PND (4/11/2000) -- President Clinton Announces $100 Million in Corporate Efforts to Bridge Digital Divide

Speaking at a meeting in East Palo Alto, California, a lower-income community in Silicon Valley, President Clinton announced on Monday that high-tech companies will donate computer services and training worth $100 million to prepare people in underserved communities across the United States for careers in information technology. The event launched the president's third "New Markets" conference, a two-day program aimed at highlighting the need to close the digital divide and to ensure that all Americans benefit from the Internet Revolution.

"Even here in Silicon Valley there are people who could be left behind," Clinton reminded those in attendance. According to a White House fact sheet, the ratio of students to computers in the classroom in East Palo Alto is 28-to-1, compared with 7-to-1 in more affluent parts of the country.

In a program designed to help make technology more accessible to lower-income students, Gateway Inc. announced at the meeting that it will pay for technology training for 75,000 teachers in communities across the United States, including all 244 in East Palo Alto. Other commitments include a $20 million donation in software from networking leader Novell Inc. to nonprofits devoted to disadvantaged Hispanics; a $15 million gift from computer giant Hewlett-Packard to help staff at schools and community centers learn how to use computers; and a $25 million pledge from wireless telecommunications leader Qualcomm Inc. to help bridge the digital divide in San Diego.

As part of its ongoing effort to expand access to technology for underserved youth, PowerUp, a Silicon Valley nonprofit organization, will expand its program from 19 sites to 250 in 43 states. America Online pledged 100,000 free Internet access accounts valued at $26 million a year to PowerUp sites.

In other news, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation will produce public-service announcements featuring celebrities active in the technology movement and encourage young people to recognize that becoming "technologically literate" can open doors. (See the White House fact sheet for a full list of corporate commitments.)

A Webcast and text transcript of President Clinton's remarks in Silicon Valley is available at http://corp.aol.com/cgi/newmarket/.

Holland, Steve. "Clinton Says High Tech Will Give $100 Million." Reuters 4/17/2000.

"White House Fact Sheet on President's New Markets Trip." U.S. Newswire 4/17/2000.

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