Annan wants 'information for all'

Information technology: Kofi Annan is a big fan

By Mark Devenport in New York

Kofi Annan has urged leaders of the international television industry to play their role in bridging the digital divide between rich and poor countries by making knowledge and information accessible to all.

The United Nations secretary general was speaking at a forum at UN headquarters in New York attended by 1,000 television and internet professionals drawn from many different parts of the world.

Farmers could benefit from more access to information

Mr Annan told the forum that whilst there are 1.5bn television sets and 2.5bn radios in the world, only 5% of people have access to the internet.

The secretary general said that information technology was not a magic formula which could solve the world's problems.

But he argued that it could be a wonderful tool in helping liberate the poor, pointing out that a farmer who had access to information about market prices would be less likely to be abused by a middleman.

Americanisation

Amongst those attending the forum was the director general of the BBC Greg Dyke.

He told the forum that, in the digital age, public service broadcasters are needed more than ever before.

Mr Dyke acknowledged that commercial broadcasters were pressing for less funding for their public service competitors in order to neuter them in an increasingly difficult market.

Annan says information should be available to all

But he pointed out that public service broadcasters created indigenous programming which reflected the culture and values of their different societies.

Mr Dyke said the world wasn't globalising, it was Americanising.

The director general argued that services such as BBC World Service radio, BBC World TV and the BBC's Online News were vitally important in order to prevent the largest player, the US, dominating and dictating the international news agenda.

Power of television

Fernando Espuelas from Star Media Network, a leading internet brand in Latin America, compared the arrival of the internet to the French Revolution as a critical moment in human history.

Mr Espuelas, whose group runs internet schools in some deprived areas of Latin America, said the industry had a moral imperative to bring the benefits of technology to everyone, rich and poor.

He disagreed with Mr Dyke's emphasis on the public sector, arguing that the free market, and not governments, should lead the way.

Other professionals talked about the potential for using wireless and satellite technology to provide internet access in remote locations.

One of Microsoft's senior vice-presidents, Jon De Vaan, acknowledged that PCs remained beyond the financial reach of most people in poorer countries.

Mr De Vaan pointed to a Microsoft project distributing television set top boxes in China, which enabled people to browse the web at a cost of around $180 per unit.

Mr De Vaan said more work needed to be done to lower the cost of the technology, but he believed harnessing the power of television provided the best hope of bridging the digital divide.