Abstract

Information Technology for Development Volume 1 Number 4. © 1986 Oxford University Press. Informatics Section E. A. Owolabi SC/SER, UNESCO, Paris In spite of its influence and acclaimed future potentials, The Intergovernmental informatics is a new phenomenon compared with older Informatics Programme sciences, technologies and skills. In this respect, the issue of informatics contribution to development is a new kind of challenge which calls for concerted effort not only at national level but also at international level. In order to strengthen its focus on informatics, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has established an Intergovernmental In- formatics Programme (IIP) in which its 159 Member States and others will participate actively. Informatics, as practised by UNESCO and as it is now becoming well-known, is the intellectual discipline cover- ing computer science, its applications and study of its impact on society. In some quarters, the same discipline is known as Information Technology. Before the establishment of the IIP, UNESCO's Informatics activities within Regular Programme covered education and training, contribution to the formulation of national strategies in the development of informatics, study of the socio-economic effects of informatics on society, transfer and adaptation of technology through pilot projects, and