(2) Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

The dissemination of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)* contributes to the achievement of sustainable economic growth by upgrading industries and improving productivity. It also contributes to addressing the issues related to medical care, education, energy, the environment, disaster risk reduction, and other societal issues. Utilization of ICT improves their democratic foundation through encouraging information disclosure by the government, and improving the environment for broadcasting media. It is also extremely important to strengthen the civil society through improvement of the convenience and quality of services.

<Japan’s Efforts>

Japan has actively offered assistance focusing on the field of the construction of communication and broadcasting facilities in developing countries, as well as the installation of the technology and systems they require and relevant human resource development, in efforts to improve the lives of all people and to eliminate the ICT disparities that exist between countries and regions.

Specifically, Japan has worked with International Telecommunication Union (ITU)*, a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for telecommunications, to provide a variety of development assistance in the field of telecommunications to developing countries. In March 2012 in Sendai, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) and the ITU held a joint Symposium on Disaster Communications to share with overseas organizations the knowledge and lessons Japan had learned in the ICT field from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting reconstruction process. Japan held workshops and other activities in February 2013 in Tokyo, Japan under the aim of spreading ICT e-health to developing countries in order to help solve medical problems common throughout the world, with the cooperation of domestic ICT companies.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the Asian international organization referred to as the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT)* has served as a coordinator of regional policy. In 2009, APT formulated joint declarations and action plans intended to set the stage for collaborative efforts among member countries that would work to proliferate broadband in the Asia-Pacific region. Their efforts have contributed to a balanced development of telecommunications and information bases within the region. To reduce ICT disparities and solve on-site health and education problems with ICT, Japan has supported a pilot project and human resource development such as trainings and workshops through APT.

In ASEAN, the joint declaration (Bali Declaration) adopted at the Japan-ASEAN Summit Meeting held in November 2011 incorporated the ASEAN Smart Network Initiative and other cooperative enhancements in the field of ICT as part of an effort to advance cooperation in the field of telecommunications.

Furthermore, the problems surrounding cyber attacks have piqued the interest of ASEAN in recent years. To address these issues the Japan-ASEAN Ministerial Policy Meeting on Cyber Security Cooperation was held in Tokyo, Japan in September 2013.

Though also linked to the country’s economic growth, Japan actively provides comprehensive support to overseas promoting activities for Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T)* in terms of maintenance, personnel, and systems. As of March 2013, ISDB-T has been spread throughout Latin America. Japan has dispatched experts to eight countries including Chile, Peru and Costa Rica and been transferring technologies since FY 2009 as part of the support to ISDB-T adopter countries. (Note 6) Furthermore, JICA training is conducted every year for both adopter countries and potential adopter countries to promote the overseas spread and introduction of ISDB-T.

A JICA expert giving instructions in the Benguela station, a national broadcasting station of Angola. (Photo: Kayo Omachi / JICA Angola Field Office)

Note 6: The 15 countries are Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, the Philippines, Bolivia, Uruguay, Maldives, Botswana, Guatemala, and Honduras (as of November 2013).

●Bangladesh

Capacity Building on ITEE* Management Project
Technical Cooperation Project (October 2012 – Ongoing)

Under the “Digital Bangladesh” policy, the Government of Bangladesh has been working to develop the IT industry into its second largest export industry after the textile industry. Bangladesh, however, lacked an examination system for evaluating the capacities of IT engineers. Furthermore, the exams given by major IT companies around the world were too expensive for and thus not accessible to the general public in Bangladesh. Thus, marketing the skills and capacities of Bangladeshi IT engineers internationally was a challenge.

Against this background, in 2010, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) giving guidance on computer technology, in collaboration with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA), conducted a mock examination using the Japanese ITEE to measure the capacities of IT engineers in Bangladesh. This examination, which 269 people took, demonstrated that the capacities of IT engineers in Bangladesh were not far behind the other six Asian countries where this examination is already being implemented. These efforts caught the attention of the Bangladeshi Government, and this led to the implementation of a Technical Cooperation Project since October 2012 for introducing a national certification system modeled on the Japanese ITEE.

With a target to have the national certification system in place by autumn 2014, this project prepares examination problems, conducts practices in the run-up to the examination, promotes cross certification with other countries in Asia, among other activities. It is expected that this certification system will demonstrate the capacities of IT engineers in Bangladesh, and will serve as a springboard for Japanese and other foreign IT companies to enter the Bangladeshi market.
(As of August 2013)

* IT Engineers Examination

An ITEE contest which was carried out with the support of JOCVs (Photo: JICA)

Main Text | Statictics and Reference Materials | Stories from the field | ODA Topics