GLOBAL PROGRAMME ONLINE NEWS, HO CHI MINH CITY
The Global Programme has announced the launch of a pre-feasibility study to examine how information and communication technologies can best be used to bring market information to rural areas of Viêt Nam.
Operated in conjunction with the Government of Viêt Nam and with UNDP New York, this pilot-project will operate from telecentres in one village in each of the six provinces of Bac Kan, Thai-Binh, Tuyên Quang, Nghê, Ha Tây and An Giang. The Ministries of Trade and of Agriculture and Rural Development will participate in providing the necessary information for these rural communities through their servers.
By speaking with villagers across six provinces the Global Programme was able to identify various cases where information on market prices will allow farmers to make a better choice on how they grow and process their products and where they sell it. Opportunities have also been identified for communities in areas of natural beauty to advertise their facilities locally to tourists.
The project, under the patronage of Vice Prime-Minister Pham Gia Khiêm and Professor Dr Dang Huu, Chairman of "Ban Chi Dao CNTT Cac Co Quan Dang" and led by H.E. Trân Van Thinh, will bring people in rural and mountainous areas closer to their customers ensuring higher revenues for them and their families.
The impetus to this project came from the need to prevent growing disparities between rich and poor people by enabling all sectors of the economy to access networks for the critical information they required, thereby strengthening Dôi Moi and accession negotiations at the World Trade Organisation.
The project is also driven by Politbureau Directive 58 (November 2000) on widening information access, with support from Viêt Nam Trade Information Centre and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development which is seeking to enhance its information provision.
Speaking at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Trân Van Thinh, project leader, said, "The hunger of the grassroots for information needs to be satisfied. They are capable of becoming full members of the domestic trading system. For them access to information and communications technologies is a necessity not a luxury."
He added, "This time information and communications technologies will be implemented from the bottom-up instead of from the top-down."
For more information please contact Ian.Richards@unctad.org
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