Connecting the young: the opportunities of ICT

The past week marked the anniversary of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865 and the creation of the United Nations specialised agency for telecommunications, the International Telecommunication Union.

The ITU is the oldest international organisation in existence within the UN system, albeit dynamic and a proud leader at the cutting edge of global communications.

World Telecommunications Day is celebrated annually following its institution by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, which is the top policy making body, in Malaga-Torremolinos, Spain, in 1973.

Nevertheless, and in keeping with its forceful standing in the world as the lead agency in telecommunications and ICT, in November 2005 the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) called on the UN General Assembly to declare May 17 as World Information Society Day, notably to focus on the importance of information and communication technologies and the wide range of issues related to the emerging information society.

The UN's General Assembly in its session held in March 2006 approved this recommendation.

The theme chosen for this year's observance is 'Connecting the Young: the opportunities of ICT'. The newly elected UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, in his message for this occasion, emphasised that young people are among the most prolific and knowledgeable users of ICT but he was forthright in declaring that the digital revolution is out of reach for many of them, especially those living in remote and underserved regions.

Mr Ki-moon, therefore, urged policy-makers and industry leaders to put their minds together and to co-operate with children and youth to produce suitable technologies, applications and services to facilitate access to ICT.

There is no denying that young people with access to ICT often surge ahead in their quest for knowledge and, consequently, find it possible to 'leapfrog' communications barriers with considerable ease.

They are, on many an occasion, the driving force behind innovation in the development and use of new technologies. However, and as the UN Secretary General pointed out, the digital chasm leaves others out of this picture who are unable to capitalise fully on the benefits of globalisation.

He argued that young people everywhere must have equal opportunities to rise out of poverty and illiteracy, thereby realising their full potential. On his part, Hamadoun Touré, who like the UN Secretary General has only just taken up the new role of ITU's Secretary General, underscored the fact that the WSIS recognised young people as the future workforce and earliest adopters of ICT and called for their empowerment.

To achieve this critical objective, national e-strategies must address the special requirements of children, especially the disadvantaged and marginalised, and ensure their full inclusion in the information society.

Secretary General Touré stressed that ICT are powerful tools to empower children and other vulnerable groups with information and knowledge and act as a catalyst in ensuring the rights of youth.

In addition he highlighted the point that in line with the world leaders' declaration the ITU is committed to developing ICT infrastructure and facilitating interoperability, interconnection and global connectivity of networks and services.

The ITU must strengthen the development of an enabling environment and instil confidence in the use of ICTs by promoting cybersecurity. More importantly, however, the ITU is committed to extending the benefits of ICT to people anytime, anywhere.

Within this framework, Mr Touré will be focusing on integrating youth issues into the ITU's development activities as a means of offering them more opportunities and better choice of options for the future.

The ITU will, on the one hand, leverage the ICT potential to enhance capacity building among the young by improved e-learning and education. On the other hand the ITU will promote their capabilities in using ICT towards the advancement of a better, more peaceful and productive world

It is of immense satisfaction for us in Malta as we appraise the details of the appeals made by the Secretary Generals of the UN and the ITU on this World Telecommunications and Information Day. Government's vision of the early Nineties provided for these developments.

Both leaders induced all stakeholders, as well as international organisations, non-government organisations and public policy makers to give children and young people around the world every possible assistance in accessing ICTs.

This on the grounds of the critical importance of the ICT sector as a means of learning, sharing information and knowledge and as a key factor for investing in future generations as we witness the creation of a truly open, inclusive and development-oriented information society.

There is no doubt that these are challenging times for the ICT sector. Tremendous progress is being registered worldwide in addressing the digital divide challenges largely through the operation of market forces, technological changes and regulatory reform.

In particular, where the three critical elements - market liberalisation, private sector participation and effective regulation - are in place. We have seen rapid growth in the ICT sector and today some four billion people worldwide have access to ICT with China and India in pole position, the former being the world's largest ICT market in terms of the number of users and the latter adding more than six million mobiles.

For almost two decades Government has followed a consistent policy and committed resources to provide Malta with a refined information and communication infrastructure and a pro-competitive, friendly regulatory framework in the implementation of its vision to transform Malta into a regional technology centre of excellence and an attractive hub for inward and outward economic activity.

The latest international high rankings achieved by Malta in the development of its ICT strategies, coupled with the effective results in the attraction of foreign investments, irrespective of fierce competition in newly liberalised markets, is indicative of Malta's proactive role in the emerging information society.

In many different fora Malta extended its helping hand to share its skills, knowledge and experiences and pledged to assist effectively in decreasing social and economic inequalities. The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day message blends well with our country's objective of ensuring that all must enjoy the benefits of ICT and its potential for the improvement of quality of life.

Mr Galea is Minister of Competitiveness and Communications.