Samuel, Michael, Hanut, & Eduard

Humanities 2 Digital Divide

What is the Digital Divide?

Why is c losing the Digital Divide an important Global

Issue?• Closing the Digital Divide is an

important Global Issue because it would allow many people to have an education, stay up to date on current world events, and learn English as well as better connections with their family and people living in other countries.

• By closing the Digital Divide, not only can we improve communications, we can also provide paths for impoverished societies in rural areas to improve healthcare.

Slide 1

How is this issue affecting the world?

• Many villages in rural areas are still struggling to provide proper health care and access to food and water to their citizens. By bridging the Digital Divide; we could provide paths to improve the quality of life by using the Internet as a way of communication. This way, people could go online to learn how to relieve certain sicknesses, or even communicate with nearby villages to see if they can provide help. People living in rural areas could be easily alerted of incoming dangers, as well as how to prepare for them

How is this issue affecting the world? (Cont.)

• Using email as a form of communication is both a more reliable and affordable alternative to cellular phones. Many people would also benefit from the knowledge provided online in the form of an education. Bridging the digital divide would keep more people up to date on the latest world events and connect more people with their homes and families.

“The Internet with its revolutionary ability to connect millions and share information and strategies across time and space, allowed for an unprecedented global mobilization of opposition to the Agreement." Horizons

What is being done to stop, prevent or fix this issue?

• Many governments around the world are working to make the Internet more easily accessible for their citizens by creating more wireless access points and Internet cafés. Many organizations are also working to provide schools with low cost laptops and cheaper Internet so that students may have an education through the Internet. Now, more Internet sites are also giving people the option of many different languages, so that people who aren’t fluent with English can read content in their own language and even learn English through the translations.

Case Study - Myanmar• Nineteen years ago; Myanmar’s

military rulers took hold of Myanmar and have ruled it with an iron fist ever since. In 1988; thousands of protesters and student activists marched throughout Myanmar’s streets in a peaceful campaign for democracy and an end to the military’s corrupt regime only to be met by the military itself. Over 3000 were killed in a peaceful protest by Myanmar’s citizens that still continues today.

•Today, the peaceful protests for democracy still continue with the Saffron Revolution. In an attempt to alert the rest of the world about Myanmar’s growing crisis; Burmese monks staged protests on the streets and posted photos of the inhumane acts the military was committing online. When the government found out about the pictures, they responded by raiding hundreds of monasteries and villages and shutting down all Internet access in Myanmar.

The Saffron Revolution

Saffron Revolution• These acts only prompted more

activist organizations to do something about the military’s regime in Myanmar. With the help of many people and these organizations; the military had no choice but to return partial Internet access to Myanmar, with the exception of foreign news sites. But for someone to use the Internet today in Myanmar, they are still required to use one of Myanmar’s few Internet cafés, each kept closely under watch by guards at all times.

http://wireless.ictp.it/simulator/

We chose this topic because:

• The Digital Divide is an important Global Issue, and lately Myanmar’s military regime has been restricting Internet access, prompting many activist groups to help Myanmar fight for democracy.

Links to Youtubes related to our topic

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxeaXdZWB1U__

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk573U1ZsJA

http://www.hillwatch.com/PPRC/Quotes/Internet_and_Politics.aspx

Case Study – The U.S. Campaign for Burma

• The U.S. Campaign for Burma is one of many global web based organizations dedicated to alerting people of the current crisis in Burma between the monks and the military. Their main goal is to post recent news about the inhumane acts the military is committing in Myanmar in the hope that activists living around the world will be inspired to retaliate against the Burmese Government to bring an end to the dictatorship in favor of democracy. Of their many missions, their main ones are to end the military ruling in Burma in order to strengthen the democratic party; to inform international media and citizens of Burma's current political and economic problems; and to promote international organizations that are trying to help Myanmar.

What do we like about their program?

• Unlike some other activist groups working on Myanmar; such as the United Nations Development Council, USCB is part of a group of many worldwide organizations dedicated to informing citizens about the growing conflict between the military and the people in Myanmar. They hope that through hosting campaigns and leadership activities; they will empower activists to take charge of their issue and fight for democracy in Myanmar.

“Please use your liberty to promote ours” - Aung San Suu Kyi; Burmese activist & the only Nobel Peace Prize recipient to ever be imprisoned

Interactive Activity

• Interactive Activities are activities where we interact with our listeners to see what you think about our topic, and how our topic can relate to how you live today.

