Strategic Initiatives

EQUAL ACCESS

Equal Access was founded in September 1999 by State of the World Forum, WorldSpace Corporation and Solaria Corporation in order to combine their existing assets to address inequity by closing the information gap in the developing world.

Equal Access is now an independent 501 (c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to delivering critically needed information to under-served regions of the world. Through the use of digital satellite audio/multimedia broadcasting, solar energy and other appropriate technologies, Equal Access delivers information and education as a critical means of breaking the cycle of poverty and empowering people with the tools they need to improve their social and economic circumstances.

Equal Access, in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Foundation, created a region wide Digital Broadcast Initiative designed to impact 1,000 community-based village sites in South and Southeast Asia. The first phase of this initiative became operative in Nepal with 400 community-based sites.

Active listening and discussion groups at each site receive this content direct from the satellite via low-cost, portable receivers. Programming assists communities in dealing with HIV/AIDS Prevention, Women's and Girls' Empowerment, and related development issues.

Equal Access also received a research and planning grant from the Hewlett Foundation to assess effective ways to deliver development and educational information pertinent to the re-construction efforts in Afghanistan.

Based in the Presidio of San Francisco, Equal Access was incubated as an initiative of the State of the World Forum for two years and then spun off to become its own 501 (c) (3) organization in October 2001.