UN Secretary General Calls on Volunteers to Help Bridge the Digital Divide

Modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) not only has created an entirely new sector of economic activity, but itīs also transforming all sorts of other human activities in the economic, social, political and cultural fields. By compressing timespans and distances, ICT is expanding the range of development opportunities available. But billions of people are still denied such opportunities offered by the digital revolution.

In his Millenium 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 volunteers will build human capacity in developing countries on the use and opportunities of ICT for human development.

As the Volunteer arm of the United Nations, UNV was entrusted the responsibility of facilitating and coordinating the implementation of UNITeS.

The Inclusive Process for UNITeS' Operationalization

Soon after the issuance of the Millenium Report, UNV set in motion a process to drive forward the operationalization of UNITeS in an organized, participatory and inclusive manner. The first product was a "Question and Answers" paper, which covered the basics of the initiative in plain language. The Q&A; was developed in conjunction with UNFIP, the Office of the UN Secretary General, NetCorps Canada and NetCorps Americas, and became available in early June.

A gradually broadening formal consultation process was launched early June 2000 with an informal Working Group meeting in Bad Honnef, near Bonn. The objective of this first workshop was to benefit from the vision, knowledge and experience of a diverse group of ICT-for-development experts from all continents and various sectors (civil society, government, private sector, volunteer programmes, UN development agencies).

The participants worked on elements of identity, strategy and operations for an initial UNITeS framework. A set of initial principles was develop to endow the Initiative with a unique identity and sense of purpose. A comprehensive array of operational measures was identified which could form the basis of how UNITeS might function during its full implementation phase. The workshop also recommended that UNITeS provide support to some of the emerging UN policies on ICT and create synergies amongst the other Millenium Report initiatives proposed to help bridge the digital divide.

Building upon the first workshop, a second one was convened in August 2000 and gathered a comparatively larger group of participants from likely UNITeS stakeholders, including volunteer-sending agencies, civil society organizations, private sector, governments, and UN organizations specially involved in ICT for development - e.g. UNDP, ITU, UNESCO, WHO. The participants were invited to identify and flesh out the key aspects of operationalizing UNITeS. Accordingly, suggestions were made in relation to the UNITeS membership and operating principles, but also about key programming elements which included, for example, a tentative profiling of specific UNITeS assignments and possible options for UNITeS volunteer processing.

UNITeS on the Move

Parallel to the participatory consultation process, UNITeS has been moving forward through a succession of particular events and activities.

On 27 June, a preliminary website was launched at http://www.unites.org/ . The above mentioned Q&A; document is available on the site. Other reference documents, news items, informational material and contact information can also be obtained there. The website, once fully developed, will serve as the direct interface for accessing all UNITeS information services and management support tools.

UNITeS was highlighted at the ECOSOC high-level segment on IT and Development in July 2000. Especially, the report of a Panel of Experts commissioned by ECOSOC for this meeting called on UNITeS as a potentially significant support to improve human and institutional capacity on the developmental use of ICT. A statement by the Executive Coordinator of UNV to the plenary of the ECOSOC high-level segment was well received. Delegations from several countries expressed in their statements specific interest in UNITeS.

Demand for UNITeS support has started to come from the field, and an initial portfolio of related opportunities has been set up. A concrete sample of UNITeS assignments is already under way to start piloting the initiative. The first group of 23 UNITeS Volunteers (11 internationals and 12 nationals) are serving as of 6 September 2000, the opening date of the Millenium Summit in New York. These volunteers are posted in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Benin, Tanzania, India, Ecuador and Jordan. Four additional posts have been committed to in Bhutan and Mongolia. Annex A lists brief descriptions of these early assignments. Moreover, a number of online volunteering assignments have also been targeted under the UNITeS umbrella, and some examples are mentioned in the annex as well. These are provided via the Netaid.org Online Volunteering service, which is managed by UNV.

Key Milestones Ahead of UNITeS

UNITeS has hit the ground running, as can be deduced from the above. Yet, in the process of becoming fully operational, a set of key targets that will be covered over the next few weeks are identified as follows: