ICTs for Development: Mainstreaming the Marginalized organizes by INIT

The Inter-Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication, Pakistan; UNESCO Chair in ICT4D and COMSATS University Islamabad organized the two days 3rd International Workshop on ‘ICTs for Development: Mainstreaming the Marginalized’  at Islamabad, Pakistan.

ICTs for Development: Mainstreaming the Marginalized organizes by INITThe Workshop builds on the efforts of INIT to identify ways through which stakeholders (academia, government, civil societies, private sector) can contribute towards diffusion of technologies for creating a positive impact on the marginalized communities in Pakistan.

The Workshop specifically focuses on intervention of technology to facilitate the access of marginalized communities for better economic inclusion and their empowerment.  

Chief Guest of the event Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecom, Govt. of Pakistan Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui said that government is taking every effort for making Pakistan digitally enabled.

President INIT / Rector Comsats University Islamabad Professor Raheel Qamar, Chair holder UNESCO Chair in ICT4D Professor Tim Unwin and Executive Directors INIT Dr Tahir Naeem also addressed the inaugural session.

The Workshop provided a participatory learning experience through presentations, panel and open floor discussions. The Workshop adopted a sandboxing approach to learn from the experiences of the participants hailing from diverse backgrounds related to ICTs.

The Workshop was attended by representatives of marginalized communities, policy planners, development professionals, researchers, technology personnel, and so forth from all over the Pakistan.

The INIT is an international entity working under auspices of COMSTECH with Government of Pakistan as its host. The entity is housed at the COMSATS University Islamabad.