Look at this floating payphone on Lake Vistoria in Africa, from an article I read this week on SciDev.Net (just about everything on SciDev.Net makes for astounding reading–go to http://www.scidev.net and sign up for their e-newsletters, RSS, etc.). The photo illustrates SciDev.Net’s summary of the World Bank’s new report on technology in developing countries (and, surprise, its relevance to global and local $$$). The report documents the enormous and speeding increase in technology in poor settings, and the infinitely resourceful ingenious “leapfrogging” solutions they’ve developed that are far ahead of the cumbersome costly contraptions in developed countries. But please can we the communicator community remind ourselves that “Access is not equivalent to effective use” and that you can plunk a computer or a smart phone in front of someone but it’s a long walk to the well of knowledge. The World Bank Report, ”Global Economic Prospects: Technology diffusion in the developing world 2008,” can be downloaded at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGEP2008/Resources/GEP_complete.pdf.
Or read the SciDev.Net summary at:
http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=4190&language=1
