In this respect, the inauguration of the Digital Opportunity Forum (DOF) which was held over two days from Aug. 30~31, 2006 at COEX Seoul, Korea, deserved big interest as a platform where the world can collaborate in overcoming the international challenges of bridging the digital divide.
Opportunity for great cooperation between Korea, world
The Conference comprised seven sessions each of which showcased ICT success stories and policies designed to enhance international cooperation and bridge the global Digital Divide. The Forum also examined new ways of using the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) as a tool to assist policy-makers and regulators in their evaluation of policy and performance benchmarking.
Through her keynote speech, President Huh Unna, Ph.D., Information and Communication University (ICU) said first, "The most important factor for closing the digital divide is human resources development, where universities should play a key role." She added that ICU carries out a variety of collaborations with 73 organizations from 28 different countries including international students recruited from worldwide, joint research, dual degree programs and student and faculty exchange.
Diverse presentations from the perspective of diverse countries were proposed. Through his presentation regarding Ha Noi ICT Development in Cooperation with Korea, Phong Dao Ngoc, manager, Ha Noi Post and Telematics Department, Hanoi People's Committee, said, "Ha Noi Government needs Seoul help for building the Ha Noi E-Gov Roadmap up to 2010, building Ha Noi data standard framework, consulting with Ha Noi to build a Metropolitan Area Network, consulting with Ha Noi to build the Front Office and Back Office of the E-gov system, and consulting with Ha Noi to build a Hanoi Data Center based on the Seoul Data Center Model."
In his presentation called Information Society and e-Government: the Mexican Experience, Irak Lopez Davila, head of the e-Government and Information Society Area of INFOTEC, Mexico, pointed out that because the Korean IT solutions are not well-known in Mexico, they are not used.
Since there is a big area of opportunity for the generation of technological solutions together such as WI-Fi, mobile technology, security solutions, technology infrastructure, e-Services, e-Learning solutions, KM, e-Procurement and CRM the Head explained that a good way to solve these issues is to increase the relationship and communication between the Korean agencies and the Mexican organizations. Without a doubt, Mexico will look for this goal, he added.
Good sponsor, partner in ICT experience
Francisco Leiva Martinez, Public Rural Telephony General Coordinator, Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Chile, introduced in his presentations about Chile's unique experience in using IT technologies that Chile is the country with the best growth projections in the region and therefore it is developing its ICT sector at full capacity.
The coordinator says that Korea has proved to be a good sponsor and partner in the Chilean ICT experience, and thanked Korea for providing knowledge transfer opportunities for Chileans so that they can apply it to their local ICT environment.
In Session 5-3, Bertha Umelia Rodriguez Jara, Economist of the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics in Peru, said in his presentation about DOI indicators in Peru that there is a big gap between access to ICT means between rural and urban areas within the country. He stressed that a good application of DOI could help better education by making books available online and could make government more transparent, thereby reducing corruption. He said that cooperation between Korea and Peru is expected in the years to come.
Kamen Boyanov Spasov, IT Organization Consultant, Bulbank, Bulgaria explained in his presentation about the application of the Digital Opportunity Index to Bulgaria that working to improve the DOI will result in higher rates of GDP growth because ICT services provide higher added value.
He emphasized that the needs and innovations of businesses and individuals combined with open competition are the driving forces for the development of an information society.
Maximizing index potential, maximizing growth potential
In a nutshell, The Digital Opportunity Forum is an independent, not-for-profit organization initially launched by the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion (KADO) through the financial support of the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) this year.
It is designed to promote international cooperation in the information technology (IT) arena to bridge the global digital divide and to build human capacities and partnership among participating members. KADO President and CEO Son Yeon-gi elaborates, "As the leading force of social, economic, and human development across civilizations, ICTs enable new opportunities for development, innovation, and improving the quality of life in today's information society."
Thus, the remaining challenge will be how to maximize the potential of ICTs not only for a privileged few, but for all people, regardless of national, racial, social, sexual, or age boundaries.
The significance of the DOF launch lies in that it facilitates knowledge sharing on IT policies and national informatization experiences through the human networking of participating members and ultimately of the institutions and countries they represent.
Son concluded, "Recognizing the role of ICTs for national, regional and international development, the DOF will support both regional and international cooperation to improve access to information and communication infrastructure and technologies, share and exchange knowledge and experience, build human capacity, develop and utilize ICT applications and services, increase confidence and security in the use of ICTs, create an enabling environment and foster technology exchange and transfer."
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