THE CLINTON/GORE ADMINISTRATION:
FROM GLOBAL DIGITAL DIVIDE TO DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY
President Clinton and Other G-8 Leaders to Create Digital Opportunity
Taskforce
July 22, 2000
TODAY, THE CLINTON/GORE ADMINISTRATION WILL ANNOUNCE NEW EFFORTS BY THE
PUBLIC AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO BRIDGE THE GLOBAL DIGITAL DIVIDE:
The Clinton/Gore Administration will announce new public and private sector
efforts to bridge the global digital divide and to create digital
opportunity for the people of the developing world.
? President Clinton and other G-8 Heads of State will support creation of
Digital Opportunity Taskforce: As part of the Okinawa Charter on the
Global Information Society, which will be released at the G-8 Summit,
President Clinton and the other G-8 leaders will establish a Digital
Opportunity Task Force, or "dot force." The dot force will mobilize the
resources and coordinate the efforts of governments, the private sector,
foundations, multilateral and international institutions and others to
bridge the international digital divide and create digital opportunity.
? President Clinton will challenge private sector to join with him to close
the Global Digital Divide: President Clinton is also issuing a "Global Call
To Action" to encourage the U.S. private sector to get involved. This
"Call To Action" has already been endorsed by leading high-tech companies
and non-profit organizations.
This issue is a long-standing priority for the Administration. Vice
President Gore unveiled the Administration's vision of a "Global
Information Infrastructure" in a major policy address in 1994, and has led
Administration efforts to promote the expansion of the Internet in
developing countries.
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE NOT YET FULL PARTICIPANTS IN THE INFORMATION
REVOLUTION
? Of the estimated 332 million people online as of March 2000, less than 1
percent (2.77 million) live in Africa. (Nua Internet Surveys, March 2000.)
? Less than 5 percent of the computers that are connected to the Internet
are in developing countries.
? The developed world has 49.5 phone lines per 100 people, compared to 1.4
phones in low-income countries. (International Telecommunications Union,
1999.)
PRESIDENT CLINTON AND CORPORATE AND NON-PROFIT LEADERS WILL ANNOUNCE NEW
STEPS TO BRING DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOPING WORLD
? The Clinton-Gore Administration will invite 7 developing countries to
join the Internet for Economic Development (IED) Initiative, bringing the
total to 20.
? The Ex-Im Bank will accept the credit of states and other subsovereign
entities in many emerging markets, expanding access to U.S. Information
Technology Products and Services.
? The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will establish a $200
million line of credit for E-commerce and Digital Divide projects in
developing countries.
? Markle Foundation, World Economic Forum, IBM, Harvard University, United
Nations Development Program and UN Foundation will create a network
readiness initiative - available to all developing nations.
? United Nations Development Program, Andersen Consulting, and Markle
Foundation will develop a strategy and implementation plan for bridging the
Digital Divide.
? Cisco Systems will expand its Cisco Networking Academies to 24 of the
Least Developed Nations.
? Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce (GBDe) will partner with
ASEAN nations to strengthen E-Commerce policies.
? Intel will expand "Teach to the Future" (technology training for
teachers) in at least 10 more countries, including developing countries in
Africa, Asia, Middle East and South America.
? AOL will launch four international PowerUP Sites in 2001 in four
countries.
? StarMedia Foundation & Partners will expand IT Training Program for
Low-Income Youth to all Latin American countries.
? Microsoft will support 4 Digital Divide projects in India, Columbia,
Korea and Russia.
###
A LIST OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR INITATIVES TO BRING
DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
? President Clinton and Other G-8 Heads of State will support creation of
Digital Opportunity Taskforce: As part of the forthcoming Okinawa Charter
on the Global Information Society, the United States and other G-8 nations
will help create a Digital Opportunity Taskforce. The "dot force" will
mobilize resources and coordinate the efforts of governments, the private
sector, foundations, multilateral and international institutions and others
to bridge the international digital divide and create digital opportunity.
