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Bridging the
digital divide
Papua New Guinea will
continue to remain light years behind the rest of the world if
we do not jump on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
bandwagon in this globalised world. MALUM NALU reports.
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries
including PNG met in Taiwan's capital Taipei for a week-long
APEC Digital Opportunities Centre (ADOC) Small and Medium
Enterprises (SME) Entrepreneurship Workshop funded by the
Taiwanese government.
Among other issues participants discussed the phenomenon of the
so-called "digital divide".
I attended the workshop and while in Taiwan could only shake my
head in bewilderment as I browsed The National and Post-Courier
newspapers on hi-tech wireless Internet for the latest news from
home.
I might add here that while the newspapers were spot on, same
could not be said of the Electoral Commission website, as there
were no election updates the whole time I was in Taiwan.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) monopoly in
PNG, exorbitant telephone and Internet costs, as well as
unupdated websites for such an events as the PNG national
elections, all contribute to this digital divide.
Taiwan has a very reliable and cheap telecommunications system
and is a hi-tech country where almost everyone has a mobile
phone and a computer.
Wireless internet is everywhere, meaning that you can use your
laptop anywhere, without the need for a wire connection.
PNG will continue to remain light years behind the rest of the
world if we do not jump on the ICT bandwagon in this globalised
world.
As APEC member economies including PNG strive to build their ICT
infrastructure necessary for the development of what economists
called the "New Economy" - based on ICT - the phenomenon of the
Digital Divide is also emerging.
To tackle the divide, the establishment of the APEC Digital
Opportunity Centre (ADOC) was advocated by Taiwan at the 11th
World Leaders' Economic Summit in Bangkok, 2003.
It was envisaged as a concrete step towards realising the goals
set out by APEC leaders at the 9th APEC meeting.
During this meeting, the e-APEC strategy was specified:
* Transform the Digital Divide into a digital opportunity; and
* Prepare APEC economies to use the Information Revolution as a
passport to the New Economy
Taiwan is currently working with seven APEC partner economies
including PNG on the ADOC project.
The six other countries are Vietnam, Indonesia, Phillipines,
Thailand, Chile, and Peru.
ADOC offices have been set up in each economy to run the various
programmes and ICT training centres, referred to as "Digital
Opportunity Centres", have also been set up to facilitate with
training and capacity-building objectives.
ADOC has been actively running programmes in PNG over the last
three years, co-operating with various organisations and
government departments, most notably with the Department of
State Enterprise and Information.
In August 2006, ADOC established its PNG office and a
state-of-the-art ICT training centre at the University of
Technology in Lae.
The centre aims to provide digital opportunity - digital access
and training - to those who have been traditionally marginalised
by ICT: women, the unemployed and out-of-school youth.
The ADOC programme is coordinated by the ADOC Secretariat based
in Taipei.
The Secretariat Office is currently run by the International
Cooperation Development Fund and supported by the Institute for
the Information Industry, two of Taiwan's leading development
and ICT organisations.
The ADOC project runs a number of different programmes in
partner organisations as well as in Taipei.
One of these is the ADOC SME Programme, of which I was invited
to attend in Taipei last week.
It coincided with the third ADOC Week as delegates came together
to share experiences and expertise on bridging the digital
divide.
The workshop was aimed at providing participants from seven ADOC
partner member economies with the fundamental knowledge of
e-start ups.
The objective of the SME Entrepreneurship Workshop was to share
with the participants the successful e-commerce start-up
experience given by Taiwanese professional businessmen and
senior manager, as well as the advanced e-business strategies
and technologies which allowed the participants to have an idea
about methods to cut into the current e-commerce market.
During the six-day workshop, Taiwan provided a variety of useful
courses such as e-commerce management for SMEs and individuals
regarding the aspects of e-business theory, legal issues and
protections that outline the e-strategies of the e-business
world.
Moreover, seminars and case studies gave a platform to exchange
the e-start up experience among the participants and the
lecturers.
In addition, a series of company visiting provided participants
a chance of active learning outside the classroom.
Deputy executive director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador
Juan Carolos Capunay, highlighted the importance of ICT in this
globalised world.
"The digital divide within and among APEC member economies is an
enormous barrier to the ability of the people in the
Asia-Pacific region to participate in and benefit from the
digital economy," he said.
"Access to Internet, adequate infrastructure, human capacity
building and appropriate policies on ICT are central issues in
addressing the digital divide.
"Success in this globalised world is predicated on ICT knowledge
and successful knowledge-based economies will be based on the
efficient and widespread use of ICT by all sectors within any
given country.
"Small and medium enterprises, the backbone of Asia-Pacific
economies, must be prepared with ICT knowledge.
"If they are not ICT savvy, they will not receive the benefits
of globalisation and they will be left behind."
Ambassador Capunay could have been speaking directly to PNG.
 
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