A Framework to Assess Participation and Empowerment Impacts of ICT4D Projects

Community participation in ICT-for-development (ICT4D) is sometimes portrayed as a ‘magic bullet’, which will inevitably lead to better project outcomes and the empowerment of marginalised participants from the local community. This paper takes a critical approach to participation, drawing on dual roots of participation in Development Studies and Information Systems, […]

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Documentation of traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs)

Documentation of traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) has attracted increasing attention in recent years from governments and cultural institutions as well as from indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), in parallel with the growing recognition of the cultural and economic value of TK and TCEs. New information […]

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Managing Identities and Diversities in the Age of Internet and Virtual Networks

A Case Study of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin In the current age of the internet and knowledge networking it has become possible for communities to consolidate themselves through virtual networks cutting across geographical borders and reaching out seamlessly to their diasporic identities spread out globally. While […]

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Intellectual Property, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions / Folklore: a Guide for Countries in Transition

This guide aims to help countries in transition decide whether and how best to protect traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) held by indigenous peoples and local communities. It describes the intellectual property (IP) concepts involved in protecting TK and TCEs and outlines existing international, regional and national […]

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Digital heritage in a Melanesian context: authenticity, integrity and ancestrality from the other side of the digital divide

This article examines how digital heritage, in the form of 3D digital objects, fits into particular discourses around identity, ancestrality and cultural transmission in Melanesia. Through an ethnographic analysis of digital heritage use amongst the Nalik community in New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), it demonstrates how digital heritage is understood […]

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i4d magazine

The i4d (Information For Development) print magazine (2004-2010) was intended to provide a much-needed platform for exchange of information, ideas, opinions and experiences, both inside and outside the Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) sector. The magazine encompasses the role and relevance of ICT in various development sectors such […]

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What is Community Informatics (and Why Does It Matter)?

Community Informatics (CI) is the application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to enable community processes and the achievement of community objectives. CI goes beyond the “Digital Divide” to making ICT access usable and useful to excluded populations and communities for local economic development, social justice, and political empowerment. CI […]

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ICT Update

ICTUpdate is a bimonthly printed bulletin, a web magazine, and an accompanying email newsletter. Each issue of ICTUpdate focuses on a specific theme relevant to ICTs for agricultural and rural development in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, and features four commissioned articles. The printed bulletin also contains a selection of relevant links […]

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ICTs for Development: Empowerment or Exploitation?

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can empower people. They unlock a world of super-fast, globalised communications and decentralised information networks. Once people can access and use the technology, their lives will be improved. According to a recent study of ICT for development (ICT4D) projects in Africa, access to communications technologies […]

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Digital Repatriation and Reciprocal Curation: the Ethics of Circulating Native Knowledge in the Plateau Region

Presented by Kim Christen at The University of Arizona’s Knowledge River Program and at the Arizona Archives Summit, January 2011. About Kim Christen From her website: “I am an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Digital Technology and Culture program in the Department of English and Director of Digital […]

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Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal

This portal is a gateway to the cultural materials of Plateau peoples that are held in Washington State University’s Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections (MASC), the Museum of Anthropology and by national donors. The collections represented here have been chosen and curated by tribal consultants working in cooperation with […]

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Traditional knowledge and the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library: Digital quandaries and other concerns

This article explores issues related to the digitization of traditional knowledge. Using the example of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) in India, it (1) explores the interfaces between the TKDL and the digital, (2) problematizes the relationship between the TKDL, power and digital knowledge, (3) raises issues around traditional […]

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Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)

Since time immemorial, India has possessed a rich traditional knowledge of ways and means practiced to treat diseases afflicting people. This knowledge has generally been passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. A part of this knowledge has been described in ancient classical and other literature, often […]

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Indigenous Knowledge and The Politics of Classification

Indigenous knowledge has come to occupy a privileged position in discussions about how development can best be brought about so that finally, it really is in the interests of the poor and the marginalised. It may be true that contemporary research on and advocacy of indigenous knowledge is founded upon […]

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Indigenous Knowledge for Development: a Framework for Action

This paper has been prepared in the context of the Indigenous Knowledge for Development Initiative. The initiative is lead by the World Bank in partnership with several organizations which are collaborating under the Partnership for Information and Communication Technology for Africa (PICTA). The main premise of the paper is that […]

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Indigenous Knowledge for Development: Opportunities and Challenges

This paper introduces indigenous knowledge (IK) as a significant resource which could contribute to the increased efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the development process. IK is defined as the basis for community-level decision making in areas pertaining to food security, human and animal health, education, natural resource management and other […]

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Impact assessment of ICT-for-development projects: a compendium of approaches

Billions of US dollars are invested each year by the public, NGO and private sectors in information-and-communication-technologies-for-development (ICT4D) projects such as telecentres, village phone schemes, e-health and e-education projects, egovernment kiosks, etc. Yet we have very little sense of the effect of that investment. Put simply, there is far too […]

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iGUIDE – ICTD Resources in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area

The iGUIDE: ICTD Resources in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area is the first-ever comprehensive resource directory of local ICTD initiatives. Its easy-to-use listings of vital information about ICTD organizations and ICTD funders will serve as a valuable resource for ICTD practitioners, not only in Silicon Valley and […]

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Community media: a good practice handbook

This is a collection of case studies of good practice in community media. Its intention is to provide inspiration and support for those engaged in community media advocacy and to raise awareness and understanding of community media among policy makers and other stakeholders. The collection is focused on electronic media […]

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Digital Humanities Quarterly (DHQ)

Digital Humanities Quarterly (DHQ) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, digital journal covering all aspects of digital media in the humanities. Digital humanities is a diverse and still emerging field that encompasses the practice of humanities research in and through information technology, and the exploration of how the humanities may evolve through […]

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Indigenous Knowledge: Local Pathways to Global Development

The cases presented here demonstrate how communities and local practitioners use indigenous knowledge systems and practices to help increase their crop yields, educate their children, reduce suffering from HIV/AIDS, decrease infant and maternal mortality, heal the impact of conflict, learn from each other, and empower themselves. The cases also suggest […]

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Information Technology in Developing Countries

‘Information Technology in Developing Countries’ is a newsletter of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Working Group 9.4 titled Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries. The newsletter is now published on the web by the Centre for Electronic Governance, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The newsletter carries articles […]

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Information Technologies & International Development

Information Technologies & International Development is an interdisciplinary open-access journal that focuses on the intersection of information and communication technologies (ICTs) with the “other four billion” – the share of the world population whose countries are not yet widely connected to the Internet nor widely considered in the design of […]

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After the Return: Digital Repatriation and the Circulation of Indigenous Knowledge

Museum Anthropology Review, Vol 7, No 1-2 (2013) This double issue of Museum Anthropology Review collects papers originally presented at a January 2012 workshop titled “After the Return: Digital Repatriation and the Circulation of Indigenous Knowledge.” Hosted by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution and funded by the (U.S.) […]

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IndigiLINK Network

IndigiLINK is for professional social networking and collaboration for those working in the field of Indigenous research and policy. We welcome people working on Indigenous issues in a variety of capacities, including professionals, scholars, researchers, policy makers, Indigenous community leaders, Elders, Indigenous community members, advocates, service providers, and students. What […]

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