Among other steps, the task force is expected to:
- Foster appropriate policy and regulatory environments by supporting the
provision of policy advice and facilitating the sharing of experiences
among developing countries and other partners;
- Improve connectivity by mobilizing resources to support community access
programs and encourage the development of IT hardware and software tailored
to the special needs of developing countries;
- Build human capacity by focusing on basic education and lifelong learning
with a particular emphasis on building IT skills among users and policy
professionals; and
- Encourage participation in global e-commerce by increasing e-commerce
readiness and use, and providing advice to start-up businesses in
developing countries.
The Okinawa Charter also highlights the importance of promoting
applications of IT - such as publicly available "digital libraries" that
allow nations to share their cultural heritage.
? President Clinton will challenge private sector to join with him to close
the Global Digital Divide: President Clinton will issue a Global Call To
Action to close the digital divide and to create digital opportunity in
developing countries. The call to action challenges companies, foundations
and non-profit organizations to work together to create digital access and
education for all by the year 2010. Already, many of America's leading
high-tech companies and non-profit organizations have endorsed this Global
Call to Action.
? President Clinton will expand Internet for Economic Development
Initiative to 20 Developing Countries: The Internet for Economic
Development (IED) initiative is an Administration effort led by Vice
President Gore to encourage the spread of the Internet and e-commerce in
developing countries. Consistent with the goals of the G-8 Summit, Guyana,
Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Romania and Senegal are being invited to
join IED in July 2000, bringing the total number of countries to 20. The
initiative focuses on telecommunications policy development,
infrastructure, training, and applications. Significant results have
already been achieved. In Uganda, for example, USAID, in collaboration
with the World Bank, is installing computer labs, Internet access, and
teacher training in dozens of schools and teacher training institutes that
will reach more than 7,000 students a year.
? The Ex-Im Bank will accept the credit of States and other Subsovereign
Entities in in many Emerging Markets, expanding access to U.S. Information
Technology Products and Services: The Export-Import Bank of the United
States (Ex-Im Bank) has decided to accept the credit of state, provincial,
city and other subsovereign entities that have received a sufficient rating
from a global credit rating agency. This new initiative will immediately
benefit subsovereign entities located in the emerging-market countries of
Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Latvia, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia, and South Korea by giving them
enhanced access to U.S. goods and services, including cutting-edge U.S.
information technology and technology-related services, to help address
their infrastructure needs. Ex-Im Bank is exploring ways to expand this
initiative in the near future to encompass an even greater number of
subsovereign entities. This initiative responds to the requests of leading
American IT companies.
- more -
? The Overseas Private Investment Corporation will establish a $200 Million
line of credit for E-Commerce and Digital Divide Projects in Developing
Countries: OPIC will establish a $200 million line of credit for U.S.
companies seeking support for e-commerce and IT projects, and for projects
that will help close the digital divide in developing countries. OPIC will
give priority to applications for support in these sectors, and will also
participate in the U.S. Government's outreach efforts to highlight
investment opportunities in developing countries. This announcement builds
on OPIC's track record in this area. OPIC has issued over 350 U.S.
insurance contracts for technology projects, and OPIC supports over 100
telecommunications projects through its insurance and financing programs.
? The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will implement work
plans with key developing countries to ensure adoption of procompetitive
regulatory regimes and to promote telecommunications infrastructure
buildout: Since mid-1999, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
has worked under its newly-announced development initiative with Ghana,
Uganda, South Africa, Peru, Jamaica and Argentina to strengthen regulatory
bodies in these countries with the aim of decreasing the digital divide
and promoting the development of telecommunications infrastructure.
Additional countries will be added in 2000, including India, Thailand and
the Philippines.
