[Chapter-delegates] ITU speech about... Internet

[Demi Getschko]

http://www.itu.int/en/osg/speeches/Pages/2012-03-30.aspx

Speech by ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun I. Touré
The Effects of the Internet on the Economy and Social Life

Keynote Speech
30 March 2012, Istanbul, Turkey


Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be here with you this afternoon in Istanbul – 
the only city in the world which spans two continents.
This makes it a great venue for a discussion on the Internet – which of 
course spans every continent, and now affects everything that we do in 
the 21st century.
In our modern, hyperconnected world it is easy to forget that just 
twenty or thirty years ago most people on the planet did not have access 
to even basic telecommunications.
Today, we live in a world where we have six billion mobile cellular 
subscriptions, and where 2.4 billion people use the Internet.
This is very rapidly changing the shape of the world.
We are seeing mobile devices and the Internet bringing people – and 
things – together in ways that we could never even have dreamed of just 
a decade or two ago.
Information and communication technologies, ICTs, are helping humanity 
come together; making barriers of distance and time far less important 
than our shared social and economic goals.
ICTs are also rapidly removing the barriers which once separated those 
with power from those without power.
This is as true for corporations and even individuals as it is for 
governments.

Ladies and gentlemen,
We live in a new era of accountability – and we need to embrace this as 
a good thing.
There are those who would fear scrutiny; who would prefer to remain 
hidden away; who would be uncomfortable with ‘the masses’ being aware of 
what is going on.
Those people would be wrong – or at the very best, misguided.
Because it is perfectly possible to respect the necessary boundaries of 
privacy and security, while still maintaining the right levels of 
transparency and accountability.
In a world where there will be three billion smartphones by the year 
2015, we are already seeing social media redefining the landscape we 
live in.
As people said during the wave of social protests last year, “we use 
FaceBook to mobilize; we use Twitter to report; and we use YouTube to 
broadcast.”
This is not a revolution in itself – but it is certainly a revolutionary 
form.
For the first time in human history, almost anyone can use the enabling 
power of technology. To put themselves on the map. To have a voice, in 
their own language. To make themselves visible. And to bypass the 
official narrative.
With quite remarkable speed – and for the first time – it has become 
impossible to be airbrushed out of history.
This dramatically affects the relationship between the governors and the 
governed; between the company and its customers; and even between 
husbands and wives; and parents and their children.
The democratization not just of knowledge, but of communication, is 
going to have a very profound – and I believe beneficial – affect on our 
society.

For those in positions of power, they will need to recognize – and 
embrace – their new accountability.
For those who may once have been – or felt – powerless, they need to 
recognize that they are the new agents of change. They also need to 
recognize that they have the responsibility to use that new-found 
influence carefully, and wisely.

Distinguished guests,
The Internet is also having a huge impact on the global economy, with 
businesses increasingly moving online, and billions of dollars worth of 
online transactions taking place every week.
We are witnessing the very rapid virtualization of many goods – from 
books and films to music and software. And while most physical goods are 
still being shipped into the real world, they are very often being 
ordered online.
Globally, manufacturing increasingly depends on the very short supply 
chain management processes that only the Internet can make possible.
We are also seeing unprecedented collaboration online when it comes to 
research and development.
We should not forget, however, that two thirds of the world’s people 
still do not have any access to the Internet, and that the number of 
people worldwide with broadband access is still relatively small – even 
with the very rapid growth of new technologies such as mobile broadband.
This means that we risk creating a world of Internet rich and Internet 
poor; a world where the new broadband divide is even more worrying than 
the digital divide we had before ubiquitous mobile phones.

This is why ITU and UNESCO set up the Broadband Commission for Digital 
Development in 2010 – to encourage governments to implement national 
broadband plans and to increase access to broadband applications and 
services.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Broadband has the power to radically transform society and to deliver 
sustainable social and economic progress – through an environment of 
constant innovation and a wealth of job creation opportunities.
This is why broadband networks must be considered, in the 21st century, 
as basic infrastructure, just like roads, railways, water and power 
networks.
In a more populous, ageing world, broadband will be vital in helping to 
deliver essential services such as health, education and good government.
It will help us address the biggest issues of our time – such as climate 
change and environmental sustainability – and it will revolutionize the 
way goods and services are created, delivered and used.
In the process, broadband will also help us accelerate progress towards 
meeting the Millennium Development Goals, now only just three years away.
We must therefore work hard to ensure that everyone – wherever they 
live, and whatever their circumstances – has access to the benefits of 
broadband Internet.
This is not just about delivering connectivity for connectivity’s sake – 
or even about giving people access to the undoubted benefits of social 
communications.
It is about leveraging the power of connected technologies to make the 
world a better place.
We are already seeing this with the extraordinary wealth of apps which 
are available for mobile devices – and whose number increases by tens of 
thousands every day.
This could never have happened without the Internet and convergence, 
which have brought two crucial new forces into play: the death of 
distance, and the democratization of information and knowledge.

This is the true beauty of the Internet: it finally makes the world’s 
riches accessible to everyone, at any time, wherever they are.

Distinguished guests,
There are those who argue that we do not need high-end technology to 
solve the world’s most pressing issues – such as hunger and poverty – 
and that these can be addressed by having enough people willing to help, 
and through the use of simple technology such as 2G mobile phones.
But without the broadband infrastructure humming away in the background, 
and without the power of large servers and big data storage 
capabilities, we can achieve very little.
SMS messages to remote and rural patients only work if there is a proper 
broadband network – and powerful computers – running in the background.
The same is true for enabling applications such as mobile banking, which 
is proving so very successful in bringing financial services to hundreds 
of millions of people previously excluded from the global financial system.
The innovative use of ICTs will also play a crucial role in ensuring the 
world’s seven billion people have affordable and equitable access to 
adequate food supplies.
This is true at every step of the process – from delivering the right 
information to farmers; to helping them improve yields and prices; to 
improving supply chain efficiencies; to ensuring that consumers 
understand nutritional needs, both for themselves and for their children.
Similar principles apply to smart water management and distribution – 
and here too, ICTs will play a vital role in the 21st century, as water 
resources become much more scarce, and much more valuable.
ICTs will also play a critical role in helping to create a more 
sustainable world in the 21st century.

Through smart grids, environmental sensors, intelligent transport 
systems, dematerialization and the digitalization of goods and services, 
and new ways of improving energy efficiency, we can help drive the 
transition to a low carbon economy, while better adapting to the effects 
of climate change.

Ladies and gentlemen,
We will face many challenges on the way to creating a fair and equitable 
society, where all the world’s people have access to the benefits of 
broadband – but we should never forget that without friction you cannot 
have light.
As many of you know, I am an optimist – and I firmly believe that we are 
on the path towards a brighter, better-lit future.
Together, we can achieve so much – and it is our most profound duty to 
do so!

Thank you.