economic growth in the region. In addition to participating in presentations to help increase the knowledge-base on this highly topical development issue, participants worked in small groups to tackle a number of policy problems related to ICT development in the Asia-Pacific region.