[Third in a series] – 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over the last two decades, two separate but notable advancements in development have occurred: ICTs have become a critical component and the discourse and practical implementation of development and sustainable practice has grown to accept the need to incorporate indigenous knowledge.

In April of 2000, five months before the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations established the ICT Task Force, “intended to lend a truly global dimension to the multitude of efforts to bridge the global digital divide, foster digital opportunity and thus firmly put ICT at the service of development for all” (http://www.unicttaskforce.org/about/). In September, 192 UN member nations and 23 international aid organizations agreed to reach eight development goals by the year 2015. The MDGs entail eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development (The Millennium Development Goals Report 2008). In the foreword of the UNCTAD e-Commerce and Development Report 2002, Former Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, underscored the direct relationship between ICTs and the MDGs:

“If the world is serious about achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015, ICT must figure prominently in the effort. Everyone – governments, civil society and private sector businesses – has a vital stake in fostering digital opportunity and putting ICT at the service of development.”

The other thread appearing in development discourse was the recognition of the importance of indigenous knowledge to the outcome of development programs. This presented a radical break from the long Western tradition of development in which indigenous knowledge was “discriminated against as hindering progress, outdated, ‘old wives tales’ or simply just unfashionable” (Mkapa, 15). Unwin captures the essence of this movement in development practices:

“Without sufficient understanding of, and adaptation to, these systems, it is unlikely that such interventions will be successful, and the probability of unanticipated consequences will be much higher than if such practices are tailored to the to the specific needs of the communities with whom they are designed” (49).

While such a shift seems likely to bear fruit in terms of effective deployment, in practice, it also creates the same kind of rift identified at the beginning of this essay. How does one negotiate the binary dichotomization between ICTs, which are deeply infused with Western memes, and the indigenous knowledge which promises to make such interventions successful?  How does one make effective use of indigenous knowledge without engaging in dubious practices such as biopiracy “whereby Western commercial interests claim products and innovations derived from indigenous traditions as their ‘intellectual property’ (through protections such as patents)” (Carr-Chellman, 6)?

One might be tempted to think that the MGDs in conjunction with the ICT Task Force would together guard against these dichotomies and to allay the criticisms regarding the potential for computer-mediated colonialism in the execution of ICT4D. However, ICT4D includes a wide range of issues such as “technology policy, connectivity to the internet, low-cost devices, power, and designing services to help the economically disadvantaged rise out of poverty or improve their standard of living” (Brewer, 25). That wide range of technologies and services implies the involvement of multiple stakeholders and various opportunities for systemic abuse which complicates the picture.

So where do we go from here? Does the future of development present us with a stalemate  – or is there a way to resolve the conflict inherent in the dual development of ICT4D and the call for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge?