Development Gateway Foundation
Finalists Named in Global Competition for Achievement in Using Information Technology for Development
Washington (ots/PRNewswire)
- Nominees Support Tsunami Recovery, Improve Farmers' Livelihoods, and More
Six finalists have been chosen from a field of 135 nominations for the Development Gateway Award 2005. The US$100,000 award, to be announced in September, will recognize one finalist for outstanding achievement in using information technology to improve people's lives in developing countries
Working in all world regions, the finalists demonstrate the impact that technologies such as the Internet, satellites, smart cards, and others can have on development in various fields. For instance, Radio News Agency 68H, of Indonesia, and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation have supported relief and recovery after the Asian tsunami. ITC e-Choupal and MAP_IT are helping India's farmers improve their livelihoods. Other finalists include Modemmujer, of Mexico, for advancing women's rights; and Prodem, for bringing banking to Bolivian villages. The finalists' stories will be shared on the Development Gateway Foundation's global portal of development knowledge, to advance the understanding of these new technologies' catalytic role. (For summaries, visit http://www.developmentgateway.org/award.)
The Award, with major sponsorship from Deutsche Telekom, will be presented at the Development Gateway Forum 2005 on September 16-17 in Beijing. The Forum, co-hosted with the Government of China and the World Bank, will bring together leaders of China's information technology and development sectors with their peers from around the world to address the theme of "Information Technology and Collaborative Development."
Last year, Grameen Bank-Village Phone won the Award (then called Petersberg Prize). Grameen helps women entrepreneurs start small businesses providing wireless phone service in rural areas of Bangladesh. Since winning the award, the number of these entrepreneurs has doubled, to 100,000, and Grameen is targeting 200,000 this year.
"Not only has the Development Gateway Award inspired Grameen's staff to do more, it has inspired technology people around the world to design similar or more innovative ideas to make a change in the lives of the poor, women, and excluded people," said Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus.
About the Development Gateway Foundation
The Development Gateway Foundation is an enabler of development. We help improve people's lives in developing countries by building partnerships and information systems that provide access to knowledge for development. The Development Gateway is an independent, not-for-profit organization based in Washington, DC. For more information or to join our global online community, please visit http://www.developmentgateway.org.
Web site: http://www.developmentgateway.org
Contact:
Allison Scuriatti of the Development Gateway Foundation,
+1-202-572-9232, or ascuriatti@dgfoundation.org