In a speech before the Electronic Jordan Conference held at the Al Ahliyya Amman University, Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and Founder of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International (TAGI), focused on the fact that people are always the greatest obstacle to change, capacity-building in an attempt to surpass the digital divide and optimum utilization of the current revolution in the field of IT and communications.
He added that it is well-known that IT and communications can grant the opportunity to developing nations and their peoples to overcome what was considered in the past natural phases of development including industrial transformation that has assembly lines, the cancellation of human roles, the dominance of robotics, pollution and natural disasters.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh, who is also Vice-Chair of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF), gave an example in which people are always the greatest obstacle to change, as the green revolution was supposed to wipe out hunger after it indeed increased the amounts of crops significantly. Yet the main impediment to ten million people from four African countries facing starvation wasn’t actually food, but rather was people themselves. This is because there was enough food, even before the green revolution, but there weren’t enough individuals concerned to deliver it to those in need.
Abu-Ghazaleh gave a second example which was something that was alluded to by Robert Hawkins, one of the pioneering experts in using IT and communications in education and development. This was that the creation of the infrastructure is the easiest part of the battle. So what is the other part? It is facing the enemy that is us. Changing people is much more difficult than finding finances or technologies.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh – Chairman of the Working Group on Human Resources and Capacity Building (HRCB) of the United Nations Information and Communications Technologies Taskforce (UN ICT TF) – highlighted Jordan occupying the ninth place in terms of efficiency of governmental programs dedicated to IT and telecommunications.
He added: “We feel grateful for the leadership role taken by King Abdullah the Second.” He also pointed out to Jordan occupying the 49th position out of 75 countries in a report on global IT prepared by the International Development Center at Harvard University in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The report was entitled “Preparation for a Network Connected World 2001-2002”.
He stated that this gives an indication on where Arabs stand and how they compare to other peoples, adding that while the report defines infrastructure problems such as the availability or lack thereof of capabilities and appropriate policy, it also asserts the existence of inherited problems such as stagnation, unawareness, discrepancy in income and fixed attitudes towards telecommunications and competition.
Abu-Ghazaleh wondered aloud whether Arabs are ready to face the challenge and change, stating “stagnation means adhering to our old methods in doing business and feeling content doing so, in addition to wasting money in solving a problem or addressing technical issues without confronting the inherent challenges that face our current business. Yet while we seek to enhance the development of the information society and the knowledge-based economy, enter into a new world tied with networks, and provide our children with social and economic progress previously unimaginable, it becomes necessary to challenge our old ways and become innovative.”
He called on everyone to read the global IT report issued by Oxford University Press and located at www.oup-usd.org/reports. In this report, there was a lot of optimism in developing IT and communication for economic progress, such that the level of poverty would decrease.
Abu-Ghazaleh, who chairs the ICC Commission on E-Business, Information Technologies and Telecoms, pointed to the potential of IT and telecommunications in overcoming the digital gap while also warning that there has been much discussion on IT and telecommunications and progress simultaneously with unrealistic expectations that could lead to the burst of the internet commercial bubble.
Abu-Ghazaleh stressed that all this means that officials at the highest levels need to focus primarily on human resources, education and capacity-building in an attempt to overcome the digital gap before it’s too late.