FC: Another Digital Divide effort: Launch of The Public Voice

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[They apear to be asking for comments on how to bridge the digital divide, 
a phrase that is fast becoming less and less meaningful, when 
Asian-Americans are better connected than Caucasian-Americans, the rate of 
Internet adoption may be higher among African-Americans, and people who are 
offline in poor sections of the globe likely  care more about food than 
email. But collecting comments should be a worthy task, so perhaps I'm 
being too critical. --Declan]

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Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 09:21:04 -0500
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>, politech () politechbot com
From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenberg () epic org>
Subject: The Public Voice and the Digital Opportunity

[Please submit a comment and forward the message.]

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          The Public Voice and the Digital Opportunity
=======================================================================

When the leaders of the "G-8" countries gathered last summer in
Okinawa they sought to address one of the great challenges of the
Information Society -- how to ensure that the benefits of new
technology are widely shared around the world.  They set out a
charter on the Global Information Society and said that:

        The potential benefits of IT in spurring competition,
        promoting enhanced productivity, and creating and sustaining
        economic growth and jobs hold significant promise. Our task
        is not only to stimulate and facilitate the transition to an
        information society, but also to reap its full economic,
        social and cultural benefits.

They also established a Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force) to
solicit opinions from a wide range of organizations about what should
be done to address the challenge and opportunity.

Now a new project has been launched to promote public participation
in the DOT Force consultation.  The Public Voice is urging Internet
users, particularly from Emerging Market Economies, to express their
views on what should be done to close the Digital Divide.  We are
looking for ideas that are original, creative, captivating, and
energizing.

We want to hear from students, from educators, and from artists. We
are interested in the opinions of craftsmen and writers, workers and
poets.  We want to hear from children and from parents.  From
municipal leaders and from people who have never used a computer.
What would you say to the G-8 leaders about Digital Opportunities?

We will bring together your suggestions and present them to the DOT
Force.  Please respond by February 15.  And encourage others to
respond.

Submit Your Comments on Closing the Digital Divide:

     http://www.thepublicvoice.org/dotforce/comment.html

The Public Voice Dot Force Project:

     http://www.thepublicvoice.org/dotforce/

Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society:

     http://www.g8kyushu-okinawa.go.jp/e/documents/it1.html

The DOT Force web site:

     http://www.dotforce.org

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