Children, ICT and Development : Capturing the Potential, Meeting the Challenges

By supporting positive gains in human development, ICTs can ultimately contribute to meeting MDG targets and goals. However, rising inequalities in a large number of countries have also meant that ICT innovations do not always benefit populations equally, often leaving behind the most marginalized members of society. While ICTs could, for instance, help overcome the lack of information and communication access, the slower diffusion of mobile phones often observed in rural and remote areas and the privileged access of technologies to men over women, may have impeded their potential benefits and could even have exacerbated preexisting inequalities. This study explores further the manner in which ICTs can strengthen development interventions for children. It also examines the interaction between ICTs and existing inequalities in different dimensions including gender, ethnicity, age, education and the rural/urban divide.