Information Society Watch

November 2005, Panos Media Toolkit on ICTs

Panos overviews the birth of the Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF), which intends to lead the way in bridging the digital divide by providing funding for ICTs in developing countries with the support of revenue raised from citizens, local and national public institutions, private sector and civil society. This piece introduces some of the debate around the digital divide and makes clear the need for North-South cooperation and worldwide mobilisation to bridge the digital divide. It gives a more detailed summary of the arguments over funding ICT in development projects and discusses how these arguments are used against and in support of the DSF. Finally, it concludes that the DSF is one innovative way to bring about local-global partnerships for the provision of new technologies in developing countries.

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