Presentation
The Barrier in Bridging the Digital Divide and IDA's Approach to Address the Digital Divide

Ms. Pam Hu See Hwa
Director, E-lifestyle and Marketing, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Singapore

The role of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore is to regulate the Infocomm industry in Singapore and play a role for growth and change in the country. IDA envisions a digital future for Singapore in which innovation, entrepreneurship and an e-lifestyle are the norm for all citizens.

IDA has an Infocomm 21 Master Plan, to develop Singapore as one of the top Infocomm cities by 2010. There are five key thrusts to Infocomm: the liberalization of the telecommunications market and the development of Singapore as an Infocomm hub; the e-powering of the private sector and ensuring competitiveness; e-powering the public by enhancing the e-lifestyles of the citizens of Singapore; e-powering the public sector through the creation of effective e-government; and developing capabilities.

The three barriers in bridging the digital divide are represented by mindset, income levels and the language barrier. Singapore has adopted a partnership strategy involving industry, the community, other governments, media and the individual. There are 7,000 multinational corporations in Singapore, which provide a lucrative means to promote corporate citizenship and sponsorship. In the area of community, self-help groups, civic organizations and unions are also lobbied to help evangelize IT amongst the people. In the media, the television companies and the press are also encouraged to educate the public. Finally, it is incumbent upon the individual to take his or her own initiative in grasping the digital opportunity.

The target audience for the promotion of IT is the uninitiated, totaling approximately 1.4 million people. A recently conducted IT literacy survey showed that, of the people in the target audience, 55% are completely IT illiterate; many of these being women, the elderly or those on low incomes. Programs in bridging the digital divide focus on three areas: changing the mindset; improving accessibility and bridging the language divide.

In public education messages, one of the methods of promotion of IT is to emphasize the better lifestyle IT can provide, including shopping for food, clothing and entertainment online. In the area of e-learning, Singapore encourages all people of all ages to take up learning at their own time and at their own pace, often from the comfort of their own homes.

An ongoing campaign in Singapore is the "eCelebrations Singapore" which is held every March to encourage the population to use, and promote the use of, IT. The eCelebrations this year are being promoted through a family concept, to demonstrate how IT can be utilized by all family members. A further method of IT dissemination in Singapore is the IT Coach, a mobile bus with computers and Internet connections that travels around the country visiting shopping malls, factories, mosques, etc. In addition, National IT Literacy Training is customized to educate factory operators, homemakers and senior citizens, in order to achieve the goal of 90% of the population being able to use IT.

Public access to IT in Singapore is achieved through community centers, the private sector, libraries, LAN centers, and other self help groups, etc., with a total of more than 10,000 PCs available for public use. The PC Re-use Scheme also enables the use of PCs by the needy, through donation of unwanted PCs. In addition, there are networks for Tamil and Malay speakers in Singapore. Youth and IT specialists are also called on to act as e-Ambassadors to the uninitiated. The Infocomm 21 Plan aims to demonstrate to every citizen how IT can create bridge divides and create equal opportunities for all. Collaborations and closer cooperation would be greatly appreciated in this effort.