Digital divide II: Global vs. local content. Sponsored by SIG III

Abstract

At ASIST 2001 conference, a digital divide panel session on issues, policies, and case studies were very well-received. This year, as a followup, three presenters will discuss how to bridge digital divide at local, regional, and global levels. Open Knowledge NetworkPeter Armstrong and Basheerhamad Shadrach It is generally agreed that information is a key component of development and that sharing knowledge more widely will enhance the opportunities of the poorest. This presentation will address how this can best be achieved at the local, regional and global levels. Two approaches can be suggested which appear to pull in different directions. Take the example of sustainable agriculture, On the one hand, more information for poor farmers can help them increase yields, protect against bad times and so alleviate their poverty directly. To this end the relevant information should be as widely and freely available as possible, to maximize the benefit to as many farmers as possible without adding to their costs. On the other hand, a market for agricultural information could be created, by which farmers and communities with local expertise could make money both locally and regionally by selling it. This local knowledge could include highvalue products like medicinal plants. In this case the information should not be freely disseminated, but copyright in the local knowledge should be maintained in order to provide revenue for the farmers producing it.Both approaches help to reduce poverty in different ways and both are examined in this report. However, the reason why more emphasis is given to the first is that we believe that a much wider community benefit arises from the free exchange of information that promotes developments as a whole, than comes to individuals from the marketing of that information for their own income generation. Nevertheless, we recognize the need to incentivise those people who are offering to make their knowledge available for the common good.The proposal for an Open Knowledge Network aims to address these needs with the recommendation of a model that is defined across a number of dimensions. It is a way of thinking, a metadata standard, a copyright license, a potential exchange network, a software solution, and a business model. ASIST 2002 Panel