Interactive Activity• Living in China, many of

you have known what it’s like to experience limited or slow Internet access. Individually or with a group, write about some of the times you’ve felt your online freedom has been limited by your government. How did you feel about it? What are some of the problems you’ve faced dealing with these restrictions?

Interactive Activity

• Visit this page: http://wireless.ictp.it/simulator/

• On this page, there is a online simulation that shows you what it’s like to load Google or Yahoo! using a slower connection then what you’re typically used to. (Internet broadband bandwidth in Myanmar would be about 128 Kbps.) Brainstorm what it would be like if you had to go through a normal day using this connection.

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/fasmith/public/media/Screenshot-InternetFilteringMap.png

Part 4: Action Plan

• Our group’s aim is to raise awareness about what’s happening in Myanmar by advertising the United Campaign for Burma through its online website. We’d also like to start campaigns to raise money for this organization and to ask other people learn more about this organization.

Students against Digital Divide (S.A.D.D)

• Aim - – Our group’s aim is to help fight for democracy in

Myanmar so that Burmese citizens can be given a chance to use the Internet and to communicate freely. We want to help campaign for this cause so that people living in Burma will be able to take advantage of the current technology and have the same opportunities as the rest of the world’s people.

“The reported number of Internet users in 2005 ranged from 78,000 to nearly 300,000, at the upper limit representing approximately 0.56 percent of Myanmar’s population. Myanmar remains one of thirty countries with less than 1 percent Internet penetration”

Source: OpenNet Intiative

Why should people be informed about this issue?

– Many people have already been killed in Myanmar; and without any one to step up to Myanmar’s military regime, the killings will just continue. More people need to be informed of this issue so that they can help speak up for Burma.

Short-term Goal

• Our short term goal is to educate people on how to make donations to our organization and to help influence the peacekeeping in Myanmar. We want to accomplish this by organizing a campaign or starting a website informing people about Myanmar and how they can help USCB.

Long-term Goal

• For our Long-term goal, we want to start a petition to give to either our government or the USCB, asking them to help close the Digital Divide in Myanmar. We also want to contribute to these organizations by giving out donations to help combat this issue or provide relief for people needing help in Myanmar.

Our Wikispace

• Our Wikispace contains more information about the Myanmar conflict, as well as other global activist organizations you can help to get involved in this issue. It also contains many photos and videos related to what’s happening in Myanmar.

url: http://global-challenge.wikispaces.com/Issues+and+Background+Hum2+Group4

Organizations and Petitions you can get involved in

• The United Nations Development Program is one of the most well known activist groups working on resolving conflict in Myanmar today. Through its activities and programs, it focuses on reducing poverty, crisis prevention, healthcare and Information and Communications Technology.

• Another organization is the U.S. Campaign for Burma. This United States based organization works to alert people in the U.S. and in other parts of the world about how they can help Myanmar by posting news on current events on their website.

• For some more worldwide activist groups working on this issue and up to date information about the Myanmar conflict, visit Free Burma at www.free-burma.org

How can you help this organization?•Any one is welcome to join USCB or any of their counterparts; such as the Southeast Asia based ASEAN Network for Burma. Other people who might not want to join can help by making donations to support their cause. Funding will go to help fight for democracy and human rights in Myanmar; such as the right to have unrestricted Internet access. If their goal is achieved; many less fortunate people living in Myanmar will be able to use the Internet to find an education as well as communicate with the outside world once again.

You should care because

Just imagine if you didn’t have internet or even electricity for a day. Some people have to live without these privileges. And these people don’t get to get a proper education.

Solution

Please just donate a bit of money to one of these great organizations because even a little bit can make a difference and it doesn’t hurt anybody.

Just think what if it was you!

• "Myanmar (Burma)." OpenNet Intiative. 2008. The OpenNet Intiative Group. 14 Feb 2008 <http://opennet.net/research/profiles/myanmar>.

• http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm>. • http://www.wfp.org/aboutwfp/facts/hunger_facts.asp • http://www.wfp.org/aboutwfp/facts/hunger_facts.asp • http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm%3E.• http://uscampaignforburma.org/about-us-campaign-for-burma • http://uscampaignforburma.org/• http://www.freeburma.org/• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxeaXdZWB1U__• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk573U1ZsJA