 Selects Greenstar as Sponsored Project at Davos Conference
DAVOS, Switzerland -- January 30, 2001 -- The Technology Empowerment Network (TEN) announced today that it has selected Greenstar Corporation as a sponsored project. Greenstar's president, Michael North, will present Greenstar's vision to the Davos Conference in Switzerland, a prestigious annual event attended by prime ministers, CEOs and cultural leaders from around the world. Greenstar will now have access to significant new resources through the Technology Empowerment Network. The TEN initiative will be introduced at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. This year's conference is called "Sustaining Growth and Bridging the Divides: A Framework for Our Global Future". "We're challenged by the recognition," said Michael North, president of Greenstar (http://www.e-greenstar.com). "Greenstar takes an approach to world development that inverts the business-as-usual pyramid. We put technology last on a long list of human priorities for the developing world. That list starts with basic health, education, energy, environment, training and financial needs. Our Solar-Powered Community Center provides a platform on which a village in the off-grid world can use technology to first meet those immediate needs (for example clean water and vaccination), then connect to the world and strengthen its culture. As those needs are being met, concrete benefits emerge from bridging the so-called digital divide, connecting to the Web and building ecommerce. We look forward to sharing these ideas with world leaders at Davos." Among the heads of state participating in the conference this year are the leaders of Mexico, Japan, Poland, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Senegal, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Mongolia and Colombia as well as senior officials from Russia and Thailand and all Middle East oil states, including Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Corporate participants include chief executives from Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi Corporation and Deutsche Telekom. Over 500 journalists are accredited to the conference, which also includes key citizen leaders, including Amnesty, OneWorld, Greenpeace and cultural leaders such as Elie Wiesel, Peter Gabriel, Quincy Jones, Paulo Coelho, and Bono of U2. TEN has designated Greenstar and Schools Online as its first two major projects. These two organizations will be "adopted" by TEN and receive intense guidance and support for a full year. The support will be provided by TEN members and facilitated by TEN staff. "Greenstar and Schools Online have clear, practical aims: to offer real benefits to the most disadvantaged members of the global community by empowering them to achieve self-sustaining development and access to global commercial and information networks," said Ulla Skiden, director of TEN. "With TEN support we expect both projects to achieve their growth ambitions on a global scale, bringing their powerful development tools to the many communities around the world which need them. They are perfect for TEN." Greenstar works in isolated rural villages in the developing world, providing basic services such as solar power, and wireless communications to support small clinics, classroom exchange, telemedicine and water purification. Greenstar also jump-starts economic development by developing the single most priceless asset of these villages: their traditional culture -- to record distinctive music, artwork, photography and video for worldwide distribution. Income from this "digital culture" is returned to the people of the village. See http://www.greenstar.org/introduction.htm The Technology Empowerment Network (TEN; http://www.techempower.net.), is designed to identify and support initiatives that use technology to improve health, education and economic development in underserved communities throughout the world. TEN offers a new model for supporting social and economic progress. With the knowledge that brainpower, experience and access to the influential can be worth far more than money, TEN pledges the time and counsel of its member network to help innovative social enterprises increase their global impact and serve as models for others.
The founders of TEN as well as the Technology Pioneers and representatives from Greenstar and Schools Online will be available during a group meeting at the Derby Hotel in Davos at 16:45 on Tuesday, January 30.
For more information, contact: or contact: On site in Davos
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