Stan Shih, founder of Acer Inc., has called upon Chinese Taipei's private enterprises as well as nongovernmental organizations to participate in the initiative and help improve access to digital technology within the international community under the auspices of "ADOC 2.0."
Shih first proposed the ADOC 2.0 concept when representing Chinese Taipei at Australia's 2007 APEC summit, in the hope of making a more substantial contribution to the international community in his area of expertise. The ADOC 2.0 program focuses on inviting private businesses and NGOs from member economies to join in establishing an effective platform that incorporates the public and private sectors. It includes a wide network of ADOC training centers offering accessible and affordable "digital opportunity devices," computer-related training programs and the application of information and communications technology. The project is expected to enable students, disadvantaged groups, and small and medium-sized enterprises to develop their information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge and skills.
One year after the idea was announced, an ADOC 2.0 project meeting was held Aug. 1 in Taipei City, attended by officials from the Council for Economic Planning and Development, Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education. Private sector representatives present at the meeting were Acer Inc., ASUSTek Computer Inc., Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd., the Institute for Information Industry (III) and Tzu Chi Foundation. In addition, the Stans Foundation (established by Shih), Microsoft Taiwan Corp., Taipei Computer Association and China Productivity Center all expressed their commitment to the ADOC 2.0 initiative.
Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 3, Chinese Taipei hosted "ADOC Week 2008" in Taipei, inviting delegations from APEC partner member economies, including Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. On the sidelines of the event, the ADOC Plenary 2008, ADOC 2.0 International Conference and ADOC e-SMEs International Forum were held.
At the opening, Shih pointed out that the first phase of ADOC has resulted in preliminary achievements. He said the ADOC 2.0 program is expected to attract more private companies, along with the government's collaboration, in a bid to take the project to the next level through increased participation from home and abroad. In terms of the private sector, currently 13 international enterprises and NGOs have agreed to support the program.
Scott Lin, Acer's president of Taiwan operations, announced at the meeting that his company would invest around US$300,000 per year in the domestic as well as overseas operations of ADOC 2.0. Lin outlined several priority plans, such as those related to bridging the digital divide among middle-to-low income families in Taipei City and establishing digital learning centers in remote mountainous areas. In addition to local affairs, Lin pledged to cooperate with NGOs in other APEC member economies.
At the gathering, the Tzu Chi Foundation also declared its participation in ADOC 2.0's digital learning program, in which the foundation and Tzu Chi University will jointly take charge of training potential instructors. Moreover, it will work with other members to combine related materials and facilities in view of bridging the digital divide through the efforts of Tzu Chi volunteers.
Shih stressed that the idea of "2.0" originated from the concept of "Web 2.0," using the principle of Internet protocol to coordinate and give direction to participating members. The idea is to incorporate everyone's strengths and integrate resources from different circles, so as to set up a collaborative platform for partners to contribute their parts.
Shih added that at the beginning of the ADOC 2.0 initiative, large enterprises like Microsoft, Chunghwa, Acer, Asus and Intel Corp. promised to provide US$300,000 of software, hardware, manpower and infrastructure, for a minimum of three years. Meanwhile, the other eight NGOs including the CPC, Industrial Technology Research Institute, III, International Cooperation and Development Fund, Stans Foundation, Taiwan Research Institute, TCA and Tzu Chi will each spend US$100,000 per year promoting the program.
According to the III, last year the ADOC Secretariat welcomed a new partner, Thailand, and established an ADOC partner office, digital opportunity center and two telecenters in the kingdom. In addition, the secretariat opened new e-commerce centers in Chile, Indonesia and Peru. Additional ICT equipment was deployed to an ADOC telecenter in Vietnam, the III noted.
Among all of the ADOC partners, Peru is one of the few to participate in the program from initialization until now. "The whole idea of the ADOC project is to transfer Chinese Taipei's know-how to recipient countries. So it was a very good gesture on the part of Chinese Taipei to share its advanced knowledge on ICT with APEC partners," Jose Carlos Eyzaguirre, director of the Commercial Office of Peru in Taipei, told Taiwan Journal.
Commenting on the e-school established in Peru under ADOC, Eyzaguirre noted that its intention is to disseminate the technology's attributes during the formative years of a child. "The program has the virtue of being able to be developed on a greater scale. The opportunity has been crucial in this case, as the Peruvian government implemented a new policy regarding education," he stressed.
In addition, ADOC set up e-commerce centers in Lima and Arequipa last year, helping many local SMEs. "Our society is very aware of [the center's] aims and the benefits they bring to the whole community," Eyzaguirre said, adding that "under ADOC more than 10,000 entrepreneurs have been trained." More importantly, he continued, the system has opened new windows of opportunities for a number of businesses due to the new techniques involved.
As the first phase of ADOC has worked so well in Peru, Eyzaguirre looks forward to the implementation of ADOC 2.0. "The new program will be launched this November in Lima when the Leaders' summit takes place. It is very important to have the input of the private sector, and we recognize the importance of this since Shih will manage the program," Eyzaguirre said. "We expect the program to expand and make the ICT industry a key player in our daily lives."
Juan Luis Kuyeng, a manager with the Export Promotion and Tourism Commission in Peru, is one of many locals benefiting from ADOC. When the first Peruvian center was founded in 2005 by ADOC, Kuyeng was one of the center's first lecturers. Through training programs arranged by ADOC for Peruvian small business operators, he understood the difficulties these people encountered on a daily basis. Therefore, Kuyeng designed a system called "Easy Export," which integrates customs, taxation and postal services through the Internet. The system is particularly useful for Peruvian exporters in the remote mountainous areas.
Eyzaguirre's comments and Kuyeng's experience prove how effectively ADOC can contribute to recipient countries. It is highly anticipated that Shih's 2.0 version can accomplish more by further involving the private and public sectors. And with the project initiator Chinese Taipei's ongoing support, the day when the digital divide among APEC member economies is bridged will not be far off.
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