United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS):
A Legacy
The United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS) was a
global volunteer initiative to help bridge the digital divide and
was active from 2000 through February 2005. UNITeS both supported
volunteers applying information and communications technologies
for development (ICT4D) and promoted volunteerism as a fundamental
element of successful ICT4D initiatives. It anticipated the
popularity of smart phones and apps4good, talking about these
concepts long before they had these names. It was NOT limited to
United Nations initiatives; the goal was to help any and all
tech-volunteering initiatives meant to help the developing world,
by creating a platform for their networking with each other,
sharing experiences, etc.
UNITeS was launched in 2000 by then UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, and was hosted by the United Nations Volunteers programme.
UNITeS had two primary goals:
- To promote volunteer involvement as a fundamental element of
successful information and communication technologies for
development (ICT4D) initiatives.
- To work with the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme and a
coalition of organizations to support projects and initiatives
that involve volunteers to improve the capacity of individuals
and institutions in developing countries to make practical use
of ICTs in their development processes. This included
establishing a knowledge base/network of resources to support
volunteers engaged in ICT4D in a variety of areas (health,
education, governance, gender equity, environment, HIV/AIDs,
etc.).
UNITeS was active until 2005. While it was active, it was lovingly
promoted by then-UNV head Sharon Capeling-Alakija. From 2005, with
the departure of the last UNV staff associated with UNITeS, and
through most of 2009, the web site was still available at
www.unites.org, but was no longer updated. As of November 2009, all
UNITeS web site materials were taken down from the original site.
The materials were put back up a few months later, but not updated,
and then around March 2016, the materials were taken down again.
Because many UNITeS materials continue to be in demand, and to
continue both the spirit of the initiative as defined by Kofi
Annan and as realized by Sharon Capeling-Alakija, I, Jayne Cravens host some of
the original UNITeS materials here on my own web site (all of the
ones I wrote, actually):
- A brief history of UNITeS
In his Millennium Report released in April 2000, the UN
Secretary General announced UNITeS as a special initiative to
stimulate and channel the contributions of volunteers to help
bridge the digital divide. UNITeS was born.
- UNITeS Results
UNITeS saw many achievements during its time at UNV.
- Partnerships and collaboration
A key to the success of UNITeS was its network of collaborating
organizations.
- Volunteers: Essential to ICT projects in
developing countries
Why the UNITeS initiative believed that volunteers are an
essential and fundamental element to the success of information
and communications technology (ICT) efforts in underdeveloped
communities.
- Assisting Others As An Expert
Volunteer
This article was part of the online Knowledge Base hosted by
UNITeS. It is an example of the kinds of resources that were a
part of the UNITeS Knowledge Base to help volunteers applying
ICT in the developing world, and to help organizations who
wanted to involve such volunteers.
- Handheld computer
technologies in community service/volunteering/advocacy
This was a pioneering article, published in October 2001. It
provides early examples of volunteers/citizens/grass roots
advocates using handheld computer/personal digital assistants
(PDAs) or phone devices as part of community
service/volunteering/advocacy, or examples that could be applied
to volunteer settings. It was originally part of the UNITeS
online knowledge base. It anticipated the popularity of smart
phones and #apps4good, talking about these concepts long before
they had these names.
- Instant Messaging and
Volunteers
This was a pioneering article, published in November 2002 and
originally part of the UNITeS online knowledge base. It outlines
the benefits of using Instant Messaging with volunteers, and
offers suggestions for success based on UNV staff's own
experience using IM with volunteers all over the world.
- Contributions to
the UNESCO Multimedia Training Kit
The UNV staff managing the UNITeS initiative was invited to
prepare a module on volunteers in telecentres and community
media organizations for the UNESCO Multimedia Training Kit
(MMTK). The module includes a slide show presentation,
exercises, case studies and trainer notes.
- UNITeS/UNV@ the WSIS in Geneva - 2003
UNV staff and volunteers were in high profile at the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in 2003,
creating one of the busiest and most-talked about booths (a mock
telecenter) in the exhibit area, hosting live onsite and online
events, speaking at the official plenary, and working to
contribute to the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Action
Plan.
- UNV
ICT4D Assignments
This resource is not on my web site; the link will take
you to the archived page at archive.org.
As part of its mission to promote the role of volunteers in
information and communication technologies for development
(ICT4D), UNITeS profiled related activities by UN Volunteers who
are serving or have served in the field. These profiles are
presented by country.
- Links to other web sites and
publications mentioning UNITeS
To see the complete, original UNITeS web site and its resources,
including its extensive knowledge base, look up unites.org at archive.org
Since the UNITeS archived list is out-of-date, here is an up-to-date
list of ICT
Volunteering / Tech Volunteering initiatives. This is a
list of tech volunteering / ICT4D initiatives, some defunct, some
still going strong, that recruit tech experts to volunteer their
time support either local nonprofit organizations or NGOs in
developing countries regarding computer hardware, software and
Internet tech-related tasks.
Also see United
Nations Tech4Good / ICT4D Initiatives, a list of the
various United Nations initiatives that have been launched since
2000 to promote the use of computers, feature phones, smart phones
and various networked devices in development and humanitarian
activities, to promote digital literacy and equitable access to the
"information society," and to bridge the digital divide. My goal in
creating this page is to help researchers, as well as to remind
current UN initiatives that much work regarding ICT4D has been done
by various UN employees, consultants and volunteers for more than 15
years (and perhaps longer?).
Note: the UNITeS initiative is not the same as the United Nations Office
of Information and Communications Technology (UNITE), which is
responsible for defining strategic direction for ICT to the United
Nations Secretariat, providing oversight of UN-related ICT
programmes, budgets and decision-making to ensure alignment with the
Secretariat�s overall ICT strategy. Among its activities is the Unite Ideas
platform that supports collaboration between academia, civil
society, and the United Nations. "It is a place to exchange ideas,
learn from others and support development initiatives by taking on
data science and visualization challenges. The open source code of
solutions implemented for previous challenges is available on Unite
Ideas and can be re-used by governments and civil society
organizations."