GREETINGS, THEN ACKNOWLEDGE THE PRESENCE OF:

GREG ROHDE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR COMMUINCATIONS AND INFORMATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, REPRESENTING THE OFFICE VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE

MR. KARL SAVATIEL, VICE PRESIDENT OF LOCKHEED MARTIN GLOBAL TELECOMMCOMMUNICATIONS;
AMBASSADORS,
LADIES AND GENETLEMEN, FRIENDS ALL



A warm and very special welcome to the Organization of American States-your home.

With the next Summit of the Americas fast approaching, our urgent task right now is to review how much progress has been achieved in implementing the mandates our presidents and prime ministers gave us last time when they met in Santiago de Chile.

Specifically, we are gathered this morning in relation to the important Summit mandate surrounding education, which the leaders established at the Santiago Summit as the main priority on the hemispheric agenda.

On that occasion-with the entire Hemisphere looking on-they identified education as the most urgent focus of the collective effort to move forward as a Hemisphere, to deliver to all the citizens of the Americas the real benefits that are part and parcel of the promise of development.

In a concrete sense, the EDSAT-Americas initiative that is the focus of our attention this morning, holds great hope and potential to deliver on that promise. By focussing on an educational infrastructure linking the countries of the Hemisphere, we are laying the foundation for sound, collective action so that all of our children, no matter where they are or what their station, can have affordable access to educational opportunities.

It would be preaching to the choir to go try to list the benefits of education as a tool to fight poverty and so many of the social ills that threaten our society.

And what the EDSAT-Americas effort is emphasizing is just how this can be achieved by harnessing the best energies that the government sector has to offer by acting in concert with the private sector and other social actors, bonded by a commitment to the larger good-in this case, the idea that education will drive development.

The OAS still believes this undertaking to be an eminently achievable one, and that is why we are here this morning to reaffirm our belief in the project and to urge maximum support from all sectors, to bring it into reality.

I understand that Assistant Secretary Rohde has a very important message from the Vice President of the United States. We are very grateful for the Vice President's support and recognition of the OAS' work with the EDSAT-Americas project.

Let us consider for a moment how far this satellite-based system can move us toward bridging this so-called 'digital divide' or 'technological divide' by creating the non-profit organization that will run an operation to extend a helping hand to those who otherwise would have no means of a decent education!

While the proposed infrastructure would ensure quality education by putting vital educational tools within the reach of millions of children who otherwise would not have such opportunity, it would also provide another very important service-access to health care resources and information from anywhere in the continent.

I understand that the technical planning team stands ready to move the project towards realization, having spent the last year addressing the major technical questions involved; questions such as what input is required from the various sectors that are to be involved; questions such as what real returns this investment could yield for those willing to put up the finances necessary to get the infrastructure up and running; and a range of other issues.

It cannot be overemphasized how crucial it is that in preparing for the upcoming Summit of our Presidents and Prime Ministers, in Quebec City, Canada, next April, we are able to report on real progress made and how we proposed to build upon these areas of progress.

EDSAT-Americas has managed to secured the firm commitment so far, of 13 Latin American and Caribbean governments, key private sector players and educational as well as civil society groups. Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, a worldwide corporate in the communication technology, has wisely seen the benefit of teaming up with educational institutions such as George Washington University to demonstrate their belief in this project by being part of the planning effort.

But it needs decisive action by an even broader coalition, in order to get it up and running. We are talking about the need for financial commitment to take it to the next level.

I trust that after all the presentations this morning, everyone will leave here more deeply committed to seeing this worthy effort off the ground. And there are a number of ways we can put practical effort behind this.

Let us move urgently on this. The OAS has a deep commitment to assist our member countries with "cooperative actions" to strengthen their democracies and aggregate their resources to the benefit of all peoples, specifically for those in poverty, women and rural populations without benefit of schooling and other educational opportunities.

After all, it can only redound to the benefit of us all when we ensure that the wider population base is afforded a chance to compete in the increasingly globalized environment our world is fast becoming.

And what better basis to prepare, that through education.

I must commend the governments and the other corporate and civil society groups that are working in conjunction with NETO-EDSAT to make this a reality.

We must support this and I pledge the continued support of the OAS in whatever way we can to this worthy effort to help take this to the people of the Hemisphere, on whose behalf we work to deliver the basis for a better life.

Thank you.