Knowledge for Development: Innovation and Communication Challenges for the Asia Pacific - Responding to Major Changes in the Global Development Environment

dirap_oct2009-240pixelOver the past four issues of the bi-annual Digital Review of Asia Pacific (DirAP), the project stakeholders have been accounting for the region, the changing landscape of ICTs and development. In October 2009, a meeting was held in Singapore to explore and develop a new frame that is responsive and relevant to new and critical needs in the region.

 

They see a window of opportunity to remake the DirAP mission of  state-of-ICT policy and practice mapping  into a critical analysis and think-tank mission, on how the new digital media and communication strategies can support multi-disciplinary knowledge-driven solutions to stimulate society and more particularly, communities, towards  innovation and transformation  so that innovation is not exclusive, but broad-based. They feel that aiming at innovation by all and for all, is more likely to increase the pool of innovative approaches to development.


The project stakeholders wish to begin to identify and brainstorm with outside domain partners on the critical developmental problems in the region to ask the questions: what are the high potential areas for innovation? what creative solutions are possible? how can policy support these solutions? What ICT-enabled interventions might lead to improved research capacity; innovative products and services and effective regional policies?