Under the Auspices of the
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT)
FINAL EUMEDIS CONFERENCE:
“Closing the digital gap in the Mediterranean region”
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
10 – 12 June 2006
Keynote Speech on
“Closing the digital gap: Dream or Reality? Needs and Options”
By
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Chair & CEO, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg)
Chair, ICC Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecom (EBITT)–Paris
Chair, ICC Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS)-Paris
Co-Chair, UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development – NY
Board Member, UN Global Compact – NY
www. unglobalcompact.org
"Closing the Digital Gap:
Dream or Reality? Needs and Options”
Ladies and Gentlemen:
What came first: the chicken or the egg? That is the basic conundrum we face in closing the digital gap. Do we produce a lot of chickens to get a lot of eggs or vice versa? Only the digital gap is one step more complicated, because first you have to figure out which is the egg and which is the chicken!
With limited resources, what do you invest in, technology or people? Which is the priority? Which should come first?
By the way, with regard to the chicken and the egg question, scientists have seemingly resolved that issue; according to recent newsreports the egg came first. I will spare you the details, but that is not a joke; it really is the egg. However with regard to our analogy, we still face the question of figuring out which is which. I will tell you that I would put my own money on (broadly speaking) education, but I am sure there are plenty of people that would choose technology. With the chicken and the egg at least we know that it worked out for the best; after all we have plenty of both chickens and eggs, but with the digital divide we still have a challenge and an as of yet not fully fulfilled promise.
In sifting the dreams from the reality it will be instructive if we turn back the clock and briefly review the recent origins of the digital divide and the efforts to remediate it. The Eumedis project arose out of the Barcelona Declaration in 1995. In 1999 the European Commission launched the Eumedis initiative with a healthy budget of 65 Million Euros.
Not coincidentally the Eumedis initiative was launched slightly before the peak of the Dotcom Bubble. The 65 Million Euros initially lavished on Eumedis by the EC was indicative of the unique dream-like atmosphere of those days, just as the decision not to continue it at the same level represents a return to reality. A cynic might question whether the EC regrets investing so much in the EUMEDIS project, however the money was well spent and exceptionally prudent compared with much of the hyperbole of those Dotcom boom years.
After peaking in 2000, the Dotcom boom busted, and most of the Dotcom companies and much of that investment went to that ‘big investment firm in the sky.’[1] EUMEDIS is still here today, and in the presentations we will hear at this conference, we will learn about many of the significant and valuable accomplishments of the project. By highlighting the origins of the Eumedis project in a historical period of uniquely unrealistic expectations, I do not intend to criticize this project, but simply to put this discussion in the proper context. In other words, our understanding in 1999 was less perfect than it is today. This is true for most of us at the time, although I recall there were a good number of doubters that predicted the eventual fallout.
However I doubt there was anyone who perfectly synthesized both the positive and negative views of that period and anticipated the balance that we would have reached by 2006, and the remaining challenges that would remain. Traditional economists were fully vindicated in 2001 by the Internet Bubble Collapse. But those of us who embraced the innovative and transformative power of ICTs have also been vindicated.
I remember how the Internet began to transform my own business in the mid-90’s. As the use of email and the World Wide Web picked up, it changed the way many of my firm’s 52 offices did business. Although there were still many countries where Internet access was not available in those days, we quickly adopted it where we could. When I consider how much has changed only within my own firm’s operations, it is really amazing.
With offices in every Arab country getting sufficient information and knowledge resources to all our staff whenever they needed them used to be a real challenge. But because education, knowledge and information are the critical drivers for a professional service business, we worked hard to get the necessary documents, publications, and tools to over 52 offices spread around the region.
But since we adopted the use of computers, internet and online communications there has been a sea change in how we work, and the effectiveness of our staff. In 1990 some of the staff had computers on their desks and our fax and wire bills were counted in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Today there is a computer on the desk of every staff person and the resources that are available have resulted in greatly expanded knowledge across the organization.
As I begin to observe the first stages of this ICT-led development in the late 1990’s I connected it with my lifelong passion for the socioeconomic development of the Arab world, and the developing countries in general. I was thrilled by the idea that the World Wide Web could break down the barriers of geography and nationality and level the playing field. I imagined that the day was imminent where WTO-led liberalization on movement of natural persons would be a moot point, and people and work would flow through equal-opportunity cyber channels.
Interestingly, during those years, I was also an early Arab proponent of World Trade Organization (WTO) liberalization and globalization. This was not fashionable at that time, and one of the things I told my fellow Arab citizens was that the day was soon coming when it would be the Western nations that would become nervous about free trade and that the developed countries would be seeking protection from the competition of the developing world. And look at the world in 2006 and you can see my prediction became reality; except for the fact that I had envisioned one or two other developing countries profiting from this brave new world besides China and India.
But at least in general principle I was on target.
My enthusiasm for the potential of information and communication technologies led me to become involved in the United Nations Information & Communication Technologies Task Force. The objective of that organization was to help coordinate the UN’s resources and those of the global community to assure that ICTs were fully and successfully deployed for the benefit of the developing world.
The digital divide became a key nemesis.
I referred already to the circumstances surrounding the launch of EUMEDIS. Similarly, the UNICT Task Force was formed in 2001 in the final days of the Bubble. When the Bubble burst, we did what few of the Dotcom companies had the luxury of doing; we carried on. I will tell you honestly, it was a somewhat dispiriting time at the UNICTTF; the bursting of the bubble took the wind out of our sails. But that had a salutary effect; it taught us how to row.
What carried those of us in the ICT-for-development camp through that rocky period was that we never lost sight of the fact that ICTs had the potential to be transformative and that in pursuing this transformative power the Task Force had hit upon an important mechanism in forming a multi-stakeholder UN-led group incorporating private sector business, NGOs and government. That balance has been important in helping to maintain the relevance, impact and continuity of our development efforts.
