This book constitutes the proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Development for Africa, ICT4DA 2019, held in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, in May 2019. The 29 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 69 submissions. The papers address the impact of ICT in fostering economic development in Africa. In detail they cover the following topics: artificial intelligence and data science; wireless and mobile computing; and Natural Language Processing.

Re-imagining Development Communication in Africa is organized into three sections or parts, the first focusing on the past and the history of development communication scholarship; the second analyzes theoretical issues, and finally a third section that looks at country cases. The first part provides several perspectives on the historical development of the field as it pertains to Africa. Some of these look at ideological, indigenous contributions, and the particular importance of gender issues. The second section provides a critique of development communication theory and provides a more cultural appropriate alternative. Additionally, the book applies existing theory to practice in African communities. This leads to the third section of the book which focuses on development communication in some country cases such as in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda.

Participatory Development Communication: A West African agenda

Although Africa is the world's poorest continent, it is a major emerging market and partner in the global village of the new millennium. This book presents a wide array of perspectives on the problems and prospects of developing Africa. Leading scholars in African studies and international communication analyze the socio-political and cultural experiences in various communities, focusing on key questions: What is development? What are the main issues surrounding development in Africa? And how can communication per se be used to address the persistent problems of underdevelopment?

'ICT Pathways to Poverty Reduction' presents a conceptual framework to analyse how poverty dynamics change over time and to shed light on whether ICT access benefits the poor as well as the not-so-poor. Essential reading for policymakers, researchers, and academics in international development or ICT for development.

In recent years, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been linked with socioeconomic development with the assumption that they can be harnessed for economic growth in developing countries and facilitate integration into the global information society. However, very few studies in the ICT-for-development field examine the direct connections between ICTs and socioeconomic growth. Information and Communication Technologies in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges for Development is a compelling account of the development of ICTs in Nigeria. It examines the ICT policy framework and the societal context within which application of the technologies emerged and highlights the potentials of ICTs in socioeconomic development. However, this book also demonstrates, through interviews and case studies, that ICTs are not the panacea to underdevelopment; constraining factors in different countries can limit their capacity to succeed. The author employs a rare multidisciplinary approach that makes the book appealing and accessible to a diverse range of readership.

Influencing Policy without Influencing Technology

Written by a team of expert practitioners at the Independent Office of Evaluation of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), this book gives an insight into the implications of new and emerging technologies in development evaluation. Growing technologies such as big data analytics, machine learning and remote sensing present new opportunities for development practitioners and development evaluators, particularly when measuring indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals. The volume provides an overview of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of evaluation, looking at the theory and practice, and discussing how the landscape may unfold. It also considers concerns about privacy, ethics and inclusion, which are crucial issues for development practitioners and evaluators working in the interests of vulnerable populations across the globe. Among the contributions are case studies of seven organizations using various technologies for data collection, analysis, dissemination and learning. This valuable insight into practice will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and policymakers in development economics, development policy and ICT.

"This encyclopedia provides a thorough examination of concepts, technologies, policies, training, and applications of ICT in support of economic and regional developments around the globe"--Provided by publisher.