Bridging the Digital Divide requires cooperation among Global IT leaders.

Delegates to the 2006 World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) were presented with three policy recommendations by Accenture that are designed to help bridge the global digital divide.

The policy recommendations focused on: (1) putting human needs at the heart of every digital access effort; (2) broadening the scope of digital-access proposals as much as possible; and (3) getting the private, government and non-profit sectors to cooperate in a way that considers both the public good and the interests of the organizations.

The WCIT conference is held every two years to bring together global leaders in business, government and non-government organizations in a dialogue in order to effect positive social and economic development through the exchange of policies, ideas and technology.

“Now more than ever global leaders in the information technology community must cooperate and work together to improve digital access around the globe,” said Stephen J. Rohleder, Accenture’s chief operating officer, in a keynote speech at the biennial WCIT conference . Before the conclusion of the conference WCIT delegates will vote on Accenture’s policy proposals aimed at highlighting how the IT community should work together to improve economic development and encourage self-sustaining improvements in developing countries.

Accenture’s policy recommendations are:

The IT community must consider the human impact as a priority of every digital access effort. To make a significant impact in developing countries, technology must be consumer-centric and better able to solve real problems and help people help themselves, in turn, spurring acceptance and adaptation of the technology on a broader scale.

Digital access proposals should be broadened in scope as much as possible, taking into account infrastructure, local content, government policy, knowledge and skills, and enterprise. For projects to have maximum impact, these five “pillars of success” must be analyzed as they exist today and planned for how they will be developed in the future.

Government, businesses and the non-profit sectors need to begin cooperating in a way that promotes both the public good and the interests of the organizations. For long-term, self-sustaining development to occur, these three primary sectors should employ cooperative strategies when implementing technology to solve human needs. For businesses, this means looking for opportunities in new partnerships and non-traditional marketplaces; for non-profits, it means contributing their knowledge of the “on the ground” needs and cooperating closely with for-profit businesses; and for government, it implies a new role: as an equal player in socio-economic advancement, rather than as a referee.