ICT Policy سياسات تكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات Lecture (2) Dr.Samah Mohammed

What is ICT policy? The Oxford English Dictionary defines policy as “A course of action, adopted and pursued by a government, party, ruler, statesman, etc.; any course of action adopted as advantageous or expedient.” Governments or official institutions – a wider sense could include the vision, goals, principles and plans that guide the activities of many different actors.

ICT policy Broadcasting (radio and TV) Internet ICT policy generally covers three main areas: Telecommunications (especially telephone communications). Broadcasting (radio and TV) Internet

Sectoral policies Technology Industry Telecommunications Media The need for integrating national ICT strategies overlaps with four well-established policy fields: Technology Industry Telecommunications Media

Sectoral policies Cont..

Sectoral policies Cont… Sectoral policies such as education, employment, health, welfare, etc, are increasingly having to address issues relating to ICTs and the growing interdependence between the development of ICT policies and sectoral policies. in the absence of an existing national ICT policy, the tendency is towards the creation of sectordependent policy that addresses only its own ICT needs.

Involvement in ICT policy Why should we, as citizens, become involved in ICT policymaking? Because, ICTs are so central to contemporary society that they affect us continually in many ways.

Involvement in ICT policy Cont… for example, if a government decides to promote free software, we are more likely to enjoy the benefits of free software. If a government decides to introduce a new form of censorship on the internet, or fails to protect citizens’ rights to privacy, then we will suffer too If telecommunications companies are not encouraged or obliged by regulation to roll out services in rural areas, people there will have to rely on more expensive mobile phone services

A globalised world and networking Globalisation is a historical reality, not just a catch phrase. The world we live in has changed enormously in the last 15 to 20 years. ICTs have been a fundamental part of this process. Global, electronic telecommunications, the world financial market could not exist, nor could companies coordinate their production strategies on a global level.

A globalised world and networking Cont.. “the availability and use of information and communication technologies are a prerequisite for economic and social development in our world. The conclusion is clear: we have to use the networks in a new way, for the benefit of human beings and not for the efficient functioning of the international money market and multinational companies.

A globalised world and networking Cont.. If global, networked systems are the new basis of power, and if ICTs are the technical foundation of globalisation, The main challenge is to adapt them to become the technical foundation of the struggle against the negative impacts of globalisation and for social justice.

So what should we do with the new technologies? Means using ICTs to do several things: First, to spread alternative information in a new way, to millions of people instantly. Second, to create new forms of organization and coordination, new structures and new modes of operation. Third, to foster new forms of solidarity among the powerless, new ways of sharing experience and of learning from one another. finally, to incorporate more and more people into these alternative global networks.

How ICT change communication New tools allow new ways of organizing, often without the vertical hierarchies, rigidly formal structures and entrenched office bearers that previously allowed those who controlled the information flows to control the structures. A mailing list makes it just as easy to send a message to hundreds or even thousands of people as to one person

How ICT change communication Cont… One challenge faced by those working for social justice in the era of globalization is how to operate on a global scale, to link people and communities in different countries around causes that affect us all. The new technologies offer enormous possibilities for increasing human freedom and social justice

Act now, before it is too late Now is the time to act, when all is not yet decided. If we wait until the restrictions on ICTs are consolidated, it will be much more difficult to reverse policies than to create better ones in the first place. Policy varies from country to country, especially from rich to poor, and the priorities are different. In poorer countries,

issues are arising as restrictions are imposed: Privacy, Censorship, intellectual property restrictions, broadband, 3G cell phones, wireless connectivity, media concentration, etc...