Contents - Connect-World

Global Development
ICTsDeveloping the human potential
by Ambassador Dr Makarim Wibisono, Republic of Indonesia; Member of the UN-ICT Task Force; Former
President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) boost economic, social and cultural
development, facilitate efforts to combat poverty and promote equality and gender
empowerment. Developing countries trying to implement ICTs have often failed due to
the quality of the available human resources. This is a dilemma, since many countries
implement ICTs precisely to improve their human resources capacity. To foster sustainable
human development, a concerted effort is needed to integrate ICTs into educational
programmes and to promote learning as a basic human right.
Dr Makarim Wibisono is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, permanent
Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations and other International Organisations
in Geneva. Dr Wibisono currently is a Member of the United Nations Information and Communication
Technology (UN -ICT) Task Force, Chairman of the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force and a former
President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the United Nations in 2000. Before moving
to Geneva, Dr Wibisono was Director-General for Asia Pacific and Africa and Director-General for
Foreign Economic Relations, Department of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia.
Dr Wibisono has a PhD and Master of Arts Degree in Political Economy from Ohio State University, a
Master of Arts Degree from the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins
University, Washington DC and a Doctorandus Degree in International Relations, Gajah Mada
University, Jogyakarta, Indonesia
It is undeniable that the development
of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) has greatly
affected the lives of many people.
ICTs have brought people closer
together than ever before by providing
a more efficient medium to access
and share information. In fact, it is
almost a clich to say that the use of
technology is one of the characteristics
of globalisation.
The advent of ICTs has profoundly
transformed the way we see the
world. For instance, to operate a
broadcast news station today, we
would only need a very small fraction
of the hundreds of people that would
have been needed in the past.
This situation could be construed as
having negative implications on
employment opportunities.
However, we must not overlook the
positive aspects of ICTs in their ability
to significantly improve efficiency.
Even a very cursory study of ICTs
reveals their complex nature and
their close association with a myriad
of other pertinent issues.
Furthermore, a comparison between
countries shows that there are enormous
disparities in their technological
advancement.
These disparities exist not only
between the developed and developing
countries, but also among developing
countries. Despite these differences,
ICTs can be used to strengthen
national development.
ICTs have the power to boost economic,
social and cultural development,
facilitate efforts to combat
poverty and promote equality and
gender empowerment.
In some countries, such as India,
China and Peru, harnessing ICTs has
proven to be an effective way of combating
poverty.
Nevertheless, the main focus of
encouraging the use of ICTs for development
is not the technologies themselves,
but their impact on humanity.
Some analysts point out that if the
main focus were solely on ICTs, there
would be a tendency for the human
element to recede into the background.
This is why we should concentrate
on improving and developing
human resources. Through education
and increased knowledge,
ICTs will offer tremendous potential
for development. In this regard, the
focus should be on human capacity
and on creating equal opportunities
for all.
Having seen the benefits of ICTs in
various countries, many developing
countries have tried to implement
ICTs in numerous areas, occasionally
with success, but more often with
failure.
The recent World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS) which
took place in Geneva, Switzerland in
December 2003, served as a catalyst
to encourage countries to implement
and develop ICTs.
As countries began to produce their
national e-strategies to fulfil the targets
of WSIS, questions were raised
as to the problems that may potentially
lead to failed ICT projects.
Many attributed the low quality of
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