 |
|
|
|
|
|
TECHNOLOGY CAN AID RURAL AREAS
August 7, 2006
WANAKA -- Connectivity had changed the world and rural communities including the Cardrona Valley could benefit from technology, according to a top United States businesswoman.
In Cardrona on Saturday to talk to residents about how the local economy could benefit from local sourcing, Dr Kathy Brittain White said countries such as Ireland, India, and more recently, China, had recognised they could be a source of industry no matter where they were in the world.
"All it takes is the infrastructure, an educated workforce, and the critical ingredient -- leadership," she said.
Named by Forbes magazine in the top 25 US businesswomen, Dr White was invited to New Zealand by the University of Otago's School of Business and will make a public speech in Dunedin tomorrow.
The rural sourcing initiative had been hugely successful in the rural Arkansas Delta region, she said.
Taking business into rural areas had been a "personal thing" , after growing up in an area that was always "the butt of jokes" because of its poverty, unemployment and level of uneducated people, she said.
"The internet is a wonderful thing -- we believe that rural locations can compete successfully for at least pieces of work." Dr White said a good example was eBay, where someone had taken their garage sale and put it online.
The university business school's new head Professor George Benwell said the school was interested in projects that integrated the community, the university and business. Research development co-ordinator Graham McGregor said a pilot project that used historical material from the Cardrona Valley and that had put it online had so far attracted 200 downloads from eight different countries.
The Cardrona Community Repository started in November 2005 and used diaries, letters, oral recordings and photos collected by generations of rural residents to build information on the internet.
The software systems were provided by the school and were widely used by universities overseas to make academic papers available, Mr McGregor said.
"This is a mechanism for the community to preserve its documents, access them and contribute to building a record of their stories in their own way." Access came via searches for skiing, farming or merino.
© 2006 Fairfax New Zealand Limited. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
home - about us - services - solutions - press - employment - contact us
(c) rural sourcing, inc. All Rights Reserved. Site design by Nevermore Studios |
|
|
Download PDF