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To amplify the voices of the vulnerable, the marginalized and the excluded. |
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By: Ives Marie Chanel & Ronald Colbert[1]
Haitian authorities have not yet demonstrated any official interest in the promotion of the Internet. The investments are still limited in this sector, which serves a minority with economic means – in a country whose yearly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not exceed US$457 per capita[2]
The globalization spreading around the world meets in Haiti a terrain characterized by archaic structures and inaccessibility of information. Public authorities are not very sensitive to the need of being open towards technology that could allow the more efficient delivery of their services to the people. The principal problem of connecting to the Internet relates to the infra-structural and organizational deficiencies of the telecommunications sector.
“If we do not make a jump to get into line, the gap between Haiti and the other countries will be even wider than it is already. It takes an eternity to obtain an authorization for accessing the Internet by satellite. One has the impression that pulling strings works better¼,” Reynold Pauyot said, Coordinator of the Haitian Telematics Network for Research and Development (REHRED).
Various people interviewed for the preparation of this briefing expressed the view that today, on the eve of the third millennium, we need a collective effort to understand the economic, social and cultural importance of the Internet to Haiti. Read more ...
This bulletin was produced with the collaboration and financial support of Kosmologic bv of the Netherlands. Kosmologic is a young and innovative company active in the ICT (information, communication and technology) business. In addition to its business goals, Kosmologic aims to support sustainable development in lesser developed countries, with emphasis on practical applications of information technology. The company provides services ranging from programming to project management and consultancy. Please visit: http://www.kosmologic.nl
Haitian authorities have not yet demonstrated any official interest in the promotion of the Internet. The investments are still limited in this sector, which serves a minority with economic means – in a country whose yearly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not exceed US$457 per capita (2).
| Internautes (% | of the population) |
| Sweden, Iceland U.S.A. OECD (outside U.S.A.) World Latin America & Caribbean Haiti |
>30 26.3 6.9 2.4 0.8 0.05 |
| Sources: Based on the UNDP World Report on Human Development 1999 | |
The globalization spreading around the world meets in Haiti a terrain characterized by archaic structures and inaccessibility of information. Public authorities are not very sensitive to the need of being open towards technology that could allow the more efficient delivery of their services to the people. The principal problem of connecting to the Internet relates to the infra-structural and organizational deficiencies of the telecommunications sector.
“If we do not make a jump to get into line, the gap between Haiti and the other countries will be even wider than it is already. It takes an eternity to obtain an authorization for accessing the Internet by satellite. One has the impression that pulling strings works better…,” Reynold Pauyot said, Coordinator of the Haitian Telematics Network for Research and Development (REHRED).
Various people interviewed for the preparation of this briefing expressed the view that today, on the eve of the third millennium, we need a collective effort to understand the economic, social and cultural importance of the Internet to Haiti. Read more ...
By: Michael Siva, CERN correspondent, Jamaica.
Many times, parks and protected areas find themselves at odds with segments of the surrounding community, and that often proves to be their downfall. That’s why the Blue Mountains and John Crow Mountains National Park places much emphasis on interaction with the community. When the Park was set up at the turn of the decade, it established Local Advisory Committees (LAC) in several outlying communities. This was special, because succeeding governments and political parties generally forgot such communities. One such LAC was established at Mill Bank, a small village in the Rio Grande Valley with a population of just over 100 people.
Susan Otuokan of the Jamaican Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT) said that the Park made and early commitment to work with the community. “In order to protect and conserve our natural resources, you need to pay attention to the socio-economic needs of the communities using those natural resources. Whether they use them for wood, for charcoal, for lumber, etc. This was very clear to the management of the park and to the Jamaican Conservation and Development Trust, now responsible on behalf of government for managing the park.”
Mill Bank had an old swinging bridge that fell into to disrepair. This was significant from a socio-economic point of view, because a functional bridge allows farmers from Mill Bank access to available farm lands on the other side of the Rio Grande. Read more ...