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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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2 POWER AND POLITICS I SURF, THEREFORE I AMpoor people <strong>to</strong> tackle the deep inequalities of power and voice thatentrench inequality across the world. At a national level, the ability <strong>to</strong>absorb, adapt, and generate knowledge and turn it in<strong>to</strong> technologyincreasingly determines an economy’s prospects.Poor people’s access <strong>to</strong> information has increased greatly in recentdecades, driven by rising literacy levels and the spread of radio,television, mobile telephony, and the Internet. By 2007, there weretwice as many mobile phone owners in developing countries as inindustrialised countries, and subscriber growth rates in Africa wererunning at 50 per cent per year. Mobile phones have transformed poorpeople’s access <strong>to</strong> finance, market information, and each other. 54To some extent, legislation has also progressed: just over a decadeago, freedom of information was guaranteed in only a handful ofcountries. Now more than 50 countries have freedom of informationlaws, and 15–20 more are considering them. 55 In the words of Internetpioneer Stewart Brand, it appears that ‘information wants <strong>to</strong> be free’.Mobile phones, email, and the Internet have also transformed theway that civil society organisations and NGOs operate, especially at aninternational level. Global networks can spring up almost overnight,sharing information on particular issues, while blogs and websites canreach new audiences without passing through the filter of traditionalmedia. This massive increase in connectivity has drastically reducedthe costs of networking and coalition building (albeit at the cost ofover-stuffed inboxes).Free and responsive media can raise public awareness on issues ofrights,but can also provoke reprisals.Iraq,Algeria,Russia,and Colombiaare currently the most deadly countries for journalists. 56 In manyAfrican countries the media have effectively tackled stigma anddiscrimination on HIV and AIDS, through popular drama series suchas South Africa’s Soul City, and promoted debate on social issues, suchas rape and domestic violence. 57 In Armenia, My Rights, a televisionseries that uses mock trials <strong>to</strong> depict real-life disputes in the courts,became a surprise number-one show, increasing public awarenessand scrutiny of the legal system. When the electricity went off in onevillage a few minutes before My Rights was due on air, <strong>to</strong>wnspeoplemarched on the mayor’s office and accused local officials of trying <strong>to</strong>keep them (literally and figuratively) in the dark. 5853

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