Computer Weekly looks at how IT has contributed to the increasing
gap between rich and poor
If Robin Hood were alive today, he would probably be deeply
concerned about what technology is doing to the world. He would be
railing against the inequalities of IT, the fact that it makes rich
societies richer and poor societies poorer in comparison.
While there is no doubt that IT has been a boon to many and helped
the business world to prosper, it has also widened the gap between
the rich and the poor, creating a world of information-haves and
have-nots.
It is what is known as the digital divide. Even within developed,
there is a gap between those who have access to IT and those who do
not, but the problem is most acute in developing countries.
However, the effect of technology on poorer nations has not been
all negative. It can be, and has been, deployed to rebuild
economies, establish new trade routes with the developed world and
help disadvantaged people improve their prospects.
This is why the United Nations has designated
2001 as the year of "Bridging the Digital Divide". Each year the UN
pinpoints a global issue that requires particular attention - last
year, it was "Human Rights and Human Development" and the year
before was "Globalisation with a Human Face".
For the Bridging the Digital Divide campaign, the UN has been
bringing together representatives from around the world to discuss
what is happening in their countries, how technology could improve
conditions and how it could be implemented. It brought out a study
- the Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work
for Human Development - which shows just how far some third world
countries are lagging behind the developed world in terms of
technology use.
The scope of technology is much broader than just bits, bytes and
Internet access. The UN is also concerned with technology in the
fields of science, agriculture and medicine.
For the ordinary person to find out what the UN has actually been
doing in its campaign is not an easy task. In the main, it has
brought together world leaders, drawn up strategic guidelines and
issued various reports, most of which are very wordy and
repetitive.
It has identified several key areas that world leaders need to be
addressing to bridge the divide: leadership, vision, skills, the
creation of clear policies and strategies and ensuring the right
infrastructure and legislation is in place to push technology
forward.
If technology is to become a significant force in developing
countries, individual governments and businesses need to ensure
that there is the right environment and frameworks for it to grow.
This means a culture of co-operation and integration.
The UN believes developed countries have a responsibility to assist
the third world in harnessing technology. When Tim Berners-Lee
created the World-Wide Web in the 1980s, his vision was of global
connectivity and the free sharing of ideas, information and goods
between people all around the world. He is greatly disappointed
that many of the people who could benefit from the technology most
- the disadvantaged living in developing countries - have been
denied access to it and instead find themselves left even further
behind by the rest of the world.
"Technology has certainly increased the divide between the haves
and the have-nots," says Berners-Lee. "It is very important to
invest in helping third world countries get up to speed. It is the
duty of richer countries to help."
Berners-Lee is the director of the World-Wide Web Consortium, a
forum of companies and organisations set up in 1994 to oversee the
development of the Web. He believes part of its responsibility is
to help people from developing countries get online. To do this,
there needs to be the right technology in place to make it
feasible.
"Internet technology was invented by the West for the West and
relies on an established network of telephone lines that use
modems," he says. "We should be looking at making technology that
works without an organised social structure, such as wireless
communications."
The UN has highlighted telecommunications as the key to opening up
access to IT, and there is a strong demand for new wireless
technology.
This is particularly important in places such as India or Russia
where huge populations are spread across vast areas. Just as there
is a divide between developed and developing countries, so there is
often a divide within countries themselves. As technology, skills
and training are concentrated in the cities, rural economies are
left to flounder.
Countries need to build digital communities that include all
citizens. Skills and training are essential to make this a success,
as there is little point putting IT in place if there are
insufficient resources to support it.
India is a prime example of a country that has capitalised on the
benefits of creating an IT-literate workforce. According to the UN,
its software exports exceeded $4bn (£2.5bn) in 2000 and the service
economy contributed to more than 60% of the economy output in IT
hubs such as Mumbai (formerly Bombay) last year.
The campaign is not about simply giving third world citizens the
same technology enjoyed by people in the West. It is about enabling
access to technology that will help them in their everyday lives,
particularly in terms of education and helping them to trade with
developed countries.
Then there are things that Westerners take for granted, such as
access to political, social and medical information. "For many,
simple e-mail services and access to basic health and lifestyle
information would be a giant step forward," says John Fisher, chief
executive of UK organisation CitizensOnline. "It is about
empowering them to build their own digital communities and not
copying the consumerist models from elsewhere."
These are the advantages that can make the biggest difference to
impoverished societies.
To find out more about the UN's activities go to
www.undp.orgNext week Xtra! looks at how IT organisations are attempting to
overcome the digital divide