Archbishop Foley: Technology can help us serve poor, isolated peoples of world

Tunis, Tunisia, Nov 17, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Yesterday, Archbishop John Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications told a United Nations gathering that countries have a duty to use new advances in technology to help offer a voice to those who have been “unheard and forgotten.”

The Archbishop was in Tunis, Tunisia, for a United Nations World Summit on the Information Society, being held this week.

In his address, Archbishop Foley said that new communication technologies give us "the opportunity to connect and assist those living in the poorest and most isolated regions of the world and to offer a voice to those who in the past have often been unheard and forgotten."

He added that "The challenge of narrowing or even closing the so-called 'digital divide,' the current disparity in the access to digital communications between developed and developing countries, requires the joint effort of the entire international community."

The Summit is being held in two phases. The first took place in Geneva, Switzerland in December of 2003, during which, participating countries developed a plan of action on how best to use new communications technology for the betterment of the world community.

This week, the 175 member countries are discussing those plans and looking at ways to implement them.