The digital divide is a gap between those who have access to digital technology and those who do not. These technologies include, but are not limited to, smart phones, computers, and the internet. In the Information Age in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) have eclipsed manufacturing technologies as the basis for world economies and social connectivity, people without access to the Internet and other ICTs are at a socio-economic disadvantage because they are unable or less able to find and apply for jobs, shop and sell online, participate democratically, or research and learn.
E-government is the use of technological communications devices, such as computers and the Internet, to provide public services to citizens and other persons in a country or region. E-government offers new opportunities for more direct and convenient citizen access to government, and for government provision of services directly to citizens.
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. Pioneering the use of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.
The global digital divide describes global disparities, primarily between developed and developing countries, in regards to access to computing and information resources such as the Internet and the opportunities derived from such access. As with a smaller unit of analysis, this gap describes an inequality that exists, referencing a global scale.
Becta, originally known as the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, was a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Education and its predecessor departments, in the United Kingdom. It was a charity and a company limited by guarantee. The abolition of Becta was announced in the May 2010 post-election spending review. Government funding was discontinued in March 2011. Becta went into liquidation in April 2011.
The United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force was a multi-stakeholder initiative associated with the United Nations which is "intended to lend a truly global dimension to the multitude of efforts to bridge the global digital divide, foster digital opportunity and thus firmly put ICT at the service of development for all".
Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information.
Green computing, green IT, or ICT sustainability, is the study and practice of environmentally sustainable computing or IT.
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) was a non-profit initiative established with the goal of transforming education for children around the world; this goal was to be achieved by creating and distributing educational devices for the developing world, and by creating software and content for those devices.
Alan Kotok was an American computer scientist known for his work at Digital Equipment Corporation and at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Steven Levy, in his book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, describes Kotok and his classmates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the first true hackers.
Computer Aid International is a not-for-profit organisation active in the field of Information and Communication Technologies for Development. A registered charity, Computer Aid was founded in 1996 to bridge the digital divide by providing refurbished PCs from the UK to educational and non-profit organisations in developing countries.
The Institute of IT Professionals (IITP) is a non-profit incorporated society in New Zealand. As New Zealand's ICT professional body, the IITP exists to promote education and ensure a high level of professional practice amongst ICT professionals. Before July 2012, IITP was known as the New Zealand Computer Society Inc (NZCS).
RM Education is the principal division of the RM Group, a British company that specialises in providing information technology products and services to educational organisations and establishments. Its key market is UK education including schools, colleges, universities, government education departments and educational agencies.
Computer technology for developing areas is often through the donation of technology to developing areas. Many institutions, government, charitable, and for-profit organizations require technology development often involving hardware or software design, and the coordination of donors, distributors, and deployers. Technical development overlaps with the fields of technical training, maintenance and support.
Business Connexion (Pty) Ltd. (BCX) is a South African-based information and communications technology (ICT) company. BCX is also listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) The ICT group has a wide footprint with operations in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In Africa, Bcx expands to Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia and Tanzania. The group also has offices in the United Kingdom as well as the Middle East. BCX has the largest data centre capacity in Southern Africa.
World Computer Exchange (WCE) is a United States and Canada based charity organization whose mission is "to reduce the digital divide for youth in developing countries, to use our global network of partnerships to enhance communities in these countries, and to promote the reuse of electronic equipment and its ultimate disposal in an environmentally responsible manner." According to UNESCO, it is North America's largest non-profit supplier of tested used computers to schools and community organizations in developing countries.
Rlg Communications was a Ghanaian ICT company with headquarters in Dubai-United Arab Emirates. It started with the incorporation of a company called Roagams Link Ghana Ltd now Rlg Communications (Ghana) Limited, as the leading Ghanaian computer and handset manufacturing company. The company is the first indigenous African company to assemble laptops, desktops and mobile phones and offer ICT training in computer and phone repairs. The company is modeled to generate mass, high-skilled employment for African youth and meet the rising demand for computers and other ICT devices.
The digital divide is a term used to describe the disadvantage in access to information which people without access to ICT suffer. Nigeria's digital divide refers to the inequality of Nigerian individuals, groups, or organizations with regard to access to Information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure or to the internet for daily activities. The digital divide has been attributed to many factors among which is the high cost of computer equipment, lack of ICT skill and poor knowledge of available search engines. Lack of access to ICT makes it difficult for people to access information. The benefits of having access to ICT are numerous. ICT has the potential to promote other sectors of the economy such as agriculture, education, health, bank, defence etc. In times of emergency, ICT becomes an indispensable tool for overcoming the barriers of time and distance. Education, lack of electrical infrastructure, income, urban drift, and a variety of other social and political factors contribute to Nigeria's growing digital divide.
Akaliza Keza Gara is a Rwandan IT activist and entrepreneur. She is active in promoting the field to girls and has been recognised for her activism by awards from the Rwandan government and the International Telecommunication Union. Gara has founded a technology consultancy and website design company and an animation studio. She has been described as "one of the few young Rwandan women who have made significant strides in changing the face of technology in the country" and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.
