Amsterdam 7 April 2026 – Francis Saa-Dittoh, senior lecturer at the University for Development Studies in Tamale, Ghana, defended his thesis and received today the title of Doctor of Philosophy for his research on Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Development in Africa at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
The overarching goal of his research was to explore and develop sustainable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions for highly resource-constrained environments, particularly in the Global South. Specifically, the research sought to address whether we can overcome existing barriers and find sustainable ways to improve digital information provisioning and communication access for rural, peri-urban and urban communities in the Global South, and how we can ensure that such information and communication is locally relevant and fits the needs, priorities, and local context of communities. It also explored whether cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be made useful in the resource-constrained environments of the Global South and, if so, how. This resulted in a conceptual framework dubbed the Plug-In Principle for Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). The digital divide is not so much about absence as it is about exclusion from systems that are not designed for, or not accessible to, the people in these contexts.
The thesis is the result of collaboration between a number of EURIDICE partners and has inspired various master theses in the framework of Digital Society and Global Citizenship. Francis has presented his research to the DIGISOC students on 13 March 2026.