By IPS Correspondents
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 29 2003 (IPS)

The United Nations is marshalling the technological, entrepreneurial and professional expertise and resources of Latin American and Caribbean expatriates in the United States to help bridge the digital divide in their home countries.

Working with a number of partner organisations, the U.N. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force has launched the Digital Diaspora Network for Latin America and the Caribbean (DDNLAC), the third in a series of similar ventures.

The Digital Diaspora Network for Africa was established in July 2002, and a Caribbean network set up earlier this year.

”Individuals are called to contribute their business acumen and technology knowledge to promote social entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean. This can be in the form of mentorship or providing a training seminar,” ICT Task Force Media and Outreach Officer Enrica Murmura told IPS.

Organisers say the network has already succeeded in Africa, where, for example, women and youths in Cameroon and Nigeria are being trained in various levels of operating a computer.

Njideka Ugwuegbu, a Nigerian expatriate and the founder and executive director of the Youth for Technology Foundation, based in Washington State, provided the idea and such basic ingredients as fundraising and partnership building expertise and arranged local hiring so that a team in Africa could implement the programmes.

The Caribbean network was included in the recent Latin American launch because ”many (people) believed that a significant amount of synergy and lessons learned could be achieved by the two groups”, said Murmura.

”Secondly, there was some feeling among its members that it has not yet gained momentum or direction.”

Both the Caribbean and African networks encountered a problem that the Indian project did not – the lack of a sense of connection between participating countries, Beaston added.

But within the model Indian network, ”despite the many different religious, ethnic and cultural differences found throughout India many (people) still associate with being Indian”, Beaston told IPS.

Already, 700-1,000 people working in the fields of technology, education and development have announced their commitment to the latest network, said Digital Partners Executive Director Akhtar Badshah at the programme’s launch.

A couple of projects have also been set up. One is the Women’s Artisans Cooperative (Artesanas Campesinas) in Mexico. This group of native women artisans that specialises in making handcrafted jewellery is being trained to use ICT to expand its market by selling products online.

Barbados Ambassador June Clark says the networks fulfil a need both at home and abroad.

”Very often we hear our people who live and work overseas and therefore contribute to the development – or the further development – of the developed world, say we want to give something back to our countries, but there is no channel,” she said.

”We hope that these networks can be the channels through which people can contribute in positive ways to the countries which gave them birth and life and what they have now, to enjoy elsewhere.”

According to the U.N. Human Development Report only 4.9 percent of people in the Latin America and Caribbean are considered Internet users, compared to 50.1 percent in the United States.

Digital Partners says this is not necessarily a roadblock for the network. ”Technology is not the end, but needs to be seen as the tool to deliver services,” said Beaston.

”There are projects all over the world utilising technology, such as solar energy and cellular networks or wireless loops, to address developmental needs with little infrastructure to plug into.”

But the networks do confront local limitations. ”While there are a number of factors such as political stability, policy frameworks, infrastructure, culture and business environment, there remains a great deal we can do to ensure the region is not left behind,” according to Murmura.

Money is a need. The United Nations and its partners have set the DDN-Latin America and Caribbean Social Venture Fund to provide financial support for entrepreneurial activities that use ICT.

Similar funds for India and Africa have financed two million dollars worth of projects, according to Badshah.

The Latin America and Caribbean project’s next step will be development of a database and a website that will permit potential ICT entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean to find and share information about opportunities, potential partners, institutional contacts and resources, says Digital Resources.

And plans are already being made to help bridge the digital divide in another region. ”The next frontier which we attend to tackle is Asia,” said Amir Dossal.

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