Dear Listers, I’m pleased to announce the publication of our book “ICT Pathways to Poverty Reduction: Empirical Evidence from Eastern and Southern Africa” http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Pages/IDRCBookDetails.aspx?Publ... This has been a 10 year journey from conceptualization, undertaking the research, piecing together the evidence, publishing and having global impact! Research is indeed a long-term investment! This is what the UN Secretary General, Banki Moon, had to say about the research findings of this project, when addressing the 5th session of the UN Commission for Social Development …”The digital divide, that is, the gap in access to modern information and communication technologies, is becoming increasingly salient. Access to those technologies is increasingly recognized as an important means of improving the situation of excluded groups by reducing poverty, improving health and mitigating the impact of geographical isolation. A recent study in East Africa found that access to such technologies, particularly mobile phones and the Internet, helped to reduce poverty among the poorest populations.” He encouraged the commission to consider new technologies in the fight against poverty. Let us build on this evidence and make ICTs an engine of economic development and one of the key drivers of poverty reduction. Edith