makingit_13_pp6-15_globalforum_print 11/06/2013 14:16 Page 12
GLOBAL FORUM
HOT TOPIC ‰ telecom industry that attracts foreign direct investment. Within governance, mobile technologies can offer new means for empowering citizens and stakeholders by opening and enhancing democratic processes and mechanisms. M-governance initiatives that expand access to information and communications channels are creating new venues for people’s participation and giving new voice to those who have historically been marginalized. What was once in the domain of official or large private, corporate media channels is now in the hands of anyone with a mobile or an Internet connection – flattening information and broadening the distribution of that information. This in turn can support wider stakeholder mobilization within a much shorter period of time, as witnessed during the so-called Arab spring of 2011 and other political mobilizations happening around the world today. The simplicity of new mobile platforms requiring only a basic mobile phone with SMS capacity has allowed their adoption all over the world – from South Africa, to India, to Mexico – to monitor elections, track violence and crime, provide logistical support in natural disasters, and oversee inventories. The portability and ubiquity of mobile phones have helped them become an important tool for civil society, enabling local mobilization and networking among geographically dispersed people. Mobile technologies are also strengthening the demand side of governance by providing people with critical tools to engage with public institutions and demand more and better services. This fosters broader transparency and social accountability. Enhancing service delivery and reform within
12 MakingIt
41
% 2013
of the world’s households are connected to the internet
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES:
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:
78% CONNECTED
28% CONNECTED
376
373
million
million
28% NOT CONNECTED
72% NOT CONNECTED
important governing institutions – from public administrations to parliaments to systems of justice – generates new possibilities for open government. Mobile technologies can reduce bureaucratic holdups for average citizens and streamline work for civil servants. They enable citizens to bypass intermediaries who may take money for facilitating transactions, making service delivery more efficient and transparent. Significantly for poor people and rural development, mobile technologies can help reduce information gaps and restrictions inherent in marketplaces where consumers and producers have little means of comparing commodity prices between distant markets. Microentrepreneurs, for instance, can access market information from remote locations, increasing the speed of trade
and reducing travel expenditures. Mobiles also offer greater independence for women by opening new channels of information and affording greater personal privacy. They can also offer women greater security, not only as emergency tools, but also to report and monitor violence against women. And, where once women may have needed male relatives to act as intermediaries, mobile platforms now provide them the chance to make decisions for their economic wellbeing by and for themselves, which in turn can facilitate female entrepreneurship. Mobile applications are also being used to combat poverty by expanding service delivery possibilities in health care, agriculture, employment and education. In the health sector, there have been many pioneering mobile initiatives improving connectivity and information