UNV/UNITeS participates in U.N. special session on ICT

The U.N. General Assembly held a two-day session in June 2002 on information technology and development, agreeing on the need to bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor countries but differing on who should lead and primarily fund efforts.

Manuel Acevedo, who heads the E-Volunteering Unit at United Nations Volunteers, in charge of UNV's UNITeS and Online Volunteering initiatives, was in attendance at the special session.

Costa Rican representative Bernd Niehaus said the only way for developing countries to close their digital gap with the developed world is through strong political commitment in poor countries to investing in the future and to building the necessary infrastructure to engage the technological revolution. Cuba and Brazil's representatives, however, said most developing countries need to devote their limited resources on more pressing needs like raising nutritional levels and eradicating illiteracy, and that the West should provide assistance to offer technology to the poor (U.N. release, June 18).

In a statement on the last day of the event, General Assembly President Han Seung-soo called for the problem to be addressed from political and economic commitments by both developed and developing countries. Although the information technology needs of poor countries will "require support from the international community," he said, "the potential of collaboration among developing countries (South-South cooperation) should also be fully explored." Han called technological advances "a strategic instrument for achieving the Millennium Development Goals," saying they can "bridge the distance between rural and urban populations" and "significantly strengthen the global fight against diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria" (U.N. release II, June 18). He added that widespread use of new technologies can empower women, the elderly and the disabled (U.N. release III, June 18).

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan addressed the session on the first day, urging long-term efforts to promote technological equality "based on the real needs of those we are seeking to help."

"In recent years, we have witnessed a number of very promising initiatives that, regrettably, did not live up to expectations," Annan said. He attributed the failings of such projects, in part, to "insufficient long-term commitment on the part of initiators and sponsors" (U.N. release, June 17).

The General Assembly convened the session to help prepare for the World Summit on the Information Society, which is slated to be held next year in Geneva, with a second summit session set for Tunis in 2005 (U.N. release III, June 17).