1 ILO/Japan Tripartite Regional Meeting on Youth Employment in Asia and the Pacific 27 February - 1 March 2002 Bangkok

2 Promoting youth employment through information and communication technologies (ICT): Best practice examples in Asia and the Pacific Paper by Richard Curtain (Australia)

3 Contents 1Introduction 2 Five key principles for ICT generated employment opportunities for young people 3Some examples of best practices 4 Recommendations

4 1Introduction “No country can afford to ignore ICT.”(WER 2001). because … –Limit their ability to acquire knowledge & tap into global networks. –Could be excluded from markets.

5 2Five key principles for ICT generated employment for young people 1.Youth entrepreneurship has important roles. 2.Public-private partnership is valuable. 3.Can assist vulnerable groups of young people.

6 4.ICT can help link the informal economy to opportunities in the world economy. 5.Important that young people are in charge.

7 3Some examples of best practices

8 Entrepreneurship Grameen Telecom’s Village Pay Phones Young women as ‘information intermediaries’ Greenstar India Community-based telecenters (India) Cable television “Technopreneurship” in Singapore

9 Start an E-Commerce Movement Greenstar India 50 solar-powered community & e- commerce centres in remote villages, income through e-commerce on traditional culture (art, music, literature, history, …) Fund basic needs – e.g. clean water, telemedicine, basic education, micro- credit, Internet connection to the world.

10 An Idea: Young Women as Information Intermediaries Qualification: from community, knows English & can use computers, JD: work at community centres –get information from internat’l sources –relay it to local women farmers. –Assist in 2-way comm. Takes: a PC + Internet access + stipend = $1,000/community/year

11 Public-private partnerships ICT infrastructure (Korea) Investment promotion in ICT (China, India, Malaysia) Softbank Emerging Markets Cisco Networking Academies Oracle Academic Initiative

12 An International public-private partnership to assist local entrepreneurs to close the digital divide SOFTBANK Emerging Markets Incubating Internet companies in 100 developing countries, Partnership with industry leaders, Leading-edge Internet models to countries, Generates investor interests, Prices ; subscribers promotes free or subsidized Internet service to schools, etc.

13 Assisting the vulnerable Vaancha ICT Association (India) Finding unexploded bombs (Lao PDR) Marketing pro-poor tourism (Nepal) Internet Learning Centres (Lao PDR) Recycling PCs (Australia)

14 Informal economy & digital economy “IndiaShop” SEWA – distance learning, e- commerce by members TARAhaat.com (India) – a portal for local people

15 For best practices to diffuse more widely … Should be linked to an integrated strategy … delivered by governments and the private sector with the support of civil society org’s & international agencies.

16 This strategy needs to encompass: appropriate infrastructure provision adequate skills pool supportive public policy financial support to enterprise...

17 Capitalising on the potential of the Internet also requires relevant local content & applications suitable to the needs and capabilities of the population.

18 4Recommendations 1Develop supporting strategies Potential to generate employment for young people will not be realized without supporting strategies.

19 2Encourage self-employment Many opportunities for self-employment & SEs with ICT skills; Need to promote ICT-related self- employment as a viable option; –Role models: an image of success and achievement

20 3Provide business skills Other business skills needed: –manage cash flow; –Assess one’s strength & ability; –Seek info & advice; –Plan, communicate, negotiate; –Solve problem, resolve conflict; –Evaluate performance, etc.

21 4Organize youth competitions National or regional competitions: a high profile way of promoting youth enterprises related to ICT. Opportunity for young women and men to explore and develop a business idea with the assistance of a business adviser or mentor. Likely to generate significant publicity in the media.

22 5 Encourage mentor support Mentor support for starting ICT- related enterprises To offer informal advice and guidance based on relevant business experience Could also be a means of gaining access to business networks.

23 6 Provide business capital Young people face more constraints than older people on access to finance. Identify specific measures for young people to obtain credit.

24 7 Develop public-private partnerships Partnerships between governments and private sector enterprises are emerging as ‘essential’ to enable the transfer of ICT infrastructure and knowledge to developing countries.

25 It is recommended that governments explore the use of public-private partnerships in relation to ICT as a basis for creating and expanding employment opportunities in this area or in providing up-to-date ICT skills.

26 8Develop web sites The UN ICT Taskforce has recommended that the UN and its agencies provide assistance in building local, national and regional networks of partnerships.

27 One way to assist the process of building networks is to create a web site to post information about case studies of partnership initiatives in different countries and to otherwise assist in the exchange of information.

28 9Create transparent partnerships Principles underpinning the business arrangements developed by governments and private sector companies to transfer ICT should be made transparent and subject to public debate.

29 10Recognize external benefits It is recommended that the business models identify and attempt to quantify public good benefits.

30 11Incorporate social responsibility and pro- poor development It is recommended that the business models underpinning public-private partnerships should incorporate a strong element of corporate social responsibility and a significant development dimension, esp. poverty

31 12Monitor public-private partnerships Need develop mechanisms/tools to monitor, measure and evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge & technology transfer; In relation to achieving specific socio- economic goals and targets as defined by the partners

32 13Publicize Internet marketing Possible for craft producers in poor and remote areas to use ICT to tap directly into regional, national and global markets. Case studies with obstacles & solutions should be on a website.

33 14Encourage youth participation Participation of young people: a key to success. Involve young women & men through representative org’s –Developing concepts; –Implementing projects; –Evaluating outcomes of ICT employment generation initiatives. Case studies should be on websites.

34 An initiative of the ILO An interactive website (“Gateway” or “Portal”) to facilitate exchange of knowledge and information by practitioners of youth employment programmes. Good practice principles and tools will be uploaded. In partnership with CIDA & IDRC