? Markle Foundation, World Economic Forum, IBM, Harvard University, United
Nations Development Program and UN Foundation will create a network
readiness initiative - available to all developing nations: A
public-private partnership of leading companies, foundations and
non-governmental organizations will launch a new Global Network Readiness
and Resource Initiative - intended to help developing countries become full
participants in the Global Information Society. The initiative will have
two major components. First, partners will sponsor the development of
country-specific Self Assessment Readiness Guides, building on the work of
APEC, the World Bank, and Harvard University's Center for International
Development. Second, the initiative will create a Global Task Force to
offer pro bono advice to the developing nation governments and private
sector entities.
? United Nations Development Program, Andersen Consulting, Markle
Foundation will develop strategy and implementation plan for bridging the
Digital Divide: To support the activities of the Digital Opportunity Task
Force, the United Nations, Andersen Consulting, and the Markle Foundation
will join forces to create a strategy and implementation plan for bridging
the digital divide. The implementation plan will suggest a broad timetable
and set specific targets for bridging the digital divide. Andersen
Consulting expects to contribute about $3 million worth of personnel and
other resources to the 12-month project, which with the contribution of
these and additional partners is estimated to be a $10 million initiative.
? Cisco Systems will expand its Cisco Network Academy Program to 24 of the
Least Developed Countries: Cisco Systems will invest $3.5 million to expand
its Cisco Networking Academy Program to 24 of the least developed
countries. The program teaches people around the world to design, build
and maintain computer networks. To implement this initiative, Cisco will
partner with the USAID Leland Initiative, the United Nations Development
Program, the Peace Corps, and United Nations Volunteers.
? Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce will partner with ASEAN
nations on E-Commerce Policies: The Global Business Dialogue on Electronic
Commerce (GBDe), a group of leading e-commerce companies, will work with
the eASEAN initiative and other representatives of developing countries to
identify the policy and regulatory issues that must be addressed to speed
Internet adoption and the development of e-commerce. Issues to be
addressed include telecommunications, encryption, intellectual property,
trade barriers, electronic contracting and digital signatures, privacy and
consumer protection.
? Intel Will Expand Its "Teach to the Future" program to additional
Developing Nations: Intel, with support from companies such as Microsoft,
has launched a "Teach to The Future" initiative, which is focused on
providing over 400,000 classroom teachers with the skills to effectively
apply technology to their curriculum. The estimated total investment by
all participating corporations exceeds half a billion dollars.
Universities or other agencies with appropriate expertise are selected to
translate and adapt the curriculum to the local culture and educational
environment. Intel is committed to implementing Intel Teach to the Future
in at least 10 additional countries and is actively working with agencies
and ministries of education in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South
America.
-more -
? PowerUP will expand its program to four international sites in 2001: AOL
will launch four international PowerUP sites in 2001 in four countries.
PowerUP (www.powerup.org) is a collaborative effort from corporations and
government organizations to give youth the resources they need to acquire
skills for success in the digital age. PowerUP currently includes more
than 250 existing and planned after-school sites in the U.S. The pilot
international program will provide resources donated from partners,
including Gateway (computers), Hewlett Packard (printers), AOL (Internet
accounts) and full-time staff and volunteer mentors who will adapt the
program to meet the needs of various cultures, languages and economies.
? AOL and its corporate partners will create an international channel for
the Digital Divide Network: AOL and its corporate partners will expand
their successful online clearinghouse of information about solutions to the
digital divide - www.digitaldividenetwork.org - to serve international
audiences as well as domestic ones. The Digital Divide includes grants,
funding opportunities, best practices and toolkits for bridging the digital
divide. The new "International Channel" within the Digital Divide Network
will include links to the best available resources around the world and a
community chat area for international partners and members to discuss and
exchange ideas fir program and policy initiatives. The Digital Divide
Network will begin making content available in other languages, starting
with the International Channel.
? StarMedia Foundation and its Partners will expand IT Training Program for
Low-Income Youth to all of Latin America: The StarMedia Foundation, the
Inter-American Development Bank and CDI Brazil have created a partnership
to bridge the digital divide among low-income Latin American youth. The
partnership, Committee for Democratization of Information Technology
Americas (CDI Americas), builds on a successful model demonstrated in
Brazil, which has graduated 40,000 students from the favelas in the last
five years. The program teaches basic computer, Internet and hardware
maintenance skills to underprivileged youth in an intensive 3-month module.
