Abu-Ghazaleh: Our Future Totally Depends on Understanding Global Economy Moved by Technology
19 Oct 2003GAZA – The Vice-Chair of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF) Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh confirmed that digital intellectual property will become the main arena for business and that it will shape over 50% of global trade by the middle of this century in comparison with 20% currently.
In the opening speech delivered by Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh at the Global Conference on Engineering and the Digital Divide currently being convened under the patronage of President Zain Alabdeen Bin Ali in Tunisia, he said that “we need to expect that during the next 20 years, computing and telecommunications will be at no cost, which means that the world will be one entity and one connected network within the system of an ‘informational universe’.”
He added that “the future is before us and we must qualify ourselves to use a unified digital apparatus for all types of media and communications and everything will become digital.”
He elaborated that this ‘informational universe’ that we are rapidly approaching carries in its folds the danger of becoming monopolized by advanced nations if we do not bridge the gap between theses advanced countries that represent 20% and the rest of the world.
He emphasized that information and technology grant the opportunity to multiply production at rates that far surpass those who do not have the same knowledge or tools, stating that “if we cannot export knowledge, then we cannot achieve wealth.”
He pointed out that although technological trends in information are unique, they will witness a breakdown of barriers between each other and become unified in the developmental process. He also added that humans will become more mechanic or dependent on computer technology.
Abu-Ghazaleh stated that the Arabic language will become a primary internet language and that “we are working towards this through our leadership in the Multilingual Internet Names Consortium (MINC).”
He elaborated that “internet knowledge must proliferate throughout the Arab world through the IT skills program that we adopted in collaboration with Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).”
At the end of his speech, Abu-Ghazaleh emphasized that IT and communications can contribute effectively in achieving peace and security.
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