Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) will host its Digital Nation seminar at the Muscat Inter-Continental Hotel.

The event on March 11 will begin with a session on bridging the digital divide.

'Across the globe, people lack jobs, food, health care and drinkable water. However, today, being cut off from basic telecommunications services is a hardship almost as acute as these other deprivations, and may indeed reduce the chances of finding remedies to them,' said KOM’s director general Mohammed Al Maskari.

The divide will grow as those with access to computers gain the skills to maximise the benefits of the Internet and those without become increasingly marginalised. This will impact on educational achievement, access to goods and services, participation in community life and employment.

“Increasingly, in the future, what we earn will be based on what we learn. We need to make sure that those opportunities are open to all,” said Al Maskari.

Lack of access to information technology and the Internet is seen as one of the measures of social exclusion.

Several solutions to the digital divide have been proposed including local training centres, cyber-cafes, telecottages and digital 'champions' to develop ICT projects in Oman’s rural areas.

“The March 11 panel will discuss these issues as well as matters related to telecommunication infrastructure and competition and the urgent need to develop local web content,” said Al Maskari.

The Digital Nation series is sponsored by Ericsson, Infocomm, Nawras, Omania e-Commerce and United Media Service. Digital Nation seminars are open to all and free of charge. – TradeArabia News Service