In making the announcement at a luncheon at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, the company’s President Gary Barrow, said that the Foundation represented Cable & Wireless’ ‘…lighting a new candle as a symbol of the dawning of a new age of corporate and private sector giving.’

He invited members of the private sector, heavily represented at the function, to join with Cable & Wireless and the Government in a partnership geared at making a significant difference to Jamaica’s future.

Cable & Wireless, Mr. Barrow noted was ideally positioned to lead the way in Jamaica’s attempt to bridge the ever widening digital divide, adding that the company will be significantly increasing the contribution it now makes in this area.

Citing the company’s Classmate programme through which some 300 primary and secondary schools now enjoy free Internet access, Mr. Barrow said the ‘…real challenge is to make certain that everyone has equal opportunities to benefit from technology, as traditional teaching methods are now being challenged by greater use of technology.’

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson in an address read by Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson, welcomed the launch and the stated objectives of the Cable & Wireless Foundation. The Foundation he said would give significant impetus to the recently adopted consensual approach to education by the Government and Opposition.

The Prime Minister also endorsed the aims of the Cable & Wireless Foundation in the areas of reinforcing positive values and attitudes, particularly among the nation’s youth, as well as its plans to expand opportunities for access to computers and the Internet through public libraries and schools.

The foundation has already secured, as a partner, the Inter-American Agency for Corporation and Development (IACD) which has indicated that it will be providing a number of computers for several of the foundation’s programmes.

The launch ceremony was attended by several Parliamentarians representing the Government and Opposition, the diplomatic corps, private sector leaders, academia, voluntary organizations and the media.