Young people who have completed this training have been able to get jobs
with some of Latin America's leading Internet companies.
? Microsoft will support 4 new projects to close the Digital Divide worth
more than $1 million: Microsoft will provide more than $1 million in cash
and software grants to four new projects, including a multimedia computer
center for children in India with developmental disabilities, a computer
lab with trained staff in a poor Columbian school district, and 5 computer
centers which will train 500 young people in Western Siberia. This is an
addition to Microsoft's $21 million ($8 million in cash and $13 million in
Microsoft software) in support for projects outside of the United States in
the year 2000 alone.
? United States Telecommunications Training Institute will train additional
170 senior policy makers and regulators from Developing Countries: The
USTTI will provide free training on Internet and e-commerce policy issues
to an additional 170 senior communications officials and regulators from
developing countries. Since its creation, USTTI has trained 5,670
regulators, entrepreneurs and other leaders from developing countries.
? CEO Forum on Education and Technology will create a self-assessment tool
for Developing Nations: The CEO Forum plans to develop a "self-assessment
tool" to permit nations, regions, districts and schools to systematically
examine their use of technology in education. Such a self-assessment can
serve as a platform for future plans to improve the use of technology in
delivering top quality instruction. While some self-assessment tools exist
for education technology, none of them have been adapted for developing
nations. This will permit governments and educational institutions to
develop programs to leverage technology for students with the best set of
options that will enable world-class digital content to be integrated into
an educational curriculum.
###
THE IMPORTANCE OF BRIDGING THE GLOBAL DIGITAL DIVIDE
? There is a large "digital divide" between developed and developing
countries:
- Of the estimated 332 million people online as of March 2000, less
than 1 percent
(2.77 million) live in Africa. [Source: Nua Internet Surveys, March
2000.]
- Less than 5 percent of the computers that are connected to the
Internet are in developing countries. [Source: International
Telecommunications Union, Challenges to the Network: Internet for
Development, 1999.]
- The developed world has 49.5 phone lines per 100 people, compared to
1.4 phones in low-income countries. Lack of a telecommunications
infrastructure is a serious impediment to the growth of the
Internet. [Source: International Telecommunications Union, World
Telecommunication Development Report, 1999.]
- Africa outside of South Africa generates only 0.02 percent of global
Internet content. [Source: World Bank, The Digital Divide and the World
Bank Group, May 2000.]
? The global divide between developed and developing countries is growing:
- A recently created Index of Technological Progress demonstrated that
access to technology became more unequal between 1992 and 1997, far
more rapidly than differences in income distribution. The index
measured personal computers, Internet hosts, fax machines, mobile
phones, and televisions. [Source: E. Wilson and F. Rodriguez, Are
Poor Countries Losing the Internet Revolution? 1999.]
? It is critical that developing countries participate in the networked
economy:
- Global electronic commerce could reach $7 trillion by 2004.
[Source: Industry Standard, February 21, 2000.]
- As much as one half of the difference between Africa's manufactured
exports as a share of GDP and East Asia's share could be accounted for by
weak communications networks in Africa. [Source: World Bank, The
Networking Revolution: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing
Countries, June 2000.]
? Promoting competition and privatization in the telecommunications sector
is key to bridging the global digital divide:
- Only 12 percent of local telecommunications markets in developing
countries
are liberalized.
- In the 5 years following privatization of telecommunications
companies in Peru, the number of fixed lines increased 165 percent, the
number of mobile lines increased from 20,000 to nearly half a million,
and access among the poorest households increased from near zero to
around 20 percent.
[Source: World Bank, The Networking Revolution: Opportunities and
Challenges for Developing Countries, June 2000.]
###
President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House | White House for Kids
White House History | White House Tours | Help
Privacy Statement