We are pleased to announce the release of The World Wide Web Foundation’s first major publication, Accelerating Development Using the Web: Empowering Poor and Marginalized Populations, available for download today.

Generously supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and in partnership with the United Nations Development Program, the book is a compendium of articles by recognized experts describing the real and potential effects of the World Wide Web in all major aspects of economic and social development. It provides overviews of the major macro issues – access, capacity, and standards, among others – while also detailing insights into specific business and public policy domains.

The book unites themes of technological innovation, international development, economic growth, gender equality, linguistic and cultural diversity and community action, with special attention paid to the circumstances surrounding the poor and vulnerable members of the Global Information Society. Its findings will be of particular value to policy makers, NGO staff members, foundations, private donors, and regional experts and will also enrich the discourse among academics and members of civil society who are interested in progress in the least developed countries in the world.

Our research fills a gap in the current store of knowledge by taking a broad holistic approach, offering detailed commentary from fourteen experts who are deeply engaged in the field of ICTs for development, many with extensive experience in developing countries, and each able to emphasize the key questions, challenges, and successes unique to their field. While these authors speak of the fields with which they are most familiar, much of the commentary is structured in a way that enables the reader to draw parallels across the fields and identify where there are similarities and divergences in the deployment of ICTs for development.

Browse the Table of Contents and view or download a copy today.