Industry
Canada
Public
FTAA.ecom/inf/100
October 24, 2001
Industrie
Canada
Original: English
Digital Opportunities for All:
Key International Initiatives
XI Meeting of the Joint Government-Private Sector Committee of
Experts on Electronic Commerce of the FTAA
Panama, October 24-26, 2001
Richard Bourassa
Director, International Policy
Industry Canada
ICTs Enable Societies
 Basic access to knowledge and information is becoming
a prerequisite for economic, social and civic development
at all levels
 ICTs offer great new opportunities in all areas of life:
Business and Trade
 Education
Government & Democracy
 Health Care
Culture & Human Values
 Civil Rights
…to achieve “core” development goals
2
Unlimited Opportunities for Limited Numbers
100%
The Information Haves and Have-Nots
90%
80%
70%
High
Upper middle
Lower middle
Low
60%
50%
40%
30%
World Bank, income
per capita
20%
10%
0%
Population
TV
Telephones
GDP
Internet
“…this so-called digital divide is, in effect, a consequence of existing
social and economic inequalities in both industrialized and developing
countries, and is, moreover, exacerbating them”
Source: G-8 Dot force Report, 2001
3
The Digital Divide Takes Various Forms
 Individuals: Age, Gender, Income, Education,
household size and type, language, racial and
ethnic divides.
 Businesses: Gap growing between large
businesses and small and mid-sized firms,
particularly in small towns & rural areas.
 Regions: Geographic divides / Rural vs Urban,
Remote regions, Small Urban Centers vs Major
Urban centers
 Nations: Uneven Levels and Rates of Development
4
Dividing
…Individual Citizens
…And Businesses
Internet Use, 2000
Internet Use (%) by
Size of Business,
2000
77.9
Percentage of
Households
by Income
60.6
23.9
42.8
<$20,000 $20,001$35,999
93.9
97.0
86.6
$36,000- >$60,000
$59,999
63.4
65.1
36.4
79.1
0
55.2
51.3
22.4
Less than
High
University
School
High
Degree
School or Colleges
Percentage of
Households
by Education
1-19-
20-49
50-99
100-499
Total
Number of employees
Total
Use is from any location(home, work, school, other locations).
Source: Statistics Canada, Household Internet Use Survey, 2001
Source: Statistics Canada SECT, 2001
5
Dividing
… Communities and
Regions
(%)
55.0
60
44.9
40
Urban
Rural
20
0
% of Population (15+) Using Internet
in the past 12 Months
Source: Statistics Canada, 2000
… And Countries
Oct. 2000
North America
168.68
Oceania
59.16
Europe
20.22
Central and
South
America
2.53
Asia
1.96
Africa
0.31
Internet Hosts per 1000
Inhabitants
Source:Netsizer (www.netsizer.com), in OECD
“Understanding the Digital Divide” Jan. 2001
6
Conflicting Scenarios for the Global
Information Society
DIGITAL DIVIDE
• Where technology deepens and intensifies the socioeconomic divisions among people and nations
OR...
DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY
• Where the means exist to broaden participation in the
network-based economy and to share in its benefits
7
The Global Agenda for Digital Opportunity
 OECD
Summit of the Americas
 APEC
UN System (ICT Task Force, ITU, etc.)
 DOT Force
World Bank
 Commonwealth
GBDe (Digital Bridges Task Force)
WEF(Global Digital Divide Task Force)
1
Priority to ICT for
development
National
eStrategies
Connectivity,
Access, low-cost
Genoa Plan
of Action
Local Content
and
Applications
Human Capacity
Development
Foster
Entrepreneurship
Global
Participation
ICT for Health Care
Support for LDCs
11
Implementation of the DOT Force Action Plan
 To further develop the 9
priority areas and design key
initiatives
Informal
Implementation
Teams
 Open participation
 Lead by former DOT Force
members
 Short timeframes
 Linkages to other G8
initiatives
 Linkages to other Groups
1
Montreal meeting (October 8-10, 2001)
 Implementation Teams established
 Leads and co-leads identified
 Tripartite structure and open participation
 Active participation of International institutions: World Bank
Group, UNDP, ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD, OECD, UN ICT Task
Force
Value-added of DOT Force: catalyst and more
$, expertise, political commitment
Result: ICT higher in international development agenda (ODAs, IFIs)
1
UN ICT Task Force
 Inaugural Meeting on November 19-20, 2001, in
New York City
 Working Groups will be established
 Action Plan similar to G8 DOT Force
 Broad Membership among UN Members
 3 year Mandate
 reports to the Secretary General
1
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Global Digital Divide Initiative
 Created in the context of G8 Okinawa Summit
 Three Working Groups:
 policies and strategies -- focus on e-readiness
 education -- focus on 6 projects (use of ICT for education)
 entrepreneurship -- focus on support model (facilitator)
 Davos Annual Meeting:
 will launch last phase
 Session with Presidents of Brazil, Senegal, South Africa
1
Global Business Dialogue on
Electronic Commerce (GBDe)
Digital Bridges Working Group
 Link with DOT Force, WEF, APEC, eASEAN
 Knowledge network: compendium of existing
initiatives at: http://knowledgenetwork.gbde.org
 Best practices database to be developed in 2002
1
Institute for Connectivity in the Americas
 Announced at the Quebec City Summit of the Americas
 Canada’s contribution to strengthen democracy, create
prosperity and realize human potential in the Western
Hemisphere through the use of ICT
 Coordinated by the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC)
 Hemispheric Advisory Board will be made up of
representatives from governments, NGOs, private
sector and academic community
 Contribution of $20 million by Canadian government
…Closing the Information Gap
1
For Further Information
Electronic Commerce
www.e-com.ic.gc.ca
www.weforum.org
ICT Industry
www.strategis.gc.ca/infotech
www.strategis.gc.ca/SSG/sf01703e.html
Global Business Dialogue on
Electronic Commerce
www.gbde.org
G8 DOT Force
www.dotforce.org