The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) yesterday opened its high-level meeting with a focus on the global gap in access to information technology.

In his address to the opening of the three-day session, ECOSOC President Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia said information technology is a potentially powerful tool for eradicating poverty. "The developing countries largely missed out on tapping into the industrial revolution," he said. "That should not happen again. They should not miss the opportunities this time around" (UN Newservice, 5 Jul).

The theme of the ECOSOC summit is "Development and Cooperation in the 21st Century: the Role of Information Technology in the Context of the Knowledge-based Global Economy." Wibisono said the world is experiencing a convergence of globalization, interdependence and the information revolution, resulting in many challenges, risks and opportunities. "Our great challenge, therefore, during the high-level segment ... is to seek ways and means to overcome the broad spectrum of constraints blocking access and connectivity for the developing countries and to explore strategies at the national, regional and global levels to effectively harness the most powerful technological revolution of our time," Wibisono said (Jerome Hule, Panafrican News Agency, 5 Jul).

US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers also addressed the ECOSOC meeting, saying global development "must be the moral question of our time when 1.2 billion people on this planet live on less than $1 a day." Summers, the keynote speaker at yesterday's session, said the "new economy" holds tremendous potential for the developing world. However, "when half of the world's population has yet to use a telephone and 40% of African adults cannot read, there is perhaps an equal chance that technology will speed further divergence," he said (William Reilly, United Press International, 6 Jul).

Summers also said education is a key component of providing poor people with access to information technology. "In large parts of Africa today, young girls are more likely to die before reaching the age of five than they are to learn to read," he said. "To put it bluntly, until we see substantial improvement in these figures, the dream of putting the world's poorest citizens on a fast track to technology and growth will remain just that: a dream" (Marjorie Olster, Vancouver Sun, 6 Jul).

In addition, Summers addressed issues involving international lending institutions, saying they should focus their efforts on providing capital where private lenders will not go. "In the public as in the private sector, questions of pricing in finance will be central in the years ahead," Summers said. "Central to assuring that finance is properly used, and central to mobilizing the kind of resources that will be necessary if truly concessional needs are to be met" (Bloomberg News/Baltimore Sun, 6 Jul).

In her address to the ECOSOC meeting, UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette said the UN can play a leading role in ensuring that the benefits of globalization reach all countries. "To make real progress in this direction, we must make (information technology) an integral component of all our development programs," she said. Frechette also advocated the creation of a "digital bridge fund" to channel technological resources and equipment from donors. "With strong partnerships, appropriate resources and political will, the digital divide can and will be bridged," she said (UN Newservice).

World Bank President James Wolfensohn also addressed the ECOSOC session, saying the Internet should be used for a common information base for development projects. "The Internet is not a luxury," Wolfensohn said. "It is not an alternative to bread. It allows us to bring knowledge and opportunities to people at all levels in all parts of the world" (Bina Venkataraman, Earth Times, 6 Jul).

World Trade Organization Director-General Mike Moore also commended the benefits of information technology, saying it is "an important tool for assisting distance and local cultures." Moore also discouraged regulation and taxation of the Internet, saying "the absence of expensive regulations is the Internet's big strength and it should be kept that way" (UN Newservice).

Rubens Ricupero, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, said promoting information technology is not enough. "Development program investment remains as key to growth in the digital age as in the railroad age," he said, saying new technologies require large-scale investments to promote access, market development and cultural adaptations (Venkataraman, Earth Times).

When it concludes, the three-day ECOSOC meeting is expected to issue a ministerial declaration endorsing a global action plan involving the United Nations, international agencies, countries and the private sector. Meanwhile, the UN Volunteers Program has launched its own Web site in an effort to mobilize volunteers to help bridge the technological gap between rich and poor (UN Newservice).

Click here for a UN press release on yesterday's ECOSOC meeting, here for the text of Frechette's remarks, and here for the text of Summers's remarks.