“From here, go to the world”: the words written in bold, red Chinese characters on the wall of a classroom in Datang Nine-Year Compulsory Education School, in Pujiang County, remind students about the greater goal of their education. They also succinctly describe a unique phenomenon that is happening in Pujiang – a phenomenon that has implications for people who have never even heard of this small, rural community in Sichuan Province, China.
Located in Chengdu, deep in China’s western interior, Pujiang is a pilot site for Microsoft’s ambitious plan to help share the digital revolution with the billions of people worldwide who do not have access to information and communications technology (ICT).
While most of urban China has successfully entered the information age, there are hundreds of millions of rural citizens who are still divorced from ICT – a situation that is exacerbating the country’s poverty-wealth gap and an urgent priority for the government. It is widely agreed that digital inclusion is a necessary element in any economic development plan, but how to effectively introduce technology into disparate and dispersed rural communities is a complex issue. The Chinese government’s Ministry for Information Industry (MII) sees access to ICT in a relevant and measured way as central to solving this challenge – a vision that aligns with Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential initiative.
Through Unlimited Potential, Microsoft is working to transform education, foster innovation and create jobs and opportunities by removing the barriers that prevent underdeveloped communities entering the digital age. Microsoft’s approach is to work closely with local communities, assessing the best ways to address their specific ICT needs through pilot projects that can then be adapted and applied on a wider basis.
“Understanding the needs unique to the person’s circumstances and locality are paramount before we can really apply technology in a meaningful way,” says Karishma Kiri. “Rural pilots like the programs underway in China are invaluable for honing how we approach digital inclusion to meet the diverse needs of rural areas both in China and around the world.”
On April 19, 2007, speaking at the Government Leaders Forum in Beijing, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced an expansion of Microsoft Unlimited Potential, renewing the company’s long-term commitment to use technology, training and partnerships to sustain a continuous cycle of social and economic growth for everyone. As part of that expansion, Microsoft is collaborating with the MII and local government organizations on rural projects that will incubate ideas for how to realize the goals of Unlimited Potential, not only in China but around the world. For MII, which is responsible for formulating China's information industry policies and strategic development, such innovative approaches to improve the welfare of the population in remote areas such as Chengdu were in line with their ICT goals.
Microsoft is supporting the MII to run pilot projects in Sichuan, Henan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Shandong provinces that test how to deliver the benefits of ICT to rural communities. In cooperation with the government, Microsoft has started running several rural projects such as InfoWagons -- mobile ICT training labs – and Information Service Centers (ISC). The latter are village-level centers that provide e-government and information services, ICT access and training and agricultural training. In the ISC pilot in Chengdu, an ISC consists of 10 PCs with Internet connections and one full-time employee, called InfoStaff, to manage them. As the guardian of the ISC, the InfoStaff is a government employee that is a university graduate selected by the Ministry of Organization as part of the “One college student per village” program for his interest in the promotion of digital literacy to villagers.
On October 29, 2007, the first Microsoft ISC in Pujiang, and the second in Chengdu, opened to the public. This latest ISC is housed in the Residents Association of Guantang, a village of 2000 people, most of whom are orange farmers.
The Chinese government aims to bridge the digital divide between the country’s rich and poor by setting up projects, such as ISCs, in rural areas nationwide – village by village. First, however, they need to collect data on how these projects can be as effective as possible. In Pujiang, Microsoft is starting to provide this information.
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