Socio-cultural aspects of information technology in Africa. The policy of the World Bank Studies on Media Information and Telecommunication (SMIT)
ABSTRACT The World Bank is an important actor in the implementation of new information technologies (ITs) in Africa by means of loans to governments and support to private companies. Its policy is guided mainly by techno-economical aspects. The intended target group's socio-cultural context is hardly taken into consideration. Critics argue that the Bank's policy has resulted in inappropriate technology, ignorance of the African user and a reinforcement of Western elites. The World Bank's approach is embedded in a Western worldview, in which privatisation and liberalisation are the keywords. In this technology-driven view, IT is supposed to solve all kinds of problems, including socio-cultural problems, hence socio-cultural aspects are regarded as less important. Nevertheless, some recent documents of the World Bank indicate a growing interest in those aspects. Time will show whether we can label that discourse a neo-liberal doctrine embellished with some socio-cultural hot topics. This article is based on...