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NO BLISS The Greater Caribbean This Week Luis Carpio From 16 th to 18 th November 2005, world leaders and other decision-makers will gather in Tunis for the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), under the leadership of the International Telecommunications Union, within its mandate to "extend the benefits of the new telecommunication technologies to all the world’s inhabitants", which has guided its actions for the past 140 years toward the harmonization of national policies, bridging technological differences and fostering the interconnectivity of systems in order to put information and communications technologies (ICT) at the service of Humanity. As I sit behind my laptop, with the iPod blaring and CNN running on mute not five feet away, browsing for ICT material for this article and shopping online when writer’s block sets in, it is seductive to believe that the way we live our lives would be virtually unrecognizable to people living just 100 years ago. To be sure, the so-called digital revolution has changed the behaviour of millions and has put within reach tools to create knowledge, educate people and disseminate information. It has reshaped economic and business practices as well as governance in general, including international relations. But, that and the entertainment applications aside, the flipside of the benefits of ICT are its vast, unfulfilled promises, as evidenced in what has come to be known as the Digital Divide. Arthur C. Clarke’s 3 rd Law States that “ any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” and though many of us take things like satellites and real-time news for granted and developed countries have effectively integrated ICT into governance and everyday life, Clarke’s axiom still rings true for the large majority of humanity’s huddled masses as, in the developing world, we have yet to scratch beyond the surface of what ICT can do to help us meet the knowledge prerequisites for achieving sustainable development. A further promise of the techno-revolution is the assurance that better communications between peoples will help resolve conflict and achieve peace and security. Nowhere is this truer than in the struggle for regional integration, particularly where countries with diverse cultures and languages share a common historical experience and a relatively small semi-enclosed geographic space, such as in the Greater Caribbean. In fact, the Declaration emanating from Phase One of the Summit acknowledges that r egional integration contributes to the development of the global Information Society and makes strong cooperation within and among regions indispensable. Regional dialogue should contribute to national capacity building and to the alignment of national strategies in a compatible way, while respecting national and regional particularities. In this context, the Declaration encourages the international community to support the ICT-related measures of such initiatives and recognises that sustainable development can best be advanced in the Information Society when ICT-related efforts are fully integrated in national and regional development strategies. To this end, and taking advantage of this renewed commitment, the ACS Transport and Natural Disasters Directorate will continue to mobilise international and regional support for its flagship programme to implement and operate an integrated technological platform into which will eventually be subsumed several ACS ICT initiatives on transport, natural disasters, trade and sustainable tourism in order to create the first one-stop regional portal for integration. There is no bliss in ignorance. Luis Carpio is the Director of Natural Disasters and Transport and acting Political Advisor to the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States. The views expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Feedback can be sent to: mail@acs-aec.org September 7, 2005 |
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"Technology has produced the information age. Now it is up to all of us to build an Information Society… From trade to telemedicine, from education to environmental protection, we have in our hands, on our desktops and in the skies above, the ability to improve standards of living for millions upon millions of people."|
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2007 |