ONE of
pp. 38-44 · Read in the full issue
Pacific Islands urged to use Internet as development tool
the few Pacific Island experts on the Internet
has described the medium as “God’s gift to the islands” in terms of its addressing two issues pertinent to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) - those of iso lation and of small, fragmented markets.
Taholo Kami, Manager of the United Nations New York-based Small Island Developing States Network (SlDSnet) Internet project says despite being rela tively expensive for the Pacific Islands in terms of access costs, the Web still works out cheaper in the long term.
It provides instant access to over 150 million people in relevant markets and greatly reduces communication costs.
“In the Pacific, we are on the tip of the iceberg and are still yet to see appli cations apart from email and Web pages
that will directly impact development.
This is something that SlDSnet is inter ested in,” he said. “A lack of appropri ate infrastructure has meant higher costs
By Debbie Singh
and lack of interest in development in areas most needy such as education, med icine, health, governance and even e commerce.
“We need applications that work in today’s limited Pacific Island infrastruc tures, not just tomorrow’s ideal afford able and fast connections,” Kami said.
SlDSnet has managed to obtain some 153.000 hits on its website from over 90 countries in the past month - a total of 50.000 more than in the preceding month.
The SlDSnet programme has been highlighting success stories from small island states and also acting as a catalyst for specific initiatives.
“For instance, a Fiji-based NGO can access SlDSnet development news from Mauritius or Jamaica or the NGO can post its own news on the site.
“SlDSnet has also filed reports from key global confer ences leading to the UN Special
Session for Small Island Developing States to be held in New York next month, including the 1998 climate change (COP 4) conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.”
SlDSnet is a community of 42 Pacif ic, Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and African small island nations con nected through a global Internet based network.
It aims to improve the way in which people in developing countries live, work and communicate through increas ing access to information, in particular on sustainable development issues and provides for virtual global connected ness.
In the Pacific, the project is working in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Federated States of
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Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tokelau.
Workshops planned for the Pacific region between now and December include the use of the Internet as a devel opment tool in the areas of distance edu cation and tele-medicine and general overviews of the SlDSnet project.
SlDSnet is also working with the gov ernment of Tokelau to provide local email access before the end of 1999.
When the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) agreed on the Barbados Programme of Action following the SIDS
meeting in Bridgetown, B rbados in 1994, they underscored the importance of information and information technology in the process of achieving sustainable development.
This resulted in the concept of a glob al information network being developed and implemented through SlDSnet.
Last year. Pacific island leaders from the region’s 16 independent South Pacif ic Forum member states also endorsed SlDSnet activities in the region as part of efforts to implement the Barbados Pro gramme of Action.
The internet is the fastest growing industry in the world, and with changes taking place every day, the Pacific cannot afford to be left behind. ■