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ADB Harnesses ICT to Fight Poverty

SHANGHAI, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 9 May 2002: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will establish a Center for Learning, Information, Communication and Knowledge (CLICK) to harness information communications and technology (ICT) in support of its fight against poverty.

CLICK, expected to be established by end-2003, will provide e-learning and e-advisory services and will be a showcase for demonstrating the latest technology, said Mr. Woochong Um, ADB's senior project specialist for ICT at a media briefing here today. CLICK will also help to disseminate best practices to those involved in international development in Asia and the Pacific through effective knowledge management.

A US$10 million Japan Fund for Information and Communications Technology (JFICT), funded by the Government of Japan, will support ADB in implementing its ICT Strategy. The US$10 million covers an initial period of three years.

As well as supporting ADB's ICT-related activities, the JFICT will encourage private sector participation in ICT development and help to improve regional and international cooperation. ADB has received a number of project proposals for ICT applications in various countries and sectors, including health and education.

ADB's ICT strategy identifies three main aims - to create an enabling environment; build human resources; and develop ICT applications and information content.

ADB is already providing ICT-related assistance either as project components or as standalone projects. In Bangladesh, for example, ADB is financing a project to provide a successful commercial cellular service for rural women. In Maldives, ADB helps the Government link all its agencies to the computer network to increase efficiency and transparency. ADB also helps train ICT trainers in Lao People's Democratic Republic, provides a telecommunications network outside Java in Indonesia, and finances math and computer education in Pakistan.

At ADB's 35th annual meeting in Shanghai from 8 to 12 May, one of the major seminars will be on Unlocking the ICT Potential in Asia and the Pacific on 10 May. During the seminar, a new computer device called the Simputer will demonstrate how poor, illiterate farmers can reap the benefits of the Internet. The seminar's keynote speaker will be Michael Rawding, President of Microsoft Asia. Other speakers will include the Vijay Chandru, founder of Simputer device; Nattaradol Pittayapol, President of Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives of Thailand; Tony Wilhelm, Vice President of Benton Foundation (Digital Divide Network). The seminar will be moderated by Lorraine Hahn of CNN's TalkAsia.

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