Participants in the 3rd Davos Philanthropic Roundtable: HI-TEACH can overcome global “digital gap”

"The introduction of hi-tech in education would help overcome the ‘digital gap' existing today between developed and developing countries and continents", suggested Shelly Esque, President of Intel Foundation, speaking at the 3rd Philanthropic Roundtable ‘Hi-Teach=High-Tech+Philanthropy+Education'.

"Technology helps people discover the world", she stressed, adding that Intel tries to solve this task under its "World Ahead" program. "Education has to be equally accessible, be it in the USA and Europe or Africa and Asia."

In her opinion, development of software and educational programs that meet the needs of a specific region, as well as expansion of modern and affordable Internet communication technology, is among the most important factors that can shift the situation in this respect.

To show how new technology influences education, a brief Internet communication session with one of the Nigerian comprehensive schools (member of the Intel Foundation educational program) was demonstrated to the Roundtable participants. The speakers and guests of the gathering had a chance to converse with the schoolchildren.

For his part Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) non-profit association, highlighted that providing as many children from developing countries as possible with laptops was a task of a paramount importance. "We can develop infrastructure - information sites and digital libraries, but there is no guarantee that this infrastructure will have its users", he emphasised. At the same time the availability of personal computers is having a serious effect on developing countries today. "Kids not only use computers while studying, they use them to educate their parents", noted Nicholas Negroponte.

Melinda French Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, drew attention to the fact that society should not focus on the educational problems of developing countries only. According to her there are serious issues in the developed countries, too, even in the USA.

"Access to education is a problem in the United States. This is the problem we focus on. Only one third of schoolchildren have a real chance to go to colleges and universities after school graduation. Talking about quality education, it is the prerogative of just a small number of individuals. And this is the reason why we examine possibilities to deliver on-line lectures, when the best scholars could lecture to anyone whom wishes via the Internet."

General partner of the 3rd Philanthropic Roundtable:
Western NIS Enterprise Fund

Partners of the 3rd Philanthropic Roundtable:
Kyivstar
Microsoft