Martha provided these resources on Information and Communication Technologies for her course on Social Inequality, Technology, and Public Policy.
United Nations Development Program: UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.
UNDP Human Development Reports: The 2007-08 report focuses on Human development and Climate Change. Although the last world report on ICT and human development was published in 2001, the UNDP has published a number of regional and national reports on the issue in the last couple of years. Check them out searching by “themes” through their search engine.
World Summit on Information Technology: The UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 (21 December 2001) endorsed the holding of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases. The first phase took place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005. This website archives original documents of both rounds and follow-up meetings.
Center for Social Media: The Center for Social Media showcases and analyzes strategies to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. It focuses on social documentaries for civil society and democracy, and on the public media environment that supports them. The Center is part of the School of Communication at American University.
Development as Freedom (an ebook): “Development as Freedom” is a popular summary of economist Amartya Sen’s work on development. In it he explores the relationship between freedom and development, the ways in which freedom is both a basic constituent of development in itself and an enabling key to other aspects.
Telecommunication Policy Research Center: TPRC is an annual conference on communications, information, and Internet policy that brings a diverse, international group of researchers from academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations together with policy makers. It serves two primary goals: (1) dissemination of current research relevant to current communications policy issues around the world; and (2) promotion of new research on emerging issues.
The Communication Initiative: The CI network is an online space for sharing the experiences of, and building bridges between, the people and organizations engaged in or supporting communication as a fundamental strategy for economic and social development and change.
Free Press: Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.
SSRC Media Research Hub: The Media Research Hub is part of the SSRC’s Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere program, which works to ensure that debates about media and communications technologies are shaped by high-quality research and a rich understanding of the public interest.
Readings: Yochai Benkler’s book, The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom.