News, Criticism of South Asian ICT Issues
BytesForAll has emerged as one of the credible sources of news and criticism of the ICT4D networks in South Asia. It is read by campaigners, activists at the grassroots, people involved with actual projects, funders, key players in the development debate and also academics in both South and North.
One of the early, tone-setting essays is titled When a Modem Costs More than a Cow and is by noted Dhaka, Bangladesh-based photographer Shahidul Alam who has founded Drik based in the locality of Dhanmondi. In it, Alam argues strongly a case for ICT and technology to reach the poor. He says, "Where information is power, denying information to marginalized communities, actively prevents the rural poor from overcoming the unequal power structures that they are trapped within. While it is in the interest of the powerful in society to restrict such access, it is also in the interest of the powerful nations to deny access and maintain domination. The unrestricted flow of general information is an essential pre-requisite for an egalitarian society."
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