For a representative sampling of 7 positions (pro and con) taken on a UN conference in Geneva going on at the moment . These are particularly interesting in light of Pope John Paul’s challenge to the Vincentian Family to search for “underlying causes and long term solutions” to povertyhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/3257256.stm
World leaders, ministers, business chiefs and activists are meeting in Geneva on 10-12 December to look at how technology can improve the lives of millions of the Earth’s poorest people.
A sampling of worldwide reaction…
1. Access to information is vital for development as well as for empowerment …….
2. I am sure people in Ethiopia are not concerned about keeping up to date via internet and mobile technology when they don’t know where there next meal is coming from ….
3. The free flow of information is crucial to advancing the prospects of the poor….
4. Yes, technology can transform lives, but not always for the better….
5. If the UN was more effective in implementing stability and education – jobs and the need for technology would automatically follow…
6. Technology may just be part of the answer…
7. What we need to have in developing nations is to improve on literacy,,,
8. Exposure to IT and internet facilities can bring dramatic changes in their lives…
Note: “It is the first time the UN has organised a summit on the digital divide. It sees information communication technology as a powerful tool for development.”
“From women in Africa using mobile phones to check market prices to students in Bangladesh catching up with the latest science journals on the web, technologies like the net can transform lives.”
“But political wrangling on issues like who should pay for technology projects in the developing world, who should control the internet and the role of human rights, threaten to overshadow the summit.”
Tags: digital divide
