More news from the WSIS that I have been processing: Zenit News Agency - The World Seen From Rome. I thought it was interesting to hear the Vatican weigh in on the Digital Divide, it is not a group that I generally perceive to be particularly savy in technology terms...I may be wrong:
In his address delivered today at the U.N. World Summit on the Information Society, Archbishop John Foley described the summit as a unique opportunity to "direct the 'information society' toward a constructive development," and "to avoid taking the wrong steps.""What we are considering are not only 'digital opportunities,' but also 'digital dilemmas,'" he stated."This process gives us the opportunity to connect and assist those living in the poorest and most isolated regions of the world, and to offer a voice to those who in the past have often been unheard and forgotten," he added. "On the contrary, if this process creates only new opportunities for those who already enjoy a good living standard and excellent communications possibilities, then our work will have been a failure," he said.
And MOST interesting to me is his reference to the Digital Network of the Church in Latin America (Red Informatica de Iglesia en America Latina – RIIAL):
As an example of the Holy See's commitment in this field, the American prelate mentioned the establishment of the Digital Network of the Church in Latin America, RIIAL, a project of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Latin American bishops' council.This network, Archbishop Foley said, "has made accessible to the most remote villages of the Amazon jungle, and of the Andes Mountains, not only current information, but also cultural treasures found before only in a few libraries."
'pretty impressive initiative! I want to hear more.