K. Oanh Ha, Developing world needs knowledge more than hardware, speakers say, SiliconValley.com, April 223, 2005. Excerpt: 'Is the digital divide dead? Yes, concluded speakers at a Santa Clara University symposium Thursday where participants agreed that throwing computers at the developing world isn't the answer to global inequity. What's really needed is a bridge to close the knowledge divide, according to the speakers....Speakers at the event, attended by about 200, talked about the importance of creating a "digital commons" -- a public, online space for knowledge that would help alleviate social and economic problems in poor countries, as well as inequities between the developed and developing worlds. Some said it was time to rethink intellectual property laws that often prevent poor countries from tapping into useful innovations and technology. "We should recognize that intellectual property rights are competing with basic human rights," said Raoul Weiler, head of a European think tank.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/23/2005 11:41:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
