BRIDGE NEWS – NEW YORK: (B) OPINION: Peace Corps Needs to Go High-Tech for Internet Age – Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News ; 07-Dec-1999 12:11:20 am ; 824 words By Harold J. Raveche, Stevens Institute of Technology
HOBOKEN, N.J.–As I hurried to catch my morning flight out of Dhaka,
The chasm of technology separating the streets of Dhaka and the highways of
Much has been written about the technology gap between the rich and poor in
Perhaps the new dot-com world needs a wake-up call, or a crowbar, to redirect
Newton Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, was
Let’s get serious about how we use this new technology. If we raise
How can we bridge the technology breach between the haves and the have-nots
We could start with incentives to entrepreneurs to develop educational
There’s much more profit in other activities like on-line retailing. In fact,
Why not start a private foundation, with e-commerce philanthropists’
The private sector and the U.S. government could establish a sort of national
Members of this “tech corps” could serve a year or two in another country,
These young adults would provide these countries with the bare essentials of
But these programs won’t be rehashes of the “pie in the sky” giveaway
With the enormous wealth being created in the dot-com world and the federal
But it requires leaders in the private and federal sectors who understand the
Why not make this an issue in the upcoming presidential election?
Certainly
Making a difference worldwide will take a willingness by Americans to share
If Americans do not make international economic development a major issue,
Such scourges have already ended up at our doorstep in Somalia, Haiti and
It is in our enlightened self-interest to share our technological know-how
HAROLD RAVECHE is president of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken,
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
[Back to the top][Column]