Why is there a need to address the digital divide at the community level in the developing world?

Efforts to eradicate poverty through development that is endogenous and community-driven are increasingly seeking to harness information and communication, now seen by many as the “missing link” in the development process. In other words, information, communication and knowledge are no longer seen as the prerogative of the international development experts, but as the basic tools of the poor in their own efforts to improve their lives. The people of the most marginalised communities in the developing world must become recognised actors in the process of developing knowledge. This echoes the findings of many baseline studies on people’s needs: members of the poorest communities often identify the deficit in communication and information as one of their most acute problems. New information and communication technologies are not a solution or a goal in themselves. They offer the means for communities to identify and implement their own solutions leading to their own goals in the field of human, social, cultural and economic development. Governments and development partners can and should be supportive of this process, but the driving force is to be found within communities themselves.