WEST AFRICA: Minding the information and communication gap
DAKAR, 22 November (IRIN) - As world leaders call for the benefits of new technologies to be shared more evenly around the globe, the reality on the ground in West Africa is a stark reminder of just how much work remains to be done.
Gathered together at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis last week, international leaders such as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and African Union President Olusegun Obasanjo argued for a bridging of the so-called digital divide between regions rural and urban, rich and poor.
“There is a tremendous yearning, not for technology per se, but for what technology can make possible,” Annan said at the opening ceremony. “I urge you to respond to that thirst, and to take the tangible steps that will enable this Summit to be remembered as an event which advanced the causes of development, of dignity and of peace.”
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