From the Digital Divide to Digital Opportunities: Measuring Infostates for Development

The publication is a response of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Orbicom, the Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications to calls from the international community and follows the explicit recommendation of the WSIS Plan of Action, paragraph 28, to “…develop and launch a composite ICT Development (Digital Opportunity) Index”. The featured measuring instrument combines statistical indicators with analytical work on policies and their implementation. Beyond that the publication is complemented with unique quantitative and qualitative research in a chapter on ‘women in the Information Society' co-authored by Sophia Huyer, Nancy Hafkin, Heidi Ertl and Heather Dryburgh. The study also includes detailed regional analyses with a policy focus for countries in Africa, Asia and Latin American and the Caribbean.