Social media can be defined as web-based applications that enable
end-users to interchange electronic content. There are different forms
of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Flickr, Storify, Slideshare,
among several others. These tools have emerged in recent years as a
powerful and widespread communication platform and are being used in a
wide range of areas such as agricultural and rural development,
environmental protection, education, public health, or disaster
communication and management.
Recognizing the prevalence of social
media and its potential for socio-economic development, and in response
to the increasing demand from the region for capacity building resource
in this area, the United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for
Information and Communication Technology Development (UN-APCICT/ESCAP) organized a “Regional Workshop on Social Media for Development” on 30 June – 2 July 2014 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, with the following key objectives:
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| Youth in Training |
•
Facilitate regional dialogue among various stakeholders from the
government, development organizations, civil society, academia and
private sector on the potential and applications of social networks for
development;
• Promote an exchange of perspectives, experiences, and lessons learned;
• Build capacities of government officials and ICT4D stakeholders on effective deployment of social media in development;
•
Promote APCICT’s latest Academy Module on Social Media for Development
as a learning resource for government officials and policymakers of
countries in Asia and the Pacific.
