*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** There is an OpEd from the report authors in the International Herald Tribune on Wed. at <http://www.iht.com:80/articles/16386.htm>. And an article last week from the San Jose Mercury News at <http://www0.mercurycenter.com:80/premium/business/docs/techtrust06.htm>. Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. Speaking of the last message on e-mail overload, I am sorting through the last three months of e-mail and filling up that "response is required" folder. If I have missed a note from you or a DO-WIRE submission, feel free to resend: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Lisa Joy Zgorski" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Digital Promise Date sent: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 19:54:31 -0400 GROUPS URGE A �DIGITAL GIFT� TO THE NATION Report Calls for an Electronic Land-Grant Act for Our Time WASHINGTON, D.C. � April 5, 2001 � A broad-based coalition of educators, library, museum, science and arts officials, and leaders of top information technology companies today urged the creation of a �Digital Gift� to the nation that would fulfill the broad educational promise of the Internet and other digital technologies. The recommendation was made in a new report, �A Digital Gift to the Nation,� a project of The Century Foundation that was sponsored by five major foundations. The report by Newton N. Minow and Lawrence K. Grossman likens the proposal to the Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862, which set aside public lands to create a world-class system of 105 universities across the nation. The proposal would create the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust (DO IT), funded with $18 billion from the auction of the publicly owned electromagnetic spectrum, today�s equivalent of public land � �an electronic land grant� for the Information Age. �The Trust would serve as a venture capital fund for our nation�s nonprofit educational and public service institutions,� the report said of the Trust, which would be administered on the model of the National Science Foundation. �It would be dedicated to innovation, experimentation, and research in utilizing new telecommunications technologies across the widest possible range of public purposes.� The Trust would spur the development of innovative educational prototypes and models through the digital transformation of archives, training materials, online courses, civic information, and quality arts and cultural programs. �The nooks and crannies of our libraries, museums and other non-profits hold cultural and educational treasures, yet these treasures stay locked tight,� said Grossman, former president of NBC News and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). �A Digital Trust would find innovative ways to unlock these treasures for every American. It will make the convergence of the Internet, television and other telecommunications technologies better than any of them individually.� Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and PBS, added: �The Trust would spur innovative uses of telecommunications and information technology for education to make available the marvels of our libraries, colleges and museums to every home, school and workplace. It is time to dream big dreams about our digital future and the needs of our knowledge-based economy.� Grossman said that the wiring of America is a monumental achievement. �Now is the time to connect those wires to content worthy of the technology,� he added. �We have a window of opportunity to put our remarkable Internet, wireless and information technologies to their highest and best use for every American.� Among those endorsing the proposal are James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress; Stanley Ikenberry, president of the American Council on Education; Sheila P. Burke, undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Eamon M. Kelly, chair of the National Science Foundation; Henry Kelly, president of the Federation of American Scientists; Dr. Robert N. Butler, president of the International Longevity Center; Robert Lynch, president of Americans for the Arts; and Martín Gómez, executive director of the Brooklyn Public Library. Executives of information technology companies also endorsed the report, including Eric Schmidt, chairman of Novell; Meg Whitman, president and CEO of eBay; Dr. Richard F. Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft; and Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. The Digital Promise Project was supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Century Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The Open Society Institute. It includes The Report and 17 background papers, all of which are available on a new Web site, www.digitalpromise.org. # # # Lisa-Joy Zgorski Communications Manager The Century Foundation (formerly the Twentieth Century Fund) 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, NW; Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036 202/745-5471 (direct) 202/387-0400 (general) [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------- End of forwarded message ------- ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
