Mozzeenet

Andy Carvin’s article The Tsunami as a Wake-Up Call to Bridging the Digital Divide on the Digital Divide Network is inspiring for people like me who are interested in the role of IT in improving people’s lives especially for people who are disadvantaged. It’s really interesting to read his example of how technology played a part in saving lives in the horrific tsunami disaster affecting hundreds of thousands of people across Asia and Africa. He describes a telecentre in India where the staff were notified of the impending tidal wave and were able to immediately utilise the strong community and public address system which had been developed to alert local villagers.

He then talks about the possibilities of using SMS and other technologies to get vital information in circumstances like this out to people. Cambodia, when I was there, had only 2-3 mobile phone network providers and with few landlines in private use, many people rely on mobile phones to communicate. This shows that even in very poor countries, there are technological infrastructures which could be utilised to improve people’s lives and even to make the difference between life and death. The challenge is being proactive and making the most of such opportunities.

I related to Andy’s initial comments about a tendency to question the worth of the cause of bridging the digital divide and working to bring technologies to communities which may be struggling to get basic needs like adequate food and clean water met. Andy has shown in his article though that information and communications technologies can conitrbute in a critical way to meeting people’s basic needs - in this case, preserving human life during the natural diasaster of the devestating tsunami which occurred in December 2004.