UNESCO has a long history supporting information and communication development in Asia. A considerable emphasis is being placed on the potential of new information and communication technologies (ICT) to positively impact on efforts to reduce poverty.

The initiative “Information and Communication Technologies for Poverty Reduction” was developed under UNESCO’s cross-cutting theme on the eradication of poverty, especially extreme poverty. It aimed at combining research with technological and social innovation to develop ICT models that empower people living in poverty. The network of research and innovation sites has been spread across nine locations in South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. The focus has been made less on technology itself than on its practical application and usage by the poor.

This publication is the second to be derived from this work. The first was based on findings from ethnographic action research conducted over the course of the first eighteen months. The present volume profiles some of the interesting initiatives undertaken in this project, defining several significant aspects, such as the media combinations and the costs involved, as well as some preliminary insights concerning impact.