The Hindu : 'IT future lies in developing world'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 12, 2003

International

International - India & World

'IT future lies in developing world'

By Anand Parthasarathy

Geneva Dec. 10. "We today have the tools and the potential to propel us into the future. The challenge is what to do with it," said the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, throwing open the first World Summit on the Information Society. "The future of Information Technology lies in the developing world." "The Internet is enabling e-health and e-schools and helping articulate the hopes and concerns at the local level."

"The so called "digital divide" is actually several divides: a technological divide in infrastructure; a language divide with much of the content in English, a gender divide for women in many nations; a commercial divide where e-commerce reaches only some... . indeed the digital divide is the biggest non-tariff barrier to world trade today."

The summit is being seen as the first big coming together of the nations to discuss its cyber future — and as significant as the first Rio Conference was for the environment.

M.S. Swaminathan, noted agriculture scientist, who addressed the UNESCO-sponsored symposium on "Shaping the Knowledge Society," highlighted two concepts that ought to lie at the root of future efforts in knowledge sharing: Gandhiji' s principle of "antyodaya" - sharing with the neediest of the needy, and the idea that we are trustees not owners of knowledge sharing systems.

In a subtle way he set the agenda for what is likely to be the hottest subject of discussion at the summit over the next few days: Who owns the Internet?

American ownership of key Internet resources and its ability to influence its future direction is troubling many developing nations and they are said to be prepared to bring the discussion out into the open at Geneva. But there is an equally powerful lobby ready to remind all comers that the U.S. virtually gifted the Internet to the world a decade ago.

The Kerala Government IT Mission is projecting its "e-saksharatha" initiatives. The State Industry Minister, P.K. Kunhalikutty, who is here, told The Hindu that there was lively interest in the Akshaya e-learning project that started in Malappuram and slated to be taken to all districts.

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