Mobile readyRevised with new information as of October 19, 2017


A free resource for nonprofit organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations,
charities, schools, public sector agencies & other mission-based agencies
by Jayne Cravens
More resources at coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)


UNDP Chief Warns G-8 Leaders of a Widening “Digital Divide”

Friday, 21 July 2000

This is text from a statement on the
United National Development Programme (UNDP) web site in the year 2000. You can see an archived version of the original on archive.org

United National Development Programme
Communications Office
newsfront

UNDP Chief Warns G-8 Leaders of a Widening “Digital Divide”

The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Mark Malloch Brown, called on G-8 leaders gathered in Japan this week to help the developing world take full advantage of the Information Revolution.

Speaking at a meeting of developing country leaders and development agency heads with G-8 leaders in Tokyo, Malloch Brown stressed that the world has an historic opportunity and obligation to reach out and help the poor take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

Malloch Brown said that while it was true that the Information Gap - -or digital divide - between rich and poor was vast and growing, ICT and the Internet offer new hope in areas ranging from health, to education to business development. "If we fail to act now the Information Gap risks being widened into an uncrossable gulf that increases global inequality and leaves the poor further behind," he said. "But if we approach the matter with the same kind of urgency and application as the commercial "dot-com" sector, then we have every chance of building a strong, new wired future that not only includes the world's poor but gives them an unprecedented opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty."

Malloch Brown lauded Prime Minister Mori for the announcement last Friday that the Japanese government would pledge $15 billion over five years in aid as part of a "Comprehensive Co-operation Package to Address the International Digital Divide." He also thanked Mori for highlighting the ICT for development issue during the G-8 summit which Japan is hosting this week. And he singled out UNDP's cooperation with the Government of Japan in providing technical support for Pacific Island and African countries.

At a meeting with G-8 leaders in Tokyo this week, UN Development Programme Administrator Mark Malloch Brown announced that UNDP is launching a series of project activities that will boost internet connectivity and access in some of the poorest countries in the world.

UNDP is already helping countries gain access to the digital economy in places ranging from Estonia to East Timor. The organization supports the launching of new networks and helps construct policy frameworks for Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

"At a time when Tokyo has more telephones than all of Africa and Finland has more Internet hosts than Latin America, the challenge is huge," Malloch Brown said. "But the fact is the revolution has only just begun, and if we can work together, we can work to ensure the end result provides the world's poor with a stake and a voice in the global economy."

  Discuss this web page, or comment on it, here.


  Quick Links 

 my home page
 
 my consulting services  &  my workshops & presentations
 
 my credentials & expertise
 
 My book: The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook

 contact me   or   see my schedule
 
 Free Resources: Community Outreach, With & Without Tech

 Free Resources: On Community Engagement, Volunteering & Volunteerism

 Free Resources: Technology Tips for Non-Techies

 Free Resources: Nonprofit, NGO & other mission-based management resources

 Free Resources: Web Development, Maintenance, Marketing for non-Web designers

 Free Resources: Corporate philanthropy / social responsibility programs

 Free Resources: For people & groups that want to volunteer
 
 linking to or from my web site
 
 The Coyote Helps Foundation
 
 me on social media (follow me, like me, put me in a circle, subscribe to my newsletter)

support my workhow to support my work

To know when I have developed a new resource related to the above subjects, found a great resource by someone else, published a new blog or a new Tech4Impact email newsletter, uploaded a new video,
or to when & where I'm training or presenting, use any of the following social media apps to follow me on any of these social media platforms:

like me on Facebook      follow me on Twitter    Mastodon logo    follow me on Reddit    follow me on LinkedIn     view my YouTube videos


Disclaimer: No guarantee of accuracy or suitability is made by the poster/distributor of the materials on this web site.
This material is provided as is, with no expressed or implied warranty or liability.

See my web site's privacy policy.

Permission is granted to copy, present and/or distribute a limited amount of material from my web site without charge if the information is kept intact and without alteration, and is credited to:

Jayne Cravens & Coyote Communications,
          www.coyotebroad.com

Otherwise, please contact me for permission to reprint, present or distribute these materials (for instance, in a class or book or online event for which you intend to charge).

The art work and material on this site was created and is copyrighted 1996-2023
by Jayne Cravens, all rights reserved
(unless noted otherwise, or the art comes from a link to another web site).