Internet access helps to fight poverty

Former Intel head Craig Barrett makes web connections in the third world

AMSTERDAM -- Deep in the Amazon is a high tech paradise called Parintins. Through a WiMax connection, two schools, a community center and a medical clinic, can make use of the worldwide web. Thanks to the satellite connection, schoolchildren can download information from Internet. And doctors can consult colleagues who work a few thousands kilometers away for complex medical diagnostics.

To what extent Internet can really help the fight against poverty has yet to be seen. But Barrett is convinced that if everybody has a basic level of education, it allows the whole world's standard of living to rise. 'It's not going to erase the difference between rich and poor countries overnight, but at least Internet gives people in poor countries a chance. It creates an environment where one can make investments and get some return.'
'Twenty years ago it made a big difference if you were born in Northern America or Southern America. With the capacity of IT, the fact of where you're born is relatively independent to your success. Everyone with a computer and access to the Internet can grow a business and improve in life. When I was in Sri Lanka last year, I spoke with a few girls of 15 and 16 years old from a remote village that all had Internet businesses. By selling maps and flowers they made more money than their teachers did.'

Copyright (c) Christel Witteveen

Published in Het Financieele Dagblad, 27 October 2006