UNESCO Chair in ICT for Development, Royal Holloway, University of London (2007)
Purpose/Objectives of the Chair
‘Information’ and ‘communication’ have long been central to ‘development’ practices. However, from the mid-1990s with the rapid transformations that took place in the technologies used to create, store and share information, practitioners and academics alike began to explore ways in which these new information and communication technologies (ICTs) could be used to support specific ‘development’ initiatives.
ICT for Development (ICT4D) focuses on how ICTs can make a difference to the lives of the poor and the marginalised.
The UNESCO Chair in ICT4D is designed to develop this agenda. It builds on the work of the ICT4D Collective at Royal Holloway, University of London, first established in 2004. This focuses on research, postgraduate training, the delivery of workshops and short courses, and the provision of externally funded scholarships, thereby facilitating the objective of ensuring that ICTs are used more effectively to enable poor and marginalised people and communities across the world to enhance their livelihood aspirations.
Chairholder Professor Tim Unwin
Address: Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK
Email: t.unwin [at] rhul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1784 443655
Fax: +44 (0)1784 472836
Tim Unwin (born 1955) is Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in ICT for Development (ICT4D) and Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is also Chair of the UK's Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
From 2001-2004 he led the UK Prime Minister’s Imfundo: Partnership for IT in Education initiative based within the Department for International Development, and in 2007 and 2008 he was Director and then Senior Advisor to the World Economic Forum’s Partnerships for Education Initiative with UNESCO. He was previously Head of the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London between 1999 and 2001, and has also served as Honorary Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers) (1995-1997).
He has written or edited 13 books, and over 170 papers and other publications. His recent research has concentrated especially on ICT4D, focusing on its use in the context of teacher training in Africa, on a critique of budget support mechanisms in international aid, and on the use of partnerships in ICT4D practice. His latest book, simply entitled ICT4D was published in February 2009.
Select Activity
- EVENT: The ICT4D Conference 2010 will be held at Royal Holloway, University of London on 13-16 December 2010. For more information visit http://www.ictd2010.org
- PUBLICATION: Unwin, T. ICT4D: Information and Communication Technology for Development (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).
- KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Professor Tim Unwin gave an opening keynote address at the e-Learning Africa conference held in Dakar, Senegal, 27-29 May 2009.
- EVENT: A workshop on ICT4D and teacher training was convened in Mozambique, 14-18 May 2009, as part of the Chair’s DelPHE-funded partnership.
