PUBLISHED TO PROMOTE THE GOALS OF THE BEIJING DECLARATION AND THE PLATFORM FOR ACTION asdf Gender equality and empowerment of women through ICT

The role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a tool for development has attracted the sustained attention of the United Nations over recent years. Strategic partnerships have been developed with donors, the private sector and civil society , and working groups and task forces have been established to enhance inter-agency collaboration throughout the United Nations system. In 2000, the Economic and Social Council adopted a Ministerial Declaration on the role of information technology in the context of a knowledge-based economy. 1 In 2001, the Secretary-General established a high-level Information and Communication Technologies Task Force to provide overall leadership to the United Nations on the formulation of strategies to put ICT at the service of development. 2 The Millennium Declaration adopted in 2000 underscored the urgency of ensuring that the benefits of new technologies, especially ICT, are made available to all. To achieve this goal, a United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was planned in two phases. The first phase, the Geneva Summit in December 2003, aimed to develop political will and to establish the foundations for an Information Society for all. In total, 175 Governments endorsed the Declaration of Principles 3 and Plan of Action at the first phase. 4 The second phase of WSIS is planned for November 2005 in Tunis. Information and Communication Technologies comprise a complex and heterogeneous set of goods, applications and services used to produce, process, distribute and transform information. The ICT sector consists of segments as diverse as telecommunications , television and radio broadcasting, computer hardware, software and services and electronic media (for example, the Internet and electronic mail). 5 Information and communication needs can be met by more traditional means, such as print media and fixed telephone lines, or by satellite technology, mobile phones and the Internet. Traditional technologies continue to be important for large numbers of people around the world, particularly in rural areas. However, new technologies have a vast potential for empowerment which needs to be fully exploited. The term ICT has been used to encompass technological innovation and convergence in information and communication leading to the development of so-called information or knowledge societies, with resulting changes in social interaction, economic and business practices, political engagement, education, health, leisure and entertainment. 6 Over the past decade, there has been a growing understanding that these technologies can be powerful instruments for advancing economic and social development through the …