An ancient Maya prophecy says a day will come when Earth will be covered by a giant spiderweb and a group of 13 will bring all the people together.Mark Lewis, a member of the Pajaspuypayem tribe, learned about the prophecy only after his 13-member committee set out to develop the No Boundaries project. Through the project, the committee aims to use information technology to link indigenous peoples all over the world. The committee, which is made up of American Indians representing 10 tribes from Mexico, the United States and Canada, was formed in March 1999. In November 1999, the group began working on a Web portal, which offers a communication platform to schools and culture preservation committees, as well as a means for indigenous peoples to sell goods and services. Members pay a monthly access fee.The next step was to create a mobile indigenous network through WAP technology to cater to a more widespread audience. Lewis says there are cell phone and PDA users in unexpected places. For example, the Khoisan of South Africa already use CyberTracker, which employs GPS technology to locate animals for tour companies. Software engineers from Israel, Taiwan and Malaysia built the WAP interface for the No Boundaries project, which was ready for rollout in early October. The accompanying website was finished in June. Lewis says there has already been an intense response to his committee’s work from indigenous groups all over the world. The Enka, Oroqen and Nanai in the area of Northern Asia, native Tasmanians and Hopi Indians are just a few examples of groups who have taken a strong interest. More than 1,800 communities representing 4 million people and 444 languages have signed on to participate in the network. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks How gen AI is joining the holiday shopping season One year after the launch of ChatGPT, the retail industry is embracing generative AI to deliver a variety of benefits By Elliot Markowitz Dec 06, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by NTT DATA Transform your technology and accelerate business outcomes with NTT DATA’s Technology Solutions By Miriam Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at NTT, Europe Dec 06, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by SAP How the cloud and AI will help more companies become future proof In a world where macroeconomic uncertainty has become the new normal, being future-proof is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It’s a must have. By Scott Russell, Customer Success at SAP Dec 06, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership feature 6 generative AI hazards IT leaders should avoid The opportunities to use generative AI will greatly vary for each organization, but the ways it can go wrong are turning out to be fairly universal. By Mary Branscombe Dec 06, 2023 11 mins CIO Application Performance Management Generative AI Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe