The small, blue and white road sign announcing — "Internet 100 metres"—might seem a little out of place on the rustic Estonian island of Hiiumaa in the middle of the Baltic Sea. But on the family farm where Vaike Laid and her grandson Randar live, technology has triumphed over geography and given the 12,000 inhabitants a lifeline.

Isolated communities like those on Hiiumaa, whose history of farming and fishing dates back to the 13th century, have been hit hard in the post-Soviet era. Traditional sources of income are down and the tide of youth emigrating to the mainland has risen since Estonia won its independence.

Because Vaike and her husband Valdo’s farmstead was long a hub of news for the local villagers, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) suggested plugging in a computer in the old granary storage room. The Laids stepped into the digital age with ease and the island’s first net center became an instant success. "We didn’t know what it all meant," says Vaike. "But when the lines formed at our door, we knew our farm had joined the rest of the world."

The people of Hiiumaa are reaping the benefits of a government campaign to guarantee Net access to Estonian citizens. UNDP led the drive by opening the first four public Internet access sites. A total of 300 are planned by the year 2002.

Internet access has helped strengthen democracy. The goal is to create "a virtual government" in a cyber downsizing that replaces bureaucrats with online services and to make the legislative process transparent by giving people a chance to comment publicly on proposed laws.

The web has also become a catalyst for economic development. Local businesses are benefiting from orders out-sourced by hi-tech giants in Finland, Norway and Sweden; and farmers and fisherman can now sell their produce on local versions of eBay. A leading Estonian bank, Hansabank, reports an astounding 85 percent of all client transactions are made over the Internet.

Says Petra Lantz-de Bernardis, UNDP’s Resident Representative, "the Estonians had been disconnected for so long, but now they’re one of the world’s leaders in connectivity".

FIND OUT MORE about how the UN works to bring internet technology and skills to developing countries. Click on the links next Vaike's picture.

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UNDP "Choices" magazine. June 2000

Photo credit: Jacqueline Mia Foster/UNDP