Chennai statement on up-scaling pro-poor ICT policies and practices

Upon invitation of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), development practitioners and policy makers met in Chennai, India, from 17-19 November 2004, for a workshop to review experiences in Asia and Africa in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for poverty reduction. The event was organised in coordination with the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), OneWorld South Asia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In order to provide an input into the preparatory processes of the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS), Poverty Reduction Strategies and the Millennium+5 Summit, the participants decided to compile some key conclusions and recommendations in a statement. The purpose of the Chennai Statement is to stimulate the ICT debate from a clearly poverty-focused perspective.