Introduction

One of the areas in which the rapid growth of technology, especially digital technology, is having a huge impact is international development. It is causing a “digital divide,” that is, a widening of the gulf between nations that have well-developed technologies and those that have little or none. To remedy this problem, the United Nations has organized a program called the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). A brief consideration of this Summit will identify some of the problems that a lack of technology, or an imbalance of technology, has caused in the area of international development and some suggestions for possible solutions to these problems.

The World Summit on the Information Society

The World Summit on the Information Society is a worldwide effort to improve and make more equitable the communication of information throughout the nations of the world. Specifically, WSIS defines itself in these words: “The digital revolution in information and communication technologies has created the platform for a free flow of information, ideas and knowledge across the globe. This revolution has made a profound impression on the way the world functions. The Internet has become an important global resource, a resource that is critical to both the developed world as a business and social tool and the developing world as a passport to equitable participation, as well as economic, social and educational development.