Sun Microsystems, challenged leaders to rethink traditional education models. On the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) campus at a forum titled "Open For Education," introduced by Sun's Chairman of the Board of Directors Scott McNealy, the participants discussed how the rise of the global network has lowered barriers to access so that educators and students alike should contribute to and share better educational tools. The panel proposed that a shared approach -- which can harness the power of collaborative thinking and innovation -- be adopted on a global scale in order to eliminate the "educational divide" and improve political, social and economic conditions around the world.

Moderated by Jason Margolis, technology correspondent for BBC's "The World," this Participation Age event featured Dinesh Bahal, senior director of education solutions -- global education and research at Sun Microsystems; Dr. Vijay Kumar, assistant provost and director of academic computing at MIT; Tim Magner, director of educational technology at the U.S. Department of Education; Dr. Bobbi Kurshan, executive director of the Global Education & Learning Community (GELC); and Patrick Supanc, vice president at Pearson Education. The event was attended by academics, professionals and media. A webcast will be available tomorrow at http://www.sun.com/openforeducation.

"Grade school math hasn't changed since Isaac Newton's time, so why is California paying some $400 million annually to 'update' grade-school textbooks?" said McNealy. "With Sun's roots in open-source software, we know that making technology free and available to everyone has broken down barriers and created innovation like nothing else. In the Participation Age, education should be similarly open and accessible. We recognize that today's student is tomorrow's researcher, developer, business owner, change agent and global citizen. The more corporations, non-profits, educators and individuals collaborate to expand opportunities, break down barriers to access and improve overall quality, the better the chances for innovation at every turn."

Sun believes the world is entering a new era - the Participation Age - where dramatically lowered barriers to entry, plummeting device prices, and near-universal connectivity are driving a new round of network participation. From blogs to Java technology, SMS messages to Web services, participants are forming communities to drive change, create new businesses, new social services and new discoveries. This growth in the network economy is fueled by sharing and collaboration among communities interconnected by technology and driven by purpose. Sun also believes that sharing and collaboration in the Participation Age will stimulate innovation to help all participants from across the world grow and prosper.