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Digital Gift to the Nation UrgedA coalition of educators, cultural and scientific organization directors, and foundation presidents is urging the creation of a national initiative to fulfill the educational promise of the Internet and other digital technologies. The recommendation was made April 5 in a report, A Digital Gift to the Nation, written by former NBC News President Lawrence K. Grossman and former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton N. Minow, and sponsored by five foundations. The report proposes the creation of a Digital Opportunity Investment Trust to “serve as a venture capital fund for our nation’s nonprofit educational and public service institutions” that would be administered on the model of the National Science Foundation. Minow said, “The trust would spur innovative uses of telecommunications and information technology for education to make available the marvels of our libraries, colleges, and museums to every home, school, and workplace.” The trust would be funded by $18 billion from the auction of publicly owned frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum over which communication signals are sent. Among those endorsing the proposal are Librarian of Congress James H. Billington and Brooklyn Public Library Director Martín Gómez. Posted April 16, 2001. |
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