The Infopoverty Programme
© Infopoverty 2012
The Infopoverty Programme was started by the first Infopoverty World Conference Conference,
organized by OCCAM in 2001 with the European Parliament, UNESCO Mediterranean Programme,
UNIC and other scientific and university institutions. Infopoverty is focused on fighting poverty through
innovations and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in particular.
The past editions of the Infopoverty World Conference enjoyed the participation of more than 100
international organizations, 10000 participants from Governments, international and regional
organizations, Public and Private institutions and the civil society and 63 countries, which have made
the Infopoverty World Conference the most important forum held at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York fully devoted to the role innovation and ICTs can have in development strategies and
actions. Confirming its very concrete attitude, the series of the Infopoverty World Conference paved
the way for the realization of many projects on the field.
The first pilot projects were realized in 2000 in San Ramon and San Pedro, Honduras, in cooperation
with the local Ministry of Science and Technologies. Those experiences were instrumental for the
definition, thanks to the collaboration with the most important international institutions, of the ICT
Village model, which was implemented in Borj Touil (Tunisia) on the occasion of the World Summit on
the Information Society in Tunis 2005 and subsequently in Sambaina (Madagascar), which was
proclaimed Millennium Village by the United Nations.To provide innovative e-services for development to ICT Villages and projects
developed by other institutions acting in the field of ICT4D, OCCAM has created, on the mandate of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and
Development, the Infopoverty Community of Expertise “e-services for development, which gathers the most important service providers,
centers of excellence, universities, R&D institutions and is managing the Infopoverty Satellite platform of e-services, able to provide to any
disadvantaged community in the world high speed, low cost connectivity.Following the Infopoverty World Conference 2010, the Infopoverty
Programme partners are now launching the UN e-MDG Consortium, in cooperation with the United Nations, its specializing agencies and
programs, for e-services delivery, managed by the user countries and able to activate and distribute e- services for development to achieve
the MDGsThe Infopoverty Programme is implemented in collaboration with local and it will constitute a common action plan so that the aims
illustrated in the WSIS Plan of Action can become real.