Social and Cultural Aspects of ICT4D

Here's a great interview detailing how important it is to consider social and cultural factors when employing information and communication technologies (ICT) for development.

 “When you come at it from a technology perspective, you think your end goal is you build the system, you install it, and it delivers energy. And you do that, and then you get to the end of the path, and then you realize that that’s not actually the end of the path. That’s somewhere near the beginning of the path..The new beginning of the path is asking people what they need before deciding what to give them. And that’s something the Craigs are just learning to do."

http://www.theworld.org/2009/11/06/electricity-for-rural-nicaragua/