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UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND Microfinance |
Issue 4 / July - August 2004 |
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News | Revolutionizing Access to Information and Markets Towards a Net World Order
By Kyle Cheney In May, the Business Council for the United Nations (BCUN) hosted The Net World Order, its second annual series of panels, showcases and lectures about bridging the “digital divide,” or technological gap, between developed and developing countries. The panel, “The United Nations and the Private Sector: Technology Partnerships in Action” discussed how the combination of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and the building of strong relationships among government, the private sector and civil society “can revolutionize worldwide access to information and markets.” The panel included Daniel Aghion, Executive Director of the Wireless Internet Institute; Sirkka Korpela, Director for Business Partnerships at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Laketch Dirasse, Chief of the Africa Section of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM); Sarbuland Khan, Executive coordinator at the UN-ICT Task Force; Safradou Yeboah-Amankwah, a partner at McKinsey & Company; and Ahmad Kamal, founder of the Ambassador’s Club at the United Nations. Nane Annan, lawyer, painter and wife of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, gave the opening remarks, saying “ICT can help accelerate economic growth and enable poor countries to meet key development priorities.” She noted that Afghanistan was a country that until a few years ago had banned the use of the Internet and now, thanks to increased access to ICT, is using some of the latest technologies. “Telecentres in the capital Kabul are using some of the newest wireless technologies to enable girls as well as boys to learn about computers and the Internet,” Nane Annan said. Korpela spoke broadly about the United Nations’ involvement in spreading technology throughout the third world. Development “takes all parts of society” and is not solely a governments responsibility, Korpela asserted. She explained that the UN’s role is to “facilitate the bringing together of governments with private sector companies and civil society” as a way to discuss issues and develop solutions. Dirasse echoed the sentiments of several speakers and also mentioned the plight of women in developing nations. “Poverty is increasingly having a female face throughout Africa,” she said. “Mobilizing Africans to come together” and share their knowledge of technology is a necessary step in promoting technological development. Not all of the speakers were satisfied, despite the constant praise for current technology programs. Yeboah-Amankwah expressed disappointment for the current state of education in the developing world, pointing to technology as one solution. He said that 400 million of the world’s 1.3 billion children are not in school and that in locations where schools operate, many have “appalling” teacher-student ratios. “The education system is quite broken,” Yeboah-Amankwah concluded. Nane Annan also emphasized the importance of education, saying it is key to meeting all the Millennium Development Goals and that ICT has the potential to “empower communities by giving them access to knowledge.” “Email and downloadable course curriculum will allow not only children to learn, but also empower women and minorities, and anyone who can access a computer,” she said. With optimistic conviction, Khan noted the relationships forming between rich and poor nations for the first time in the history of the UN. He said that the improvement of technology in developing countries will “serve as a catalyst for innovative partnerships.” One of the strongest statements of the day came from Kamal, who served as a diplomat for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 40 years. “The UN charter begins with
‘we the peoples,’” he began. “Only together can we deliver
on the promise of the better world toward which the UN has been striving.”
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