E-Inclusion and Media for Indigenous Peoples

Roger Harris Associates

Roger W. Harris PhDRoger Harris Associates

Hong Kong

UNDP Workshop onE-Inclusion and Media for Indigenous Peoples

The e-Bario Knowledge Fair6-8 December 2007

6-8 December 20076-8 December 20076-8 December 20076-8 December 20076-8 December 20076-8 December 2007

Introduction

•Malaysia•Nepal•Vietnam•Philippines•China•Sri-Lanka

•India•Thailand•Taiwan•Mongolia•Indonesia•Lao PDR

harris38@netvigator.com http://rogharris.org

• Promoting rural ICTs for poverty reduction since 1997

• Major aid agencies; UN, WB, ADB, IDRC, APEC…

• Start-up Social Enterprise; Asian Encounters; promoting pro-poor community based tourism through ICTs

• 9-year relationship with Bario, leading to the e-Bario Knowledge Fair

• Assisted with the organisation of the UNDP Workshop

• Drafted the e-Primer on E-Inclusion and Media for Indigenous Peoples

Summary highlights• Indigenous peoples number around 300 million people,

including ethnic minorities of Asia; most in China and India.

• They represent about 5 % of the world’s population, but over 15 % of the world’s poor.

• The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in October 2007

• Indigenous Peoples are largely invisible in international development processes, such as the Millennium Development Goals and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

• International development processes do not propose Information and Communication Technologies for alleviating the problems of indigenous peoples.

• As marginalised groups, indigenous peoples suffer the adverse effects of the digital divide.

Issues and challenges

• ‘e-Inclusion’ describes the use of ICTs to deliver material benefits to all members of society, emphasising that no groups of disadvantaged people should be left out.

• The digital divide remains a serious impediment to e-inclusion for indigenous peoples

• In Asia, e-inclusion is not an objective; it hardly exists in the vocabulary of most Asian governments, much less as a target for their indigenous peoples.

Lesson learned

• Examples of the use of ICTs by indigenous peoples demonstrate their ability to deliver desirable benefits.

• The value of pro-poor ICTs is greater for indigenous peoples.

• Experimentation with pro-poor ICTs has given rise to several national programmes for widely diffusing ICTs.

The wider significance• A review of MDG and PRSP implementation

mechanisms.• Further infusion of ICTs and media within

existing programmes.• Awareness raising among indigenous

peoples’ organisations of the potential of media and ICTs.

• Closer associations between governments, development organisations and indigenous peoples to develop and implement generic media and ICT applications addressing key concerns highlighted in the UN Declaration.

• An indigenous peoples network for media and ICTs for enhanced levels of e-inclusion,

• Partnerships towards a better understanding of the problems, including better data.

Thank you

Roger Harris Associates

Roger W. Harris PhDRoger Harris Associates

Hong Kong

UNDP Workshop onE-Inclusion and Media for Indigenous Peoples

The e-Bario Knowledge Fair6-8 December 2007