Networking for sustainable development: innovative approaches outside the “Global Village”

This chapter reviews novel initiatives for improving the content of information on sustainable development and novel initiatives for increasing access to this information with an emphasis on outreach to rural areas in developing countries. Improving information content and improving the outreach of the network are the two key elements of any successful communications project. The combination of communications services and other development activities create an opportunity for co-capacity building in that the implementation of one builds capacity for more successful implementation of the other. Some of the incongruous objectives of a global communications network are explored, as well as the associated opportunities to encourage more informed decision-making for information technology investments and sustainable development endeavors.