Digital Divide

Definition of digital divide Have and have-nots based on the followiing facts: Technical aspects (infrastructure, ability, bandwidth) Gender: fewer girls involved Politics: ICT a threat for countries that do not want free flow of information Language: a dominance of English and Western languages: limits access to information Literacy: both illiteracy and illectronisme affect access

Positive facts about the technology: Sometimes the need for ICT allows certain countries to leapfrog many technologies to acquire access (electricity, computer, networking, etc.) Gender: some uses of the net i.e. e-mail, chat lines encourage more girls to get involved Political: because of the free flow of information some countries are forced to become more open Cultural: more „broadcasters“ so more cultures can speak for themselves & explain themselves Educational: the Net opens access to educational texts: information about learning but also cultural texts

Recommendations The technology could be expanded so that multimedia can overcome linguistic barriers Educational systems in the west should open up to learn about cultures of the world Need to assist poorer countries to access ICT using alternative technologies i.e. satellite phones, solar-powered laptops, cheaper computers Need to create a culture of inclusion for other cultures, females Developing countries must be included to participate in global trade markets.