OneWorld and Hivos form strategic partnership to harness the Internet for sustainable development
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PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release 19 June 2000 OneWorld and Hivos form strategic partnership to harness the Internet for sustainable development OneWorld and the Dutch aid agency Hivos are to join forces to help organisations based in developing countries to use the Internet for sustainable development and human rights. The strategic partnership starts with Hivos funding OneWorld in a NLG 1.690, 000/£470, 000 three-year programme to increase the content on the world wide web from developing countries and bring NGOs based in the South into the OneWorld network of civil society organisations. The major initiative includes helping NGOs go online with support and training, launching major new portals based in the South to focus on global issues and building online gateways promoting regional perspectives from civil society in Africa, Latin America and South Asia. All 800 Southern-based Hivos partners in 30 countries will be invited to join the OneWorld network (currently over 700 organisations). OneWorld is to offer Hivos partners a membership package that will include capacity building to help the organisations use the Internet effectively as a publishing, networking and advocacy tool. OneWorld will also promote their content to strengthen regional online editions of OneWorld.net and other editorial sections of the OneWorld.net supersite. Hivos is the first of the Dutch co-financing development agencies to outline its vision of the role of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in sustainable development (details of Hivos ICT Policy and Action programme http://www.hivos.nl/Hivos&ICT/engels/index.htm) "Hivos aims to support NGOs in developing countries in using the opportunities provided by the information revolution," says Loe Schout, Head of Hivos ICT programme. "OneWorld is the leading Internet platform for NGOs. With its extensive network, high quality portal website as well as its expertise in ICT and development cooperation, we selected OneWorld as a key partner in the struggle against the imminent worldwide digital divide compounding the existing gap between rich and poor." "A great number of organisations based in some of the poorest countries of the world want the opportunity to use the Internet to further their work at the front line of reducing human suffering and poverty alleviation," says Anuradha Vittachi, Director of OneWorld International Foundation. "With the support of Hivos, OneWorld will be able to bring our experience of working with hundreds of NGOs worldwide to help them do just that." "It is vitally important that perspectives from the South are part of the worldwide debate on global issues. Marginalised voices must be able to reach beyond the digital divide to the rest of the world and those working at a grassroots level in developing countries must have access through the Internet to the information and knowledge they need." Hivos is a development organisation, which stands for emancipation, democratisation and poverty alleviation in developing countries. For this purpose financial support is given to more then 800 local independent organisations in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and South-east Europe. OneWorld is a non-profit organisation that aims to harness the democratic potential of the Internet to promote sustainable development and human rights. Its website OneWorld.net is the world's leading portal on global justice and a gateway to over 700 NGOs worldwide. For more information contact: Glen Tarman, Publicity Manager, OneWorld International www.oneworld.net T +44 (0)20 7735 2100 E media@oneworld.net |
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