Clinton lauds Argentine schools computer plan

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By H残tor Calabia

(IDG) -- Information technology offers an unprecedented opportunity to help developing countries solve problems with their educational, health care and economic systems in less time than in the past, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on a brief visit devoted to fund-raising for the educational portal, Educ.ar.

"This age will be defined not (as the era of) global economics, or even as the explosion of information technology, or the advances in biological sciences, or the dramatic increase in social diversity and complexity, but as the human consequence of all these events, which is the greatest interdependence within and beyond national borders in all of human history," Clinton said. "What happens in Argentina affects a lot of people in America."

Speaking to an audience of about 600 at the recently opened Buenos Aires Hilton Hotel, Clinton advocated enabling access to the Internet and to information technologies for poor people, arguing that although that costs money, it will be more costly later if countries remain poor and lack education.

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About half of those in attendance paid a minimum $1,000 or donated a computer for the country schools in order to hear Clinton speak. About $250,000 was raised at the event, of which about $120,000 plus expenses were paid to Clinton, according to unofficial reports. The event was organized by the Varsavsky Foundation, on behalf of the Argentine portal Educ.ar, which is devoted to providing content to the Argentine school system.

During his administration, the percentage of U.S. schools connected to the Internet jumped from 14 percent to 95 percent, Clinton said. In Argentina, only about 5 percent of elementary schools have some sort of Internet connection, and only about 16 percent of secondary schools are connected. The funds raised at the event will be devoted to providing Internet access to more schools in poor districts and provinces in Argentina.

The Argentine government is taking the right approach as it prepares to expand Internet connectivity to schools, placing emphasis on training teachers in new technologies before sending computers to the schools, Clinton said. The U.S. took the opposite approach and found that computers gathered dust because teachers, lacking basic training, did not know how to use them, he said.

After his talk, Clinton had lunch with Argentine President Fernando de la R彗 at the presidential residence at a Buenos Aires suburb. In the evening, Clinton flew to the Brazilian financial capital, S黍 Paulo.

Educ.ar is a semi-official educational portal initially funded by an $11 million donation from the Argentine entrepreneur Mart地 Varsavsky, founder of the Jazztel Group, a holding of communication and Internet companies led by Jazztel PLC.