An international exploratory workshop met for three days this week in Bonn to discuss UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's recent UNITeS initiative.

The goal of UNITeS, or the United Nations Information Technology Service, is to help bridge the digital divide through volunteers skilled in information technology (IT) and extend the benefits of the digital revolution to developing countries.

The workshop was a direct follow-up to the Secretary-General's initiative announced in his Millenium Report, "We the Peoples," in April, where he asked United Nations Volunteers (UNV) to help coordinate the effort. UNV hosted the workshop.

This was a very first important step to crystallize the idea and vision of the Secretary-General," said UNV Executive Coordinator Sharon Capeling-Alakija in summing up three days of intensive discussions.

The workshop discussed concepts, operational strategy as well as organizational structure in exploring how to move forward and as quickly as possible to implement this initiative. All agreed on the importance of UNITeS in the drive to bridge the digital divide. The international experts pledged to continue their involvement in this effort.

The international IT experts came on their own personal capacity from 10 different countries around the world -- India, South Africa, Morocco, USA, Nigeria, Cuba, South Africa, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. Some of the participants are also members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) panel of experts that is preparing a special session on IT in July in New York.

"The composition of this working group closely mirrored our initial concept of UNITeS: global, open, and diverse," Capeling-Alakija also said.

The workshop decided to report the results of its work to the Secretary General within two weeks.

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