Swiss aim to bridge digital and poverty divide

Young Buddhist monks queue up to make the Sunday telephone call home Keystone

Organisers of the World Summit on the Information Society say the meeting’s key aim will be to bridge the digital divide between rich and poor countries.

Switzerland is hosting the first phase of the international summit in December and hopes that it will result in concrete measures to narrow the information gap.

The event will run from December 10-12 in Geneva and is slated to move on to Tunisia in 2005.

According to Marc Furrer, director of the Federal Communications Office (Ofcom) and in charge of Swiss preparations, the problem of the digital divide is enormous.

At a press conference in Biel in canton Bern, Furrer said that only one in 200 people in developing countries had access to a telephone; while in Bangladesh, the costs of running a computer were eight times the average yearly salary.

“The digital divide is also a poverty divide,” Furrer told swissinfo.

“If we don’t do anything about it now, the poverty divide will get deeper. Giving people access to the communications network will also help encourage trade,” he added.

Swiss progress

Swiss preparations for the summit have been progressing, after earlier concerns that a lack of interest and substance could threaten the meeting.

Organisers are looking to raise the profile of the event, which is seen as a key meeting for Switzerland.

“That the summit is taking place in Geneva is proof that Switzerland, as a new member of the United Nations, can also tackle tougher problems,” said Furrer, adding that he saw the country’s role as a mediator between civil society and governments.

Furrer is still hoping to drum up more support for the summit among foreign governments as well as among the private sector.

He also wants to see more transparency and good governance in the information and communications sectors, plus better training and security.

Swiss digital divide

According to Ofcom, Switzerland compares favourably with other countries in terms of information technology.

It said that 60 per cent of people over the age of 14 use the Internet, and 45 per cent use it several times a week.

But Ofcom warned that the digital divide also exists to a smaller extent in Switzerland, with some people being left behind, especially the schoolchildren of poorer parents.

Furrer is keen to stress that he wants concrete results from the summit rather than just dialogue.

“We would like a substantial declaration with solutions that can be financed,” he said.

“But I am aware that the declaration won’t change the world.”

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

Switzerland is hosting the first phase of WSIS in December. The second phase is slated for Tunisia in 2005.

The summit’s key aim is to bridge the digital divide which is exacerbated by poverty.

It’s the first major conference to be held by Switzerland since it joined the United Nations last September.

The Swiss are hoping that both governments and the private sector will stump up funds to improve poorer countries’ access to information technology.