The WCIT 2002 has pulled of a minor political coup in debating the digital divide, by inviting economic rights campaigner Juliette Beck, and World Bank development gateway manager Carlos Braga to speak on the social ramifications of IT and globalisation.

They were joined by author and futurist Don Tapscott, and vice-president of the South African Information Industry Association Zeth Malele, in a debate which culminated in a call for WITSA to embark on a project to introduce Internet connectivity to children worldwide within the decade.

While all parties agreed that broadly-spread Internet access would lead to tremendous benefits for many in both developed and developing countries, their approach to the creation of a more equitable society varied tremendously.

"Globalisation is not living up to its promises," said Beck, attacking the World Bank for forcing indebted countries to cut back on education and expenditure on infrastructure as part of enforced 'austerity programs'. She also discussed the role of the Internet in the organisation of the protests which greeted the world economic forum in Seattle in 1999, and Melbourne in 2000.

-There needs to be more of an emphasis on structural policies, which enable countries to gain access to technology and infrastructure," Beck said.

Braga countered these attacks, saying that the World Bank could not be held responsible for poverty in indebted countries, and that the Bank's policies were essentially driven the bank's investors, specifically governments from the developed world.

-With respect to debt relief, it is not the bank driving policy, it is the governments which provide the money for the bank to loan," Braga said.

Braga also addressed the World Bank's Development Gateway program, which is focused on creating Internet portals to disseminate information regarding a range of topics including health care, nutrition, legal rights and obligations, construction and the environment.

-The gateway's are designed to promote content relevant to each of the countries where they are created," Braga said.

Having very real experience of the digital divide, Malele called for delegates to play an active role in enabling developing and indebted countries to use their own resources, in order to gain access to the benefits of technology.

"It would be incorrect to call for a global response if the people themselves are not prepared to take advantage of the education offered, however, we are well aware that we have to work together to develop productive human capital," Malele said.

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