Mobile technologies are opening new channels of communication between people and governments, potentially offering greater access to public information and basic services to all. No other technology has been in the hands of so many people in so many countries in such a short period of time. In fact, globally, more people now have access to a mobile device than to justice or legal services. Recent estimates indicate that ICTs could be accessible to everyone by 2015 and bring internationally agreed development targets ever closer to achievement. Indeed, we are witnessing a new wave of democratization of access to innovative ICT channels, propelled by state-of-the-art technologies and diminishing barriers to entry. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have set forth global commitments to foster human development across the world. One of the targets calls for making the benefits of ICTs available to all. If we subscribe to the latest figures on mobile usage and availability then we can argue that this particular target is achievable by 2015, if not before. But how does this relate to the other 17 MDG targets, if at all, and to all other Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs)? The main objective of this primer is to provide UNDP programme staff and development partners and practitioners with a practical understanding of how mobile technologies can amplify development programming. By looking at basic concepts, current trends and real life examples, the primer intends to shed light on how development practitioners can harness the potential of mobile technologies to improve development outputs and outcomes at the country level.
United Nations Development Programme One United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA www.undp.org Cover photograph: Emad Karim/ www.emadkarim.com
Mobile Technologies and Empowerment
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