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Abstract
The area of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) examines how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can effectively assist global and national development. As the capabilities of these technologies expand and their prices drop, arguments that these ICTs can enable the developing world to ‘leapfrog’ stages of development have become widespread. This has attracted significant attention from prominent international organisations, indicating that ICT4D is considered a viable and effective approach to development. The article examines the discourses of ICT4D and argues that the link between ICTs and development has been accepted readily. While the potential for ICTs to benefit development efforts has been widely explored, the exact nature of the relationship between the two has received relatively little critique. A significant omission here is engagement with the idea of communication, as facilitated by ICTs in the context of development, and the potential impacts of this on development efforts.
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Kai-Ti Kao
Kai-Ti Kao is Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies in the School of Arts, Murdoch University, Australia, where she also is completing her doctoral studies.