    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [September 8, 1999]
    [Pages 1501-1502]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Satellite Remarks Launching the NetAid Website
    September 8, 1999

        Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General. I am
    delighted to share this historic moment with you, with President
    Mandela, with Prime Minister Blair, and all our friends supporting NetAid.
        The launching of this website represents a truly important new front
    in the struggle against poverty. Information technology has been vital
    to the prosperity achieved by many nations this decade, including ours.
    The people of the world have never communicated better or more easily,
    and that has spurned countless new ideas and opportunities.
        But it's also a fact that this prosperity has been very uneven
    within and among countries. The democratic promise of the Internet,
    therefore, is not yet fulfilled, because vast populations

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    around the world still have no access to computers at all. Through
    USAID, the United States Government has pledged millions of dollars to
    build Internet access in other countries, especially in Africa. But the
    gulf between the haves and the have-nots is growing much too quickly.
        Today we build a bridge across that gulf. NetAid is the creation of
    a remarkable partnership combining the international reach of the United
    Nations development program and the powerful resources of the private
    sector.
        I want to thank Cisco Systems' John Chambers as well as the other technology companies. Thanks to them,
    one of the largest websites ever built has been created to spread
    information about extreme poverty and to help concerned citizens do
    something about it. The site will be available around the world,
    including places where Internet access has been limited, so that a
    farmer in Africa can find out more about fighting drought; a woman
    hoping to start a business in Bangladesh can find investors from other
    countries; a school in Indiana can raise money for a school in
    Indonesia.
        I commend all the sponsors of NetAid for their generosity and
    vision. And like millions of people, I'm looking forward to the
    simultaneous concerts on October 9th.
        Some people say the rise of the Internet will inevitably bring the
    world together; some say it will inevitably widen the gap between rich
    and poor nations. But nothing is inevitable. We have a choice about the
    future we will build. NetAid sends a powerful signal that we intend to
    make the Internet an instrument for bettering all our lives, not just
    those wealthy enough to afford a computer. The millennium should be a
    time for joining and common purpose. Today we do just that. NetAid will
    make our global village more responsible and a lot more global.
        Now, it is my honor to be the first person from North America to log
    on to the site. And thank you very much.
        Back to you, Mr. Secretary-General.

    Note: The President spoke by satellite at 12:20 p.m. from Room 459 in
    the Old Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to U.N.
    Secretary-General Kofi Annan; former President Nelson Mandela of South
    Africa; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; and John T.
    Chambers, president and chief executive officer, Cisco Systems, Inc. A
    tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.