United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS)

United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS):
A Legacy

The United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS) was a global volunteer initiative to help bridge the digital divide and was active from 2000 through February 2005. UNITeS both supported volunteers applying information and communications technologies for development (ICT4D) and promoted volunteerism as a fundamental element of successful ICT4D initiatives. It anticipated the popularity of smart phones and apps4good, talking about these concepts long before they had these names. It was NOT limited to United Nations initiatives; the goal was to help any and all tech-volunteering initiatives meant to help the developing world, by creating a platform for their networking with each other, sharing experiences, etc.

UNITeS was launched in 2000 by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and was hosted by the United Nations Volunteers programme. UNITeS had two primary goals:

To promote volunteer involvement as a fundamental element of successful information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) initiatives.
To work with the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme and a coalition of organizations to support projects and initiatives that involve volunteers to improve the capacity of individuals and institutions in developing countries to make practical use of ICTs in their development processes. This included establishing a knowledge base/network of resources to support volunteers engaged in ICT4D in a variety of areas (health, education, governance, gender equity, environment, HIV/AIDs, etc.).

UNITeS was active until 2005. While it was active, it was lovingly promoted by then-UNV head Sharon Capeling-Alakija. From 2005, with the departure of the last UNV staff associated with UNITeS, and through most of 2009, the web site was still available at www.unites.org, but was no longer updated. As of November 2009, all UNITeS web site materials were taken down from the original site. The materials were put back up a few months later, but not updated, and then around March 2016, the materials were taken down again.

Because many UNITeS materials continue to be in demand, and to continue both the spirit of the initiative as defined by Kofi Annan and as realized by Sharon Capeling-Alakija, I, Jayne Cravens host some of the original UNITeS materials here on my own web site (all of the ones I wrote, actually):

A brief history of UNITeS
In his Millennium Report released in April 2000, the UN Secretary General announced UNITeS as a special initiative to stimulate and channel the contributions of volunteers to help bridge the digital divide. UNITeS was born.
UNITeS Results
UNITeS saw many achievements during its time at UNV.
Partnerships and collaboration
A key to the success of UNITeS was its network of collaborating organizations.
Volunteers: Essential to ICT projects in developing countries
Why the UNITeS initiative believed that volunteers are an essential and fundamental element to the success of information and communications technology (ICT) efforts in underdeveloped communities.
Assisting Others As An Expert Volunteer
This article was part of the online Knowledge Base hosted by UNITeS. It is an example of the kinds of resources that were a part of the UNITeS Knowledge Base to help volunteers applying ICT in the developing world, and to help organizations who wanted to involve such volunteers.
Handheld computer technologies in community service/volunteering/advocacy
This was a pioneering article, published in October 2001. It provides early examples of volunteers/citizens/grass roots advocates using handheld computer/personal digital assistants (PDAs) or phone devices as part of community service/volunteering/advocacy, or examples that could be applied to volunteer settings. It was originally part of the UNITeS online knowledge base. It anticipated the popularity of smart phones and #apps4good, talking about these concepts long before they had these names.
Instant Messaging and Volunteers
This was a pioneering article, published in November 2002 and originally part of the UNITeS online knowledge base. It outlines the benefits of using Instant Messaging with volunteers, and offers suggestions for success based on UNV staff's own experience using IM with volunteers all over the world.
Contributions to the UNESCO Multimedia Training Kit
The UNV staff managing the UNITeS initiative was invited to prepare a module on volunteers in telecentres and community media organizations for the UNESCO Multimedia Training Kit (MMTK). The module includes a slide show presentation, exercises, case studies and trainer notes.
UNITeS/UNV@ the WSIS in Geneva - 2003
UNV staff and volunteers were in high profile at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in 2003, creating one of the busiest and most-talked about booths (a mock telecenter) in the exhibit area, hosting live onsite and online events, speaking at the official plenary, and working to contribute to the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Action Plan.
UNV ICT4D Assignments
This resource is not on my web site; the link will take you to the archived page at archive.org. As part of its mission to promote the role of volunteers in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D), UNITeS profiled related activities by UN Volunteers who are serving or have served in the field. These profiles are presented by country.
Links to other web sites and publications mentioning UNITeS

To see the complete, original UNITeS web site and its resources, including its extensive knowledge base, look up unites.org at archive.org

Since the UNITeS archived list is out-of-date, here is an up-to-date list of ICT Volunteering / Tech Volunteering initiatives. This is a list of tech volunteering / ICT4D initiatives, some defunct, some still going strong, that recruit tech experts to volunteer their time support either local nonprofit organizations or NGOs in developing countries regarding computer hardware, software and Internet tech-related tasks.

Also see United Nations Tech4Good / ICT4D Initiatives, a list of the various United Nations initiatives that have been launched since 2000 to promote the use of computers, feature phones, smart phones and various networked devices in development and humanitarian activities, to promote digital literacy and equitable access to the "information society," and to bridge the digital divide. My goal in creating this page is to help researchers, as well as to remind current UN initiatives that much work regarding ICT4D has been done by various UN employees, consultants and volunteers for more than 15 years (and perhaps longer?).

Note: the UNITeS initiative is not the same as the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (UNITE), which is responsible for defining strategic direction for ICT to the United Nations Secretariat, providing oversight of UN-related ICT programmes, budgets and decision-making to ensure alignment with the Secretariat�s overall ICT strategy. Among its activities is the Unite Ideas platform that supports collaboration between academia, civil society, and the United Nations. "It is a place to exchange ideas, learn from others and support development initiatives by taking on data science and visualization challenges. The open source code of solutions implemented for previous challenges is available on Unite Ideas and can be re-used by governments and civil society organizations."