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October 7, 2003
Commonwealth ICT Summit: Opening Session, Part 1
At the opening of the Commonwealth Network Society Summit in London on Monday, Steven Timms MP, Minister of State for Energy, e-Commerce and Postal Service opened the conference talking about the importance of the meeting in light of the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society. He noted the discord that erupted between governments and civil society participants at the recent Prepcom meeting in Geneva. Paraphrasing Desmond Morris, he said that we all actually agree on 95 percent of the ideas put forth for the Summit, but spend our time concentrating on the five percent on which we disagree. "We must not let this deter us," he said. Without the participation of both civil society and the private sector, "all we have are words and ideas, not actions... There is so much to be gained from working with all of these actors to move forward and bridge the digital divide and economic divide."
Richard Simpson of Industry Canada spoke of ICTs and the development challenge. He said that policymakers must work to "mainstream ICTs into the development process" -- working closely with donors, international financial institutions, civil society -- to support the UN's Millenium Development Goals. He noted Goal 8, target 18: in coorperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially ICTs.
Deekand Jeeha, the ICT minister of Mauritius, gave an inspiring talk about his island nation's ICT policy goals. Historically, the Mauritius economy was based on sugar plantations, with textiles and tourism also added to the mix. Essentially the nation has access to very few natural resources, but it also happens to have a 98% literacy rate -- Mr. Jeeha sees this as a huge opportunity for Mauritius to embrace ICTs as the newest major sector of their economy. The government is working to bring broadband to all public institutions, including govt agencies and schools, by 2005. They plan to create the first cybercity in the southern hemisphere, akin to what's happened in places like Malaysia and Dubai. This ICT industrial complex would create 20,000 new jobs alone.
However, Jeeha doesn't want Mauritius to be seen as a source of "cheap ICT labor." Instead, he hopes the workforce will be valued because it is embracing lifelong learning. So even though their population, at 1.2 million, is a fraction of the size of most countries, they hope to create a critical mass of ICT workers within the population. "As a government we don't have many other choices," he said, reiterating the lack of natural resources.
In terms of e-government, Mauritius is aiming to provide most government services online, with public access set up in schools, post offices, universities. For institutions dedicated to certain populations, like schools, they'll serve as telecentres after school, open to the public. They're striving to make sure that all citizens will benefit from e-government - the govt will also make soft loans available to citizens so they can purchase Internet PCs. They also plan to build a public wi-fi network for the entire country.
"Government can't do everything,' he said. "In some cases it can be the biggest stumbling block. You need a mixture of policymakers and the private sector; civil society can then tell you what the public needs, whereas the private sector can tell you how to do it."
"Unless we change our mentality, nothing is going to happen," he admonished, wagging his finger to the audience. He called on governments to support the creation of a global universal service fund. "In the US, they spend two dollars a day to feed cows," he said. "More than most workers make in much of the developing world." Getting the rest of the world online makes good business sense too, he said. "When the 'cannot connect ones' come online, the information haves will get a new market out of it, so it's sound business sense."
"Do we want a network society or a new epidemic of a network society divide? The choice is ours," he said in his conclusion.
Posted by acarvin at October 7, 2003 3:42 PM
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