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My overall take on this blog assignment has been that during the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a backslide globally regarding human rights, democracy, freedom of speech and the right to (correct) information. Access to information was my point of departure and from there I branched out into interconnected issues, in the light of ICT. My main focus has been to give examples of how ICT has been used as a tool.<\/p>\n

ICT4D\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u2013 the semantics<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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In my intention to seek after examples on how ICT can be used as a tool for development \u2013 to become ICT4D, I came across an interesting read by Roberts (2019) where he is delivering his view in the ongoing semantic debate around the terminology of digital development. He argues that the collective term \u2018Digital Development\u2019 can be divided into three different parts; Digital in<\/em> Development, Digital for<\/em> Development and Development in a digital world<\/em>. The first one address the use of information and communication technology within the development agencies, as tools for their own work and operations. To collect data, coordinate programs and their own digital infrastructure one might say.<\/p>\n
The next one, Digital for<\/em> Development \u201crefers to the conscious design and application of digital tools explicitly\u00a0for development<\/em>\u00a0outcomes and impact\u201d. Meaning that the specific words for Development<\/em> gives a promise to deliver a clear connection between the specific digital solution and the outcome. For example, mobile apps.<\/p>\n
The third part, Development in a digital world<\/em>, Roberts (2019) refers to the fact that international development work is operating in a more and more digitalized context. The datafication of the world is on the rise.<\/p>\n
So according to Roberts (2019) my approach has been to look at Digital for<\/em> development. My post on the #shareverify initiative<\/a><\/strong><\/span> has a very clear message on what it means to accomplish. And also the JournoSOS App<\/a><\/span><\/strong> for journalists in distress, and the whistleblower app<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to report suspected corruption.<\/p>\n
Access to information \u2013 but how?<\/h3>\n
$\"Information\"$
\u00a9 Giulia May from Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Access to information and the right to information is key in development and it has an impact on human rights, democracy, freedom of speech, press freedom, equality and citizens daily life. This is how I started my first blog post<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and I was focusing on an event that took place the same week. It was the very first edition of\u00a0International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI),<\/em> a day that<\/em> was proclaimed at the 74^{th<\/sup>\u00a0UN General Assembly in 2019. IDUAI 2020 was focusing on the right to information in times of crisis and also on the advantage of having constitutional, statutory guarantees for public access to information through and beyond the Covid 19 crisis. In a nutshell this initial webinar focused on two things; Access to information and the urge to implement laws to make that happen and how to have an openness in parliaments and meeting requirements from the public. And the other thing discussed was how to safeguard accurate and reliable information and at the same time fight misinformation and even malicious disinformation.<\/p>\n}
One conclusion from this event was that even if you have the laws it might be a case of bad digital infrastructure, incapacity of record keeping and lack of or poor systems and platforms to actually putting the information out there. It is essential that government institutions have this infrastructure in place and this is described by Mutsvairo et al. (2019) as one of the many challenges that faces journalists, media institutions and researchers in for example the Global south. Journalism does not exist in a vacuum. Journalism\u2019s ability to meaningfully contribute to the overall development of society is dependent on all the other institutions that are central for supporting a democratic political system.<\/em> Mutsvairo et al., (2019: 48). He emphasises on the importance of data journalism when it comes to investigating journalism regarding corruption and financial crimes Mutsvairo et al., (2019: 36). It is very hard for journalists to retrieve and analyse big data if there is not a good system in place to be able to search for specific information. And as a consequence, it will also affect the quality of information presented to the public, for the citizens to participate in democratic processes. In connection to this Musviro et al. (2019) also brings up the fact that for journalists to be able to dig deep they need access but they also \u201dneed skills to navigate the labyrinthine world of big data\u201d <\/em>Musviro et al. (2019: 40).This is important to be able to make use of the advantage of big data and make connections between interrelated issues and reveal patterns. So media development also include education in ICT related areas.<\/p>\n
This is also an approach by UNDP in their broader efforts to fight corruption. To train journalists, researchers, think tanks etc. how to engage with open public data to be able to use it as a tool to increase transparency and hold governments and also private entities accountable (UNDP 2019: 34-37)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Protectors of democracy<\/h3>\nIn one of my posts<\/a><\/strong><\/span> I wrote about the difficult situations for journalists in Zimbabwe and just recently, on November 2^{nd<\/sup> \u00a0was the international day of End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (#EndImpunityforCrimesAgainstJournalists). Yet another reminder of the importance to protect free media and journalists as they are cornerstones in a democratic society. According to UNESCO (2020) more than 1200 journalists have been killed between 2006 and 2020 worldwide. And 9 out of 10 of the cases remains unsolved. Between 2018 and 2019 most journalists that were killed were operation in countries with no armed conflict.<\/p>\n}
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Without journalists, there is no journalism.<\/p>\n
Without journalism, there is no democracy.<\/p>\n
Now more than ever, it is time to stand up to #ProtectJournalists<\/a>.<\/p>\n
2 November is International Day to #EndImpunity<\/a> for Crimes against Journalists.<\/p>\n
\u270a https:\/\/t.co\/2fC7of3Wlx<\/a> \u270a pic.twitter.com\/10Y94MAc8W<\/a><\/p>\n
— UNESCO \ud83c\udfdb\ufe0f #Education #Sciences #Culture \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3 (@UNESCO) November 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n