"United Nations ICT Task Force"
and Digital Partners for
Latin America Caribbean

September 5, 2003

Digital Partners is an exciting team of computer savy people of every conceivable kind, who are working together to help close the gap between impoverished nations and where digital and information technology are at today. The organization is headed and founded by Akhtar Badshah. We had the delightful opportunity to hear some of the most impressive and highly skilled and experienced IT professionals anywhere on the face on the earth.

I would first like to state that Digital Partners, a Seattle-based nonprofit institute*, taps the power of the digital economy to develop market-based solutions that benefit the world's poor. With support from the Kellogg Foundation, Open Society Institute, and individual contributors (to view a list of some of our supporters click here), Digtal Partners is working to cultivate a world in which all men, women, and youths are able to reap the benefits of the Digital Revolution to improve the quality of their lives. Aktar Badshah

Aktar A. Badshah is the Executive Director of Digital Partners where he has been responbisle for establishing the organization and building its core programs. Aktar is also an Affiliate Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Washington. Aktar's experience includes being a practitioner, educator, researcher and development expert. He has worked on projects all over the world for organizations like the Asia Society and Pfizer, Inc. Dr. Badshah is also very active out on the west coast, particularly in the Seattle area. Dr. Badshah has also authored several different books, including Our Urban Future: New Paradigms for Equity and Sustainability. He has worked with the World Bank and other international development organizations. He is the Co-President of the PTO of his local school: serves on the MIT Alumni Committee for Puget Sound; and is a member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Seattle Chapter.


Bill Clapp

Bill Clapp is a businessman with over 30 years experience running a variety of companies in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii. He is a co-founder of Global Partnerships, which he founded in 1994 after having visited El Salvador. He strongly believes that, in El Salvador, there is no reason for severe poverty to exist on such a massive scale. Bill retired in early 2001, and became CEO of Global Partnerships. The purpose of Global Partners is to provide those that are impoverished in Central America with skills from the private sector. The organization still continues to build wealth at the poverty lines.

When it comes to lessening the impact of poverty, Bill Clapp is internationally active. He has been on the boards of several non-profit, proverty related organizations, and in the business sector, on the boards of Weyerheuser and Alaska Airlines. He and his wife Paula live in Magnolia with their five children.


Ambassador June Clarke

Ambassador Clarke has served as a High Commissioner to Canada for five years, and in September, 1999, she became Ambassador/Permanent Representative in September, 1999. From 1962 to 1995, Ambassador Clarke served as a Director on a number of Boards in Barbados, in addition to being Administrative Manager for American Life Insurance Company. She is responsible for eight islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Her other credentials include being Vice President, Group Life and Health Insurance with the Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society, CEO of Women in Development Ltd., term as Senate member and a three-term Presidency over the Chamber of Commerce.


Amir Dossal

Amir Dossal is the Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships. He is also a Member of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force. Using a $1 Billion contribution from Ted Turner, Amir oversees the partnerships between the United Nations system and the UN Foundation for programmes and projects. He has been a key facilitator in parnerships involving the UN and Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard and Ericsson. He led the establishment for the Digital Response Diaspora for Africa, and Digital Diaspora Network for the Caribbean. He has brought together the private sector, academia and civil society to bridge the digital divide. He has close to fifteen years of private sector experience, and has lived and worked in Asia, the Arab States, the Caribbean, Europe and North America.


Dr. Miriam Masullo

Dr. Miriam Masullo is the founder and CEO of inVivo Vision, Inc., a world leader in educational technology and Artificial Intelligence. She lead the technology to develop patent-pending technology to enable strategic technology solutions for business and education. Her credentials include being a member of the research staff at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, where she developed the first recognized educational infrastructure, known as EduPort, which uses digital video, interactive multimedia and digital libraries. EduPort has gained recognition all over the world. Her degrees include Bachelors in Engineering Science, Bachelors in English Literature and Architecture, MS in Computer Science, Masters in Philosophy and Ph.D. in Computer Science. She is cited in Who's Who in America, Millenium Edition, Women in Science, American Women; and the International Who's Who of Distance Learning.


There were numerous key speakers who spoke at the event, with far too much exciting detail to mention here.
9:03 PM 10/16/2003

The audience was welcomed by guest speakers Sarbuland Khan, Acting Executive Coordinator of th eUnited Nations ICT Task Force, Ambassador Gert Rosenthal of Guatemala and President of the Economic and Social Council, Jose Antonio Ocampo, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and ECOSOC, Aktar Badshah, President and CEO of Digital Partners, and Jose Maria Figurees-Olsen, Chairman of the United Nations ICT Task Force, (via video) We then learned a bit about the opportunity that technology offers in advancing development by Paul Maritz, Former Senior VP-Microsoft (via video), Miriam J. Masullo, CEO, InVivoVision, Bill Clapp, Co-Founder and CEO, Global Partnerships, Claudine Bichara de Oliveira, Head E-Business Tak Group, Information Society Program and Rafael Perez Colon, Government Relations Regional Director Latin America, Microsoft. We then heard yet more speakers talk about the existing models of the Dispora Networks ("Learning from Experience") from such speakers as Ambassador June Clarke, of Barbados, Christopher Hackett, Chief Overshight and Support LAC United Nations Development Program, Courtney Betty, CEO, Carbitel Communications, Carlo Dade, Foundation Representative, Inter-American Foundation, and Awo Q Sackey, President and CEO, AQSolutions, Charles Eke, Founder and CEO, Infotak Systems. Following was a more in-depth look at the Role of Dispora Networks in supporting ICT for development, where we heard from Amir Dossal, Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for ICT Development, Paul Underwood, Executive Director of Business Council for the United Nations, Claudio Providas, ICT Manager, United Nations Development Program, and Robert Vitro, the Program Coordinator for the Inter American Development Bank.

We then enjoyed a wonderful lunch courtesy of the U.N. Partners, where there were different breakout groups present. Here we learned about some of the strategies behind bridging the digital divide, followed by a number of speakers who outlined the next steps for Digital Partners to take in bridging the digital divide. We heard from Jennifor Beaston, of Digital Patners, Enrica Murmura, of the United Nations ICT Task Force, and Carlo Dade Foundation Representative of the InterAmerican Foundation.

Closing remarks were made by Sarbuland Khan, of the United Nations information and Communication Technology Task Force.

For more information about the Digital Diaspora, log onto their website, www.digitalpartners.org

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