DIGITAL DIVIDE OF 21 ST CENTURY

1. DIGITAL DIVIDE OF 21ST CENTURY

2. TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTIONDEFINITIONFACTS AND FIGURESFACTORS DIGITAL DIVIDE WORLDWIDESTATISTICAL MEASURES OF DIGITAL DIVIDECASE STUDIESTHEORY APPLYIEDDISADVANTAGESOVERCOMING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE DIGITAL HAVE'S AND HAVE'S NOT ORGANIZATIONS TRYING TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE BRAINSTORMING WITH STUDENTSCONCLUSIONSS

3. Video

4. Definition: People with the ability to have technology benefit more than people who don’t, which creates an inequity. "It is dangerously destabilizing to have half the world on the cutting edge of technology while the other half struggles on the bare edge of survival." -Bill Clinton (former US president)

5. Why is this issue a global one? Digital divide is the branch of many problems. If we don’t take care of it, it is likely that these problems will have a less chance of being solved. Economy Employment Terrorism Digital Divide Healthcare Poverty International Labor Education

6. FACTS AND FIGURES: • 80 percent of the world has mobile phone coverage, but only 25 percent of people are taking advantage of it; BBC News • 57% of Americans over the age of 25 use a computer at work; Digital Divide Council • Africa has just three computers for every 1000 people; Computers for Africa • The entire continent of Africa has 14 million phone lines, fewer than those in Manhattan; Bridges.org • The United States and Canada have more internet users than Asia, Africa, and Latin America combined; Bridges.org

7. FACTORS • Poverty • Social resistance • Ignorance • Illiteracy • Ethnic • Religious • Geographical : urban/rural

8. Digital divide worldwide

9. CHINA Just over 19% of Chinese people have access to the Internet and the digital divide is growing due to factors such as insufficient infrastructure and high online charges CANADA The digital divide still exists between the rich and the poor; 91% of people making more than $91,000/year regularly used the Internet, compared to 47% of people making less than $24,000. This gap has lowered slightly since 2005 UNITED STATES 55% of adult Americans have broadband Internet connections at home, up from 47% who had high-speed access at home last year at this time [2007]. This increase of 8% compared to the previous year’s increase of 5% suggests that the digital divide is decreasing. However, the findings go on to show that low-income Americans’ broadband connections decreased by 3%.

14. How is this issue affecting the world? Digital divide affects everyone by… • Separating the rich and the poor • Splitting the unities of countries • Causing many other problems RICH POOR More less knowledge Healthy unhealthy

15. GuangXi Province • Poverty Stricken • Cell phones cannot be used far from cities • No more than 15 schools in the GuangXi Province have access to internet.

17. OVERCOMING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE • Projects like OLPC( one laptop per child • Organizations such as Geekcorps, EduVision and Inveneo also help to overcome the digital divide. • International cooperation between governments have begun, aiming at dealing with the global digital divide. • The UN aims to raise awareness of the divide via the World Information Society Day which takes place yearly on May 17. It also set up the ICT Task Force in Nov 2001.

18. UK charity Computer Aid International - Computer Donations • UNICEF - Increase communications through technology in Guangxi Province • One such program, founded in 1996, was sponsored by the city of Boston and called the Boston Digital Bridge Foundation. It especially concentrates on school children and their parents, helping to make both equally and similarly knowledgeable about computers, using application programs, and navigating the Internet.

19. "An individual poor person is an isolated island by himself and herself. IT can end that isolation overnight."Prof. Muhammad Yunus

20. Everything You Do Is One Brick On The Bridge

21. BRAINSTORMING

22. COJNCLUSION once people are connected the value of the Internet will become self evident.