Prime Minister Launches NetCorps at Santiago Summit

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced today a new program that will apply the energy and enthusiasm of Canada's youth in encouraging all countries in the Americas to become full participants in the information age.

Through the Canada NetCorps Americas program Canadians from 18 to 30 will work in nations throughout the hemisphere to develop Internet capabilities, such as networks, software and computer training. The program will place up to 50 young Canadians in the Americas for 6 to 12 months with organizations, indigenous groups, businesses and institutions. The Prime Minister made the announcement in Chile while attending the Summit of the Americas in Santiago.

"We have entered a new era, the Information Age. The prosperity and quality of life of nations will depend on the ability of their citizens to adapt and prosper in this new era," said the Prime Minister. "This is why we have made it a priority to connect Canadians to the world, and to be the most connected nation in the world by the year 2000. NetCorps extends that domestic priority to our hemispheric responsibilities, making a solid contribution to helping other countries in the Americas reap more of the benefits of this exciting new era."

NetCorps constitutes a new international dimension to the government's ongoing program to place Canada at the forefront of the information age. The Schoolnet program will ensure full Internet access to all of Canada's 16,500 schools and 3,400 public libraries by the end of school year 1998-99. Funding for this program was increased in the 1998 federal budget. The Strategis program is a powerful on-line information base focusing on the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. It contains information on market opportunities, business contacts and other information.

NetCorps also reflects suggestions gathered during consultations last fall with non- governmental organizations (NGOs) conducted by the Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL). The FOCAL report said that countries of the Americas "believe that Canada has a contribution to make in the fields of distance education and access to knowledge using new technologies."

NetCorps interns will help host countries to use information technology to enhance access to education, health and other resources -- goals that complement the broad vision of a community of the Americas advanced by leaders at the Summit. They will also introduce the region's nations to a young and dynamic image of Canada, and encourage further collaboration with Canadians in an important, cutting-edge sector.

Canada NetCorps Americas interns will develop the personal and professional skills needed to compete successfully in an increasingly globalized workplace. The program will be organized and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, but will include support from Industry Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, lead department in the government-wide Canadian International Information Strategy, Human Resources Development Canada, and the International Development Research Centre.

The Prime Minister also challenged Canadian companies to sponsor Canada NetCorps Americas internships and to provide complementary domestic internships, taking full advantage of the skills and international experience of youth participants. Organizations interested in applying to implement a Canada NetCorps Americas project or youth interested in participating should contact CIDA's Youth Action Division at 1-819-994-5399 or visit their Web site at www.acdi-cida.gc.ca.

Funding for this initiative is built into the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) announced by the Government of Canada in February 1997. The intent of the Strategy is to provide work experience opportunities to young Canadians both in Canada and abroad, and better access to career and labour market information.

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

Offering youth a world of experience, connecting the Americas.

Canada NetCorps Americas is a Government of Canada program that will apply the energy and enthusiasm of Canada's youth in encouraging all citizens of the Americas to become full participants in the information age.

Under the Canada NetCorps Americas program, up to 50 Canadian youth aged 18 to 30 will be placed in organizations, indigenous groups, businesses and/or institutions in the Americas. Participants will work together with people in these organizations, businesses and/or institutions developing their Internet capabilities to enhance access to education, health and other resources. Throughout the program, Canada NetCorps internships will develop professional and personal skills in preparation for entry to the international workforce. It is hoped that private-sector partners will work in partnership with the implementing groups to develop a Canada-based private-sector component to the program.

Canada NetCorps Americas will be managed through the Canadian International Development Agency's Youth Action Division in collaboration with Human Resources Development Canada, Industry Canada, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. It is funded through the Youth International Internship Program, a part of the national Youth Employment Strategy (YES), launched by the Government of Canada in February 1997. The intent of the Strategy is to provide work experience opportunities to young Canadians both in Canada and abroad, and better access to career and labour market information.

By March 1999, more than 3,500 young people in Canada will have taken advantage of the opportunities provided by the international internship programs offered through six Government of Canada departments.

Goals for Participants
 They will work with others in societies to share in their growth and development and to contribute directly to establishing the human and digital connections necessary to ensure the future prosperity of our hemisphere.
 They will introduce the region's nations to a young and dynamic image of Canada, and encourage further collaboration with Canadians in an important, cutting-edge sector.
 They will gain practical working experience and first-hand knowledge of the culture and societies of their southern neighbours.

Connecting Canadians to the World
The Canada NetCorps Americas initiative reflects the Government's commitment to "Connecting Canadians," in particular "Connecting Canadians to the World." It recognizes the importance of global mass communications and digital technologies in the relations between the world's people and their societies and economies. It is a concrete example of how Canadian know-how and technology, Canadian values and individual Canadians can be brought together to contribute to international cooperation and human advancement. It is linked to the Canadian International Information Strategy (CIIS) and the objective of making the most effective use of modern communications technologies to create a positive image of Canada and to advance our foreign policy, international trade and international development objectives.

Canada NetCorps Americas is an expression of the importance that Canada places on its relations with the Latin America and Caribbean region. It demonstrates the long-term nature of this dimension of our foreign policy.

The Canada NetCorps Americas initiative demonstrates the Government's commitment to building the knowledge-based economy which Canada must strengthen to remain competitive in the 21st century. It is an initiative which also recognizes that Canada's development assistance programs should focus more in the future to help developing countries acquire the new technologies and move quickly to become active partners in the global knowledge economy.

Funding
up to $750,000

Partners
 Countries of the Americas
 Government of Canada

Industry Canada Programs:
The Student Connection Program will hire 2000 students over a three-year period to connect 50,000 small businesses and non-profit organizations to the Internet and train them in the use of business applications. The program will provide valuable experience to students and bring them into direct contact with potential employers. It will also help small businesses to strengthen their competitiveness by exposing them to new ideas, innovative technologies and broader market opportunities.

The Computers for Schools program promotes computer literacy and expands Internet accessibility in Canadian schools by channelling surplus computer equipment and software, free of cost, to classrooms across Canada. Since the inception of the program in August 1993, Computers for Schools has delivered over 25,000 computers and 44,000 software packages to schools and libraries.

The SchoolNet Digital Collections helps students and young unemployed people in rural, remote and some urban areas learn how to digitize important historical records and other heritage collections and make them accessible on the Internet through SchoolNet. The program has enabled young Canadians to develop marketable skills, particularly in economically disadvantaged regions of the country.

The 1998 Budget:
The budget will provide an additional $205 million over three years to expand and extend the SchoolNet and the Community Access programs. Through these programs, the federal government will work with provinces and the private sector to put computers in more classrooms and to create 5,000 Internet access sites in urban neighbourhoods, in addition to the 5,000 sites already being put in place in rural Canada.

These funds will also the capacity of voluntary organizations by providing access to computer equipment, the Internet, new information technologies, network supports and training.

The government will provide $55 million this year to the Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research, Industry and Education (CANARIE) to support the development of high speed networks.

The Youth International Partnerships Program
Canadian youth are also helping to develop information technologies in countries around the world through the Youth International Partnerships Program.

Under the program, 20 interns sponsored by the International Institute for Sustainable Development are placed with a variety of organizations working on sustainable development in the developing world. They are helping to build new information infrastructures and to promote sustainable development in the business community.

Examples of projects that interns are working on include:

The International Institute for Sustainable Development will incorporate the interns' work into a major sustainable development gateway that will become a major source of sustainable development on the Internet.


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