Another thing we quickly discovered was that implanting ICT development projects could not involve simply pushing the technologies, whether internet cafes for Bedouin and farmers or setting simplistic quantitative targets on number of computers or internet connections available. The focus quickly moved to the need to ‘mainstream’ ICTs into development projects as an integral element of various types of development efforts, and to make sure that these were suitable for the target population, sustainable and scalable. These are lessons that I am sure we will also find applicable to Eumedis, and to any effort to carry the best of its projects forward. That brings us back to the present day.
The digital divide is still an issue, and an increasingly complex one at that. One recent article claims the digital divide is narrowing. Some cities and provinces in China and India have the same level of ICT penetration as many developed countries; but huge disparities exist within and between geographical and social groups.
Huge investments are being made by private sector firms to bridge the digital divide. Microsoft is currently introducing a FlexGo plan that aims to make computers more affordable for people in developing countries, by providing structured payments. Intel is going to train 800,000 teachers – for free – over the next five years as part of its strategy to integrate ICTs into education globally, and recently announced it will spend $ 1 Billion in developing countries on the Digital Divide. Certainly these are investments as much as philanthropy, but that is important because business investment will dwarf what governments and the development sector can provide on their own. This reinforces the value of the multi-stakeholder model of development pioneered by the UN ICT Task Force.
As Co-chair of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development to be launched in Kuala Lumpur next week and as the ICC Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) Chair, I am given the opportunity to continue that mission.
The Global Alliance is an opportunity for business, governments, civil society and international organizations to come together, to help more people, in more corners of the globe, gain the use of information and communications technologies. These technologies are powerful tools to promote economic growth and social development. We must empower more people through the use of these tools.
As a supplier of business services in the Arab region and beyond, I have repeatedly witnessed, firsthand, the power these tools have to rapidly transform business and society in the developing world. And how, when all stakeholders pull together, “ICT for development” can move swiftly from concept to reality. As a key partner in this process, business has expertise and a font of experience it’s willing to share. Stakeholders should tap business capabilities at national, regional and international levels. The Global Alliance can help maximize the use of business resources by promoting communication between business and other stakeholders.
For many years, business has served as a major partner in many initiatives, to promote ICT use for development. These initiatives should be built upon and multiplied. Business brings investment to ICTs. Entrepreneurs innovate and create jobs. Entrepreneurs also educate and train the workers of today and tomorrow. Equipped with the right skills and the right education, the world’s citizens are able to seamlessly fold in the use of ICTs at work, at play and in public life.
As the Global Alliance starts its important work, business encourages and supports the dialogue that will take place. That dialogue will enrich understanding among all stakeholders of what it really takes, especially in developing countries, to take full advantage of ICTs. What it takes, first of all, are legal, policy and regulatory frameworks that promote competition and investment, protect intellectual property and stimulate innovation. This is the foundation which must be laid first, to progressively build upwards – towards a truly inclusive Information Society.
At the same time, we must foster a shared understanding, among all peoples in all countries, of which bricks and mortar to use in building this Society. Why a certain type of brick works in some countries or in certain economies, but is not suitable for the climate of others. How choosing the wrong type of brick can create a faulty structure and make it difficult to continue building.
To construct this Society, it’s clear we will require the partnership of all – business, government, civil society and international organizations. It will take participation by the whole community.
Through this Alliance and other post-WSIS activities, business looks forward to working toward greater consensus with other stakeholders, on important policies which will shape future access to ICTs and how ICTs are used. Business aims to take an even more active role in helping to shape the agenda for the future configuration of our Information Society.
To that end, I am pleased to announce that businesses spanning the globe are joining forces, under the leadership of the International Chamber of Commerce, to lend business acumen and experience to the Global Alliance. Through a new initiative launched by ICC, Business Action to Support the Information Society, or BASIS for short, world business aims to bring its experiences to this Alliance, and at other global gatherings, such as the Internet Governance Forum, the WSIS action lines and post-WSIS-related activities.
The BASIS initiative is an indication of the commitment businesses of all sizes, from all sectors and all parts of the globe, are making to all the important work on the Information Society, begun seven years ago through the United Nations.
The digital divide may be chiefly between developed and developing countries, but what we have learned is that it is not any more significant than the hunger divide or the electricity divide or the clean water divide.
Meanwhile as you look at some of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced countries in Europe and North America you can find digital divides between certain social groups and regions. What can account for such seeming contradictions? I believe it is the matter of culture, which is just another aspect of education. If you do not develop and nurture your culture you may find yourself in a downward and disconcerting spiral. Many observers in the United States these days are concerned about the educational and cultural spiral of their own society, and the worry that they may be losing their ‘edge’ and soon cede their dominant economic and political role to new players on the world stage. ‘So what’ they say, ‘if everyone is using computers and the Internet, if we lose the ability to manufacture them.’ Cultural and educational attitudes and values are often listed as the supposed culprit for some Americans’ feeling of malaise.
I have given a great deal of thought to the issue of the chicken and the egg, and to technology and education. And my ultimate conclusion is that bridging the digital divide is not really our goal. Our real goal is education, and our challenge is to find ways to use digital technology to better deliver and support that education. The closing of the digital divide will be a by-product of our educational efforts, not the target.
Thank you,
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
1
[1] This is a colloquial expression, that would make sense to an English-speaking, or at least American audience. It basically means ‘died’ or otherwise went away. I don’t know how universal it is. It is typical to say “went to that big ____ in the sky” and fill in the blank with whatever is relevant to the discussion. It is casual, informal usage.