The Commonwealth Connects programme is a multi- stakeholder endeavour, in which governments work in partnership with the private sector and civil society in efforts to bridge the digital divide. The programme is conceived as a catalyst which facilitates new linkages between entities with highly developed ICT expertise and those which are building their ICT capacity. It aims to create conditions that are conducive to investment in ICT development and acts as a broker in bringing together those with resources to invest and those who could benefit from them.

1. Objectives

2. History of Connects

3. Governance

4. CHOGM Reports

The 2007 CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) endorsed the objectives of Commonwealth Connects. Since its inception, the Programme has carried forward its mandate working to reach goals by

• Providing strategic leadership and co-ordination
• Fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and co-operation
• Promoting the development of national ICT strategies
• Sharing ICT resources for capacity building
• Supporting pan-Commonwealth ICT-based initiatives

The main activities planned for the 18 months as of January 2010 are

• The Creation of an ICT Wealth Inventory
• Creation and Fostering of a Network of ICT Experts - A key factor will be the identification and involvement of representatives from developed Commonwealth countries in the programme’s Champions Network Group. Involvement in Commonwealth Connects will enable countries that already devote significant resources to bilateral ICT projects to make use of the Commonwealth’s comparative advantage to maximise the effectiveness of their programmes.
• Carrying out a needs analysis across the Commonwealth

Underlying the Commonwealth Connects programme is a vision of how ICT can help countries at all stages of development use scarce resources to bring about sustainable improvements in the quality of life of their citizens. ICT can support equitable growth, good governance and the empowerment of individuals. However, its application is uneven, reflecting the digital divide which has exacerbated inequalities between and within countries. While rich countries have used ICT to improve service delivery, make better use of resources and engage their citizens, many poorer countries have fallen further behind.

Launched at the CHOGM Meeting in 2005 Commonwealth Connects was set up with a mission of harnessing the resources of ICT-rich member states to support countries with low ICT capacity in building access to the new technologies. The Commonwealth has a unique comparative advantage as a community of states with widely differing levels of development, population size and resourcee bases, bound together by cultural traditions rooted in good governance and citizen involvement.

Since its inception, the programme has maximised its impact by working with and through governments and Commonwealth agencies, rather than creating new institutions. Its emphasis has been on facilitating multi- stakeholder partner ships between governments, the private sector, civil society and the international donor community, building links that enable the sharing of ICT resources and helping governments develop ICT strategies at national level.

Its members are linked by institutional, business, civil society and people-to-people networks which provide a trusted environment for the sharing of experience and expertise.

Since its launch in 2006, the Commonwealth Connects programme has laid a strategic foundation for the realisation of its vision of how information and communications technology (ICT) can be used to promote equitable and sustainable development throughout the Commonwealth and how Commonwealth networks can be used to bridge the digital divide.

CHOGM Reports

2007 – Tools for Development – The Capacity of ICTs to Transform societies 2009 – Partnerships for Development – Using ICT to Network the Commonwealth