Assignment 8

1. Can ICTs be innovatively used in the absence of minimum literacy levels among the poor?

Yes it can, looking at the case study regarding the information lady in Bangladesh; she was able to visit households in the villagers with a set of ICT’s like: small portable laptops, digital cameras, mobile phones, GPRS internet connectivity, headphones, webcam and other light equipments such as weighing measurement machines, blood pressure machines, pregnancy tests and sugar tests kits etc. She listens to the villager’s livelihood problems and helps them with preloaded offline Bangla language livelihood, audio -visual content and online information from the web.

By using this initiative she is able to conquer the challenge of creating an infrastructure and the triple illiteracy of rural people (illiterate, ICT illiterate and information illiterate).

The handicap people, poor people are now offered a range of services at their doorstep and low cost solution.

There is a range of ICT’s and most may require basic level of education like your laptops etc and some without basic level of education may not be able to use them to the full potential but may be able to use it specifically for their need.

Take the information transmitted on radio’s, Television, using public address systems, fax that distributed by individuals, these methods can be used to communicate information regarding; Weather conditions for farmers and fisherman’s benefit, for farmers to get information regarding agricultural market practices, finance etc. and fisherman to be warned if it is safe or unsafe to sail, getting information regarding weather conditions. Two way radios can also be used. These can be achieved in the absence of minimum literacy levels.

2.ICT’s like radio, TV, Mobile phones, computers with internet, public address systems can be used for multiple purposes like – to address core sectors of development and provide access to information and knowledge, access to income generating...