ICT4SIDS Partnership is a UN-SIDS Registered Partnership (Registration No: 2765) that was proposed and presented during the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), in Apia, 1-4 September 2014.
We have thoroughly read the “Draft outcome document of the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States”, known as the Samoa Pathway Call for Action, and fully support it.
The goal of the ICT4SIDS Partnership is to offer diverse array of digital innovations primarily to narrow the digital gap that keeps widening despite many efforts. We believe that most of the digital innovations are making life more comfortable for people who are already living very comfortable lives.
Instead of concentrating on one vertical sector (e.g., healthcare or education), our focus is on the digital innovations that cut across all sectors, shown below, and that can also deliver immediate benefits to the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing states and other underserved populations.
This framework shows how ICT can be used as a common thread that support the Samoa Pathway priority areas such as sustainable tourism for economic development, disaster management for public safety, climate change for public welfare, food security and nutrition for public health, and several other vital areas. Our goal is to aggressively explore how ICT can be a catalyst in several areas instead of one vertical sector.
We primarily work on projects of high value to the Islands, as specified by the Samoa Pathway Document” by using the following simple approach:
We ask the customers to identify a point of contact (POC) who will lead the ICT4SIDS in the island.
The POC works with us to identify projects of high value.
We initiate a one year joint pilot project which may result in formation of a Center or Centers at a local level.
No money exchanges hands for the duration of the pilot project.
This approach is shared by our partners in the United Nations, academic institutions, and innovative startups that are enabling ICT services for the underserved populations.
