The new century, the first one of the third millennium, is witnessing a revolution in information and communications technology that is transforming the way we live, the way we work and the way we pursue the goals of national development.

The rapid changes that are taking place can often be unsettling. ln the developing world, these changes are perceived as just one more factor contributing to the growing divide between the rich and the poor, widening the knowledge gap between developed and developing countries. Poor countries and those less well endowed with human and financial resources to build information infrastructure and systems feel that they are being left behind in this technology-driven "Age of Information", thus making worse what has been termed the "digital divide".

ESCAP is dedicated to finding ways to narrow this divide and thereby accelerate the development process for more than half the world's population living in the ESCAP region. In the years since its establishment, the secretariat has taken a leading role in information development, especially in the field of population.

Since 1969, its population information development strategy has had a two-fold direction. First, an emphasis was placed on developing information products and services (including the organization of various meetings and conferences for this purpose) that would form a knowledge base and means for sharing population data and information among countries of the region. Based on the information contained in the knowledge base and the positions it advocated, ESCAP members and associate members have adopted the population goals reflected most recently at the regional level in the Bali Declaration on Population and Development. This is a convincing testimony to the beneficial impact that the secretariat's information dissemination and advocacy work has had on changing attitudes about population issues and supporting decisive actions to slow population growth while accelerating the process of national development.

Second, ESCAP has worked to build capacity in the developing countries of the region to create and manage their own knowledge bases and population information systems. The secretariat has done so mainly through the Asia-Pacific Population Information Network, which is popularly called Asia-Pacific POPIN.

Capacity- and institution-building includes training ranging from basic computer literacy to more advanced skills such as W eb-browsing and searching, Web-page creation, e-mail and listservs, Web-based database management, networking, data and information selection, repackaging, desktop publishing, and the establishment and management of information centres. The secretariat also produces an electronic newsletter three times a year to keep members of the network informed of new developments in the field thereby helping them to stay abreast of the information technology they need to serve their clients efficiently and effectively. Further, the secretariat provides technical assistance when necessary, especially for countries at the start up stage.

ESCAP, with financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), plans to continue raising a sense of urgency about population and poverty alleviation issues while helping the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific region to become ever more self-reliant in dealing with those issues.

The challenge facing us now is to build on past accomplishments so that we can fully harness the power of information and communications technologies and ensure that the poor people of this region are among the beneficiaries of the information revolution - not the victims of a widening digital divide.

Thus, I recognize the great developmental potential of Asia-Pacific POPIN and support the information initiatives and activities described in this profile.

Kim Hak-Su
Eecutive Secretary