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Programme Priorities |
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| The Role of New Technologies | |
| Reproductive Health, including Family Planning and Sexual Health
Population and Development
Strategies
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To discuss the role that new communication technologies might have in promoting the goals of the ICPD Programme of Action, in December some 60 experts from around the world gathered at a seminar in Ankara, Turkey. The seminar was organized by UNFPA in collaboration with the Government of Turkey. For the first time, experts, policy makers and practitioners from two separate fields - the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector and the population communication field - had the opportunity to share their experiences as well as the lessons they had learned, to envision future trends, and to propose actions for population advocacy. The seminar was based on the premise that traditional top-down and one-way information flows do not work. People must be able to communicate with one another and have access to the information they need to make informed decisions on complex issues that affect their lives. Discussions focused on new concepts and the operational implications of new technologies for future advocacy strategies in support of ICPD. Three questions guided the discussions: how is the changing ICT environment affecting the advocacy efforts to implement the Programme of Action; how can new technologies be harnessed as a tool for social mobilization beyond traditional top-down information-sharing activities; and how can ICPD advocacy be strengthened by promoting the use of new technologies and expanding inter-agency dialogue. Participants emphasized the opportunities that the new technologies offer: access to new ideas; improved access to strategic information; and wider delivery of information to the public in general and to marginalized groups in particular. The new technologies, participants agreed, provide them with new tools for networking and community organizing. They can also help bridge the geographic, social and economic gaps that currently exist in access to information around the world. However, they also have the potential to widen the gap between those who have access to such technologies and systems and those who do not. Recommendations emerging from the discussions stressed that ICT applications need to be gender-responsive and located in institutions to which women already have access. They should also be community owned and operated; should be decentralized to local community organizations; and should enlist private-sector support. The seminar also pointed out the limitations of information and communications technologies, most notably that their effectiveness depends on their accessibility. |