My question is for Ms. O'Neil, whom I would like to congratulate on her research work.
The theme of the last Sommet de la Francophonie, which has just closed in Bucharest, was “The role of information technology in education”. In your presentation, you said that IDRC was working with private sector companies, including Microsoft, to improve communications in developing countries, an initiative that could improve economic development, job creation, democracy, etc. However, developing countries currently face a huge literacy gap, a problem that is particularly pronounced among girls.
With the advent of new communications technologies, available only in urban areas, at the expense of rural areas, do you not think that we are careering toward a digital gap, in other words, do we not risk widening the gap between the regions and increasing poverty? Is basic education, particularly that of young girls, being sidelined for the sake of new information and communications technology projects?