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Project Overview

The "Digital Review of Asia-Pacific" is a joint collaboration by Pan Asia Networking [PAN] of the International Development Research Centre [IDRC] of Canada, the Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme [APDIP] of UNDP, and the UNESCO Chairs in Communication Network [Orbicom]. The publication will provide a comprehensive review of the state of diffusion, adoption and application of new information and communication technologies [ICTs] in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Project Description

The "Digital Review of Asia-Pacific" is a bi-annual review providing facts, figures, data and analysis of the state-of-the-art of ICT and Internet diffusion, adoption and application in 25 Asia-Pacific countries. It will also provide regional overviews summarising ICT trends in the region. It will be made available in three formats: Firstly as an electronic online database, secondly as an electronic publication mounted on a CD-ROM, and thirdly as a printed monograph. Two editions of the publication are currently being streamlined and finalised.

Project Rationale

The specific objectives of the Digital Review of Asia-Pacific are to:

• To provide a one-stop reference source on the state-of-practice and future trends in ICTs for development and ICTs for industry for the Asia-Pacific region;
  
• To serve as a comparative, analytical tool for policy and decision-makers, technology practitioners and experts, researchers and educators in the region;
  
• To strengthen the research capacity of key Southern ICT partners by developing their skills in collecting, analysing, synthesizing, publishing and marketing content;
  
• To enable Northern and Southern researchers to cooperatively build a needed, shared data resource;
  
• To complement the Digital Divide Index effort, being undertaken by Orbicom, as a monitoring tool for evaluating the e-environments of Asia-Pacific countries;
  
• To conceptualise and test a sustainable business model for selling online the Digital Review in an electronic format to developed country readers, while at the same time providing it free-of-cost to key policy-makers, researchers, practitioners and libraries in the developing countries of the region;
  
• To build and nurture a core group of Asian researchers and writers to systematically review, analyse, forecast and report on ICT issues in the Asia Pacific Region on a regular basis.

Project Implementation

- Mobilising a panel of Asian contributors and writers:

A national specialist on ICTs will be identified in each of the 25 countries to be covered by The Digital Review of Asia-Pacific as the main contributor for his/her country. A few of the writers may be assigned to cover more than one country; one writer will be identified to cover the Pacific countries as a group under the South Pacific Forum. The project will aim to identify a panel of contributors comprising both members of the academe and industry, who are already conducting on-going periodic reviews of the countries of their coverage. They will be provided with a template and style sheet to guide their preparation of contributions to the publication. The template will very likely cover the following editorial sections in each country chapter:

• Socio-economic overview;
• Regulatory policies and environment;
• Existing Internet infrastructure;
• Existing ICT education and training/human resource development programmes;
• Gender and ICTs;
• Local World Wide Web and WAP content and services;
• Major national ICT initiatives and projects;
• Listing and brief description of important websites;
• Listing and brief description of important national organisations and contact details;
• Listing and brief description of key Internet projects;
• Table of key ICT data;
• Analysis of the ICT trends in each country; and
• Select bibliography of print and electronic/online publications.

- Meetings of all contributors and writers and a Public Forum on ICT issues

A meeting of all contributors/writers who have submitted country chapters will be held after all, or most, of the drafts for each edition of the Digital Review of Asia Pacific have been received by the coordinator/chief editor. These meetings will provide an opportunity for peer-reviewing each chapter and discussing mechanisms for updating the Digital review on a continuing basis.

The chief editor will also prepare a tabulated summary of comparative regional data for inclusion in the regional overview.

A public forum of specialists and policy-makers interested in ICT issues will also be organised and it will involve all contributors/writers. The purpose of the meeting is both to make available the expertise of the panel of contributors to a larger audience, as well as to promote the publication to intended user groups.

- Webbing the Edited text and Illustrations for Publication

The Digital Review of Asia Pacific will be mounted on the PAN server in Singapore using the Virtual Bookshelf [VBS] concept designed by PAN. In addition to this, the project will explore hosting and online sales via other websites, such as those managed by: APDIP, One World, ISSD, Bellanet, Panos, ITDG, e-Commonwealth, etc.

- Publishing Two Editions

To start with, two editions of the Digital Review will be published. Each edition will be published in hardcopy and on the Internet. The paper copy of the publication will contain URLs of the Digital Review websites where updates to the Digital Review can be found.

- CD-ROM Editions

This will comprise the web version of the publication distributed on a CD-ROM. It will be aimed at reaching Asia-Pacific users who have access to computers but not stable nor affordable Internet connections.

- Interactive Features to Enable Updating of the Online Version of the Publication

Contributing authors will be requested to monitor their respective country of coverage for major changes and development in the sector. Such changes will be despatched by the authors to the coordinator who will then arrange for the online version of the Digital Review to be updated accordingly. Such updates will be highlighted to all subscribers and recipients of the Digital Review in periodic e-mails. They will also be able to access at any time, all available updates at the online version.

- Sustainability and Financial Management

The immediate objective is to provide the Digital Review free to a selection of the most influential Asians and Pacific islanders working to shape the sector in the region. It is hoped that sales of the publication to developed country subscribers and the private sector in the region will recoup part of the cost of producing the Digital Review.

- Copyright

The Digital Review's copyright will be held jointly by IDRC, UNDP and Orbicom.

- Expected Dates of Publication

July 2002 and January 2004.

- For more information, please contact:

Chin Saik Yoon
Publisher & Managing Director
Southbound Sdn Bhd
Suite 20F Northern House
55 Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah
10050 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6 04 228-2169
Fax: +6 04 228-1758
Email: chin@south.pc.my

2002-03-03

News 34 of 50