ICT for Empowerment and Participation
ICT can contribute to fostering empowerment and participation and making government processes more efficient and transparent by encouraging communication and information-sharing among people and organizations, and within government.
Using ICT, governments can improve the quality and responsiveness of the services they provide to their citizens as well as expand the reach and accessibility of services and public infrastructure. This is facilitated by e-government applications that provide services and information to citizens over the Internet and other communication networks.
ICT connects individuals and local communities with information and resources beyond their geographic boundaries, encouraging information dissemination, information exchange and communication. Citizens are encouraged to participate in the democratic process through ICT mechanisms such as electronic forums and bulletin boards, which enable participation in public discussions. This is especially relevant for marginalized communities and groups such as women, youth and ethnic minorities: they can share and exchange information of mutual interest, strengthen their collective power and shape their own development solutions.
Organizations in developing countries also find it increasingly feasible to participate in information-sharing that strengthens governance and collective power, allowing them to influence political and institutional decision-making processes. Trade unions, for example, have used the Internet as a campaigning tool to organize labor globally in the fight against exploitation.
Challenges
The lack of reliable and affordable telecommunications and power infrastructure is still a barrier to encouraging widespread utilization of SANGONet's functions. In addition, although people and organizations can effectively use ICT to improve their information exchange and communications, strong leadership and management capabilities are required to translate information into coordinated action.