TWAS today launches new versions of its website that will expand and improve access worldwide, with special editions tailored for smartphones and users with limited Internet connectivity.
The two developments follow TWAS's debut of a fully upgraded and redesigned website in February, and they make TWAS's fellowships, research grants and other opportunities more accessible than ever. And they address a critically important TWAS goal: helping to close the "digital divide" between regions where Internet access is strong and others where it can be limited and unreliable.
Information and communication technologies (ICT) have a powerful impact on people, on learning capacities and on nations’ economies. Interconnectivity triggers a domino effect that multiplies the number of entrepreneurs, promotes innovation and fuels jobs creation. Africa epitomizes such robust growth in the ICT sector: in 2012 its internal mobile phone market had reached 650 million subscribers, and the continent's Internet bandwidth had grown 20-fold since 2007, according to the World Bank.
But what happens if users do not have a smartphone or a strong broadband connection? The low-bandwidth connection can make TWAS's core information available, while dropping all photos and most graphics from the site helps to makes pages easier to download.
“Without pictures, web pages are much lighter than usual, and can be retrieved in no extra time, even from places where the Internet connection is slow or intermittent,” explained Maurizio Terpin, chief executive officer of Interfase, the Trieste-based company that has reconceived and redesigned TWAS.org. “In addition, the fact that the website retains its original full-frame outlook reassures the visitors that they are still visiting the right website.”
The impact of the new TWAS website tools may have a particular impact in some of the world's poorest countries. The UN's International Telecommunication Union listed 39 "Least Connected Countries" in 2012 – and 31 of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. But the list also includes India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and includes 2.4 billion people in all.
Despite the recent growth in ICTs, Africa remains one of the most marginalized regions in the world. Although the continent account for nearly 15% of the world population, it is home to only 2.6% of the world’s Internet users. Costs can be tremendously high, in the range of USD60 for 20 hours of access per month. Creating internet access helps to inject lifeblood for future generations – a task that is etched in TWAS’s DNA.
Cristina Serra