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The Effects of ICT Literacy
Undeveloped countries in Africa are among the most affected by the digital divide. The greatest effect of the lack of [ICT]access in third world countries is the education that young children receive. Due to the incredibly high dependence on ICTs in the modern world, people who are ICT illiterate are greatly disadvantaged.

"Technology has become the driving force of change in the modern world. It has altered our economic structures and ways we communicate".

World Bank / Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

What is the Digital Divide?
The [digital divide]in short is the information gap between the developed and the undeveloped. Undeveloped countries are not only economically struggling but due to the digital divide they are also under pressure academically. For someone to be “digitally up to date” they need to have access to ICTs, be able to afford ICTs and be ICT literate.

The insufficient Support
Although it seems futile, there is ICT support for undeveloped regions. The Youth For Technology (YTF) foundation is an international non-profit organization that seeks to bridge the digital canyon among disadvantaged communities in developing countries, starting with the continent of Africa. Unlike Developed countries, YTF does not seek to gain any wealth from helping countries in dire need of ICTs. This way third world countries do not become even more in debt by spending money on technology that will soon become obsolete. YTF recognizes the absolute need to be ICT literate and has set a goal to promote knowledge and skills through learning and the effective use of technology in undeveloped countries.

Affected Regions
[Nigeria] is among the most undeveloped countries in the world and is heavily affected by the digital divide. In Owerri(south eastern Nigeria), there is limited electricity, very limited [Internet Service Provider] and before YTF built there Nigerian headquarters there, there were no digital phone lines. Owerri is approximately 600 kilometers from the former capitol of Nigeria, Lagos State. Lagos State is also highly affected by the digital divide as it is home to an estimate of 600,000 people, a high percentage of which are descendants of the Ibo culture and generally freelance traders or farmers. With such a dense population and very little ICT support, Nigeria is literally being left in the dark ages.

The Digital Education Revolution
Not having access to ICT’s can seriously harm a child’s academic future. As the world depends on computers more and more, the need to use and understand ICT’s also increases. In Australia, during 2008, a [http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/DigitalEducationRevolution/FAQs/Pages/DERFrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx#what_is_the_digital_education_revolution? Digital Education Revolution ] was announced by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. The initiative is to spend $2 billion to upgrade ICT literacy and create a world class broadband connection all over Australia. The initiative also included increasing the ratio of students of years 9 to 12 and computers to 1:2 in all schools across Australia.

“I have been teaching for 24 years at 5 different schools in south east Queensland and I highly believe that now days it is essential that students become ICT literate,”

Mrs Prindable, a present teacher at Sandgate District State High School, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

At St Rita’s College in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, the school has maintained a very high standard of [OP's] from the year 12 cohort that finished there schooling in 2007. 94% of this cohort was OP eligible and 89% of this group achieved OP’s of 15 or better. The school has a student population of approximately 800 students and has an ICT count of 400. With a ratio of computers to students being 2:1 it gives students very large amounts of time to be studying with ICT’s.

The Comparison
As the digital divide becomes greater everyday, the effects of it also increase. The primary affect of the digital divide is the difference of general knowledge and wealth between developed and undeveloped world countries. It has been noted by [Francis Bacon] in Meditationes Sacrae (1597) that "For also knowledge itself is power". This “power” can only be obtained if one has access to the knowledge, therefore, now days undeveloped countries have absolutely no power. Developed countries are assisting in making the knowledge available to undeveloped countries but, this involves selling ICTs to undeveloped countries. Thus putting undeveloped countries in even more debt then they are already in.

"You never know what potential is in their mind and in their hear; what imagination they have; what they have already thought of and dreamed of that may be locked in. All because they have no means to bring it out."

Program Manager, TechKids

YTF sees that children and youth in undeveloped countries do have the ability to learn. In some cases, disadvantaged children are better learners then children in first world countries because they have an urge to learn. It would seem that the inspiring phrase “The less you have the harder you fight for it”, is what fires the learning urge from disadvantaged children.