From Global Digital Divide To Digital Opportunity
Civil Society Organization and DOT Force
From Global Digital Divide To Digital Opportunity
Digital Opportunity Task Force (or DOTForce) initiative
was announced at the Okinawa meeting of the G8 (the G8 being the "club" of the Heads of Government of the 8 leading world economies--
USA, Japan, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Canada, and Italy) Summit (as part of
the Okinawa Charter on the Global Information
Society) to search for ways to fuse the gaping information technology (IT) split between the rich and poor.
"IT represents a tremendous opportunity for emerging and developing economies.
Countries that succeed in harnessing its potential can look forward to
leapfrogging conventional obstacles of infrastructural development," said the charter.
The DOT force will mobilize the resources and coordinate the efforts of governments,
the private sector, foundations, multilateral and international institutions and others
to bridge the international digital divide and create digital opportunity.
Governments are looking for Civil Society representation in these discussions.
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE NOT YET FULL PARTICIPANTS IN THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION
- Of the estimated 332 million people online as of March 2000, less than 1 percent
(2.77 million) live in Africa. (Nua Internet Surveys, March 2000.)
- Less than 5 percent of the computers that are connected to the Internet
are in developing countries.
- The developed world has 49.5 phone lines per 100 people, compared to 1.4
phones in low-income countries. (International Telecommunications Union, 1999.)
The global divide between developed and developing countries is growing:
- A recently created Index of Technological Progress demonstrated that access to
technology became more unequal between 1992 and 1997, far more rapidly than differences
in income distribution. The index measured personal computers, Internet hosts, fax machines,
mobile phones, and televisions.
[Source: E. Wilson and F. Rodriguez, Are Poor Countries Losing the Internet Revolution? 1999.]
It is critical that developing countries participate in the networked economy:
- Global electronic commerce could reach $7 trillion by 2004.
[Source: Industry Standard, February 21, 2000.]
- As much as one half of the difference between Africa's manufactured exports
as a share of GDP and East Asia's share could be accounted for by weak communications
networks in Africa. [Source: World Bank, The Networking Revolution: Opportunities and
Challenges for Developing Countries, June 2000.]
Promoting competition and privatization in the telecommunications sector
is key to bridging the global digital divide:
- Only 12 percent of local telecommunications markets in developing countries are
liberalized.
In the 5 years following privatization of telecommunications companies in
Peru, the number of fixed lines increased 165 percent, the number of mobile lines
increased from 20,000 to nearly half a million, and access among the poorest households
increased from near zero to around 20 percent.
[Source: World Bank, The Networking Revolution: Opportunities and Challenges for
Developing Countries, June 2000.]
Documents:
Civil Society Organization and DOT Force
Documents:
DOT Force discussion List
Governments are looking for Civil Society representation in DOT Force discussions.
However, in the absence of such organizations with national or international legitimacy,
they may, on an ad hoc basis select groups which are inappropriate
(for example, lacking a depth of experience or knowledge in the sector)
or are unrepresentative.
You are invited to join the e-list DotForce@vcn.bc.ca to discuss the role of
Civil Society in relation to global ICT initiatives, the development of a Civil
Society organization or organizations in the ICT sector, and the broader issues
of Civil Society representation and legitimacy in an ICT mediated context.
(from moderator's Note)
DOTForce e-list Archive
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