Title: Chair, Jhai Foundation
I think it is the growth and utility of the Internet. In 1998 I asked Pam Hardt-English, the founder of Resource One, where I met people like Lee Felsenstein in the early 70s, why I should help bring computers to rural villages in Lao PDR. "Why is it worth the expense?" I asked. She thought a long time, then said, "Education and business. Through the Internet, most people will begin to imagine for the first time how wide and varied our world is. This wondering will lead to deeper education. And everyone will be using computers and the internet for business. If you cannot, you will be left behind."
My father worked with computers in the '50s. I had a small vision of how computers could be useful. But the Internet was unimaginable.