[Ict4devwg] IDRC: PRESS RELEASE: Asia’s information society: what’s worked, what’s next?

[Vern Weitzel]

http://www.researchsea.com/html/article.php/eml/1/aid/4328/cid/6

Article Released Fri-5th-June-2009 18:39 GMT

Contact: Vivien Chiam Institution: International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
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  PRESS RELEASE: Asia’s information society: what’s worked, what’s next?
Penang, Malaysia, June 5, 2009 – No one argues about the impact of ICTs on Asia. 
India leveraged ICTs to drive its economy and lift millions out of dire poverty. 
However, rural Asians, remain among this planet’s poorest and the most 
underserved by health, education, and economic programs.


Penang, Malaysia, June 5, 2009 – No one argues about the impact of Information 
and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Asia. India leveraged ICTs to drive its 
economy and lift millions out of dire poverty. Scratch the surface, however, and 
it is easy to see that ICTs have also deepened development disparities.

Rural Asians, for example, remain among this planet’s poorest and the most 
underserved by health, education, and economic programs.

Researchers, experts and policymakers will gather at the Wawasan Open University 
in Penang from June 11-14, to discuss how ICTs have helped solve some of Asia’s 
development problems. These participants have been engaged in a variety of 
research for more than a decade, and have produced some interesting results. For 
example:

•	To meet the pressing education needs of Asia’s populations, research in 
distance learning technologies undertaken in 11 countries has helped develop a 
more effective, accessible and inclusive systems of education.

•	In the Philippines, an online approach to diagnosing tuberculosis promises to 
speed up treatment of the disease in rural areas and make more efficient use of 
scarce medical resources.

•	Across the region, the OpenNet Initiative has shone a spotlight on online 
censorship in Asia by showing, for example, how internet-based applications such 
as Skype are monitored.

The conference is sponsored by Canada’s International Development Research 
Centre (IDRC), in partnership with Wawasan Open University (WOU). Participants 
comprise mainly researchers and resource persons linked to IDRC’s Pan Asia 
Networking (PAN) Program, hence the conference’s title, “PAN All 2009 Conference”.

Laurent Elder, leader of the PAN Program, says that conference participants will 
also define the next steps in research and priorities that will shape the future 
of Asia’s information society. “Some important questions that come to mind are: 
can technology play a role in lifting Asia’s economies out of the recession? In 
a digital Asia, how can people’s privacy be protected, especially from state 
actors?” says Elder.

Wawasan Open University's Vice Chancellor Tan Sri Emeritus Professor Gajaraj 
Dhanarajan says, “As we strive to build equitable societies in Asia and keep 
pace with the global advancement of information and communications technologies, 
we should consider the people's ability to accept and embrace ICTs into their 
lives. If these new technologies are to be relevant, we must acknowledge the 
complexities involved when introducing them to those not yet culturally or 
economically prepared.”

IDRC and WOU will brief the press at 6.00PM on June 11th at the Evergreen Laurel 
Hotel, Langkawi and Tioman Rooms. IDRC partners from across Asia will be 
available for interviews before and during the conference. For a complete 
schedule of IDRC events and activities at the PAN All 2009 Conference, visit: 
http://panall.crowdvine.com.

For information:

Vivien Chiam
International Development Research Centre
Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia
Singapore
Tel: +65-97606821; vchiam at idrc.org.sg
www.idrc.org.sg

Agnes James
Wawasan Open University
Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604-2289323/+6019-4735980; agnesjames at wou.edu.my
http://www.wou.edu.my/default.aspx

Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé
Senior Media Advisor
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Ottawa, Canada
Tel: (+1-613) 696-2343; ibourgeault-tasse at idrc.ca
www.crdi.ca /www.idrc.ca


About IDRC
Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of the world’s 
leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet 
the challenges of international development. For nearly 40 years, IDRC has 
worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world to 
build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.

About Wawasan Open University (WOU)
Wawasan Open University (WOU) is a not-for-profit open distance learning 
institution with a unique and socially responsible objective to provide working 
adults access to quality, post secondary education, regardless of their previous 
educational, ethnic or socio-economic background. The University strives to 
introduce Learning technologies into its learning space to ensure flexibility 
and accessibility to Education For All.