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To: 16yearcycle who wrote (9709)	11/21/2001 4:54:19 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 57684

U.N. to combat poverty with technology By Reuters November 20, 2001, 4:30 p.m. PT UNITED NATIONS--The United Nations launched a task force on information technology Tuesday to help harness computers and cutting-edge communications to fight poverty around the world. "The new technologies that are changing our world are not a panacea or a magic bullet. But they are without doubt enormously powerful tools for development," Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. "They create jobs. They are transforming education, health care, commerce, politics and more. They can help in the delivery of humanitarian assistance and even contribute to peace and security," he told the task force at its first meeting. Jose Maria Figueres Olsen, a former president of Costa Rica and a champion of digital development in his country, will chair the new U.N. Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Task Force. Though there are many similar initiatives, "the task is still daunting. The number of people that are living without any access to ICT possibilities is still a majority of those that live on this planet," Olsen told a news conference. The United Nations said the task force was intended to provide a global forum for the use of information and communications technologies in development. It also would promote partnerships between governments, businesses and civic groups aimed at mapping out development strategies tapping the latest technologies. Special attention would be given to the least-developed nations and eradicating poverty, organizers said. One possibility mentioned by Olsen was to use low-orbiting satellites to enable poor countries to immediately gain access to the Internet and other so-called broadband services without having to first erect costly land communications lines. "Most of all we will look to you to help build digital bridges to the billions of people who are now trapped in extreme poverty, untouched by the digital revolution and beyond the reach of the global economy," Annan told the panel.