G8 to meet developing nations on digital divide

From...

July 19, 2000
Web posted at: 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 GMT)

by Martyn Williams

TOKYO (IDG) -- Ahead of this weekend's Group of Eight summit in Okinawa, Japan, leaders of the world's seven largest industrialized nations will meet Thursday in Tokyo with leaders of developing nations, representatives of the private sector and development organizations to discuss issues related to global poverty and bridging the digital divide.

The meetings, the first held in conjunction with a G8 summit, will include leaders from several African nations and representatives of the Non-Aligned Movement, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Organization of American States and the G-7/E-7. A second round of meetings will also include executives from major information technology companies like Sony and Cisco Systems, and organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Program and World Bank.

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They are part of a number of meetings and studies that are laying the ground for the upcoming meeting at which information technology will be top of the agenda.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called on G8 leaders to address the digital divide last week just days after G7 Finance Ministers, in a pre-summit meeting, agreed to promote information technology as a way to boost the world's economies.

At a press briefing in Washington on Monday, U.S. Deputy National Economic Advisor Jim Steinberg confirmed IT is at the top of U.S. President Bill Clinton's summit agenda.

"This is something where the president's experience in the domestic context, on closing the domestic digital divide will be helpful as we think about how to address the even more challenging problem of the global digital divide," said Steinberg in a transcript of the briefing provided by the White House.

"He also will be harking back to his experiences in India, where he observed a new mother getting information about how to care for her baby on the Internet in a local community access site, where he observed people getting their drivers licenses off the Internet in Hyderabad, and also some of the world's leading entrepreneurs functioning in India in a developing economy."

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WEF to deliver digital divide message to G8
(IDG.net)
U.N.'s Annan on digital democracy at G8 summit
(IDG.net)
Putting the world back into the Web
(PCWorld.com)
Access up, divide shrinks
(The Industry Standard)
Digital divide may narrow by 2005
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Asian governments address Digital Divide
(IDG.net)
Clinton urges action on digital divide
(IDG.net)

G8 Online
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
World Health Organization (WHO)
United Nations Development Program
Organization of American States

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