From yesterday`s cross-sector plenary session on technology, information, finance and trade, consumption patterns and capacity building, it is clear that the World Summit`s primary programme will not focus on information and communication technology (ICT) issues.
The only official session at the Sandton Convention Centre that promised some coverage of ICT or the digital divide proved disappointing, with the United Nations still unable to furnish journalists with the names of the speakers - even hours after the fact. A representative from SA`s ICT Presidential Task Force made one short statement on the digital divide, before political agendas silenced this topic. She named lack of infrastructure and infrastructure costs, as well as education, as the stumbling blocks for South African ICT development.
One word that came up repetitively from the panel was "education", which was cited as a key ingredient for both scientific and technological development, as well as an essential prerequisite for sustainable development. "You have to have education. I think this is the key to sustainable development," commented the Unesco delegate.
Science and technology were put forward by the scientific members of the panel as a way of achieving economic development without the financial and ecological costs they usually incur. The environment to encourage scientific development, believes the panel, is one of partnerships between business, government, and the scientists themselves.
There seemed to be little chance of partnership, however, with the delegates representing unions, farmers and business, and women`s issues taking centre stage during the plenary session. The agenda has put survival issues like food, land, water and sanitation before technology and development.
Although not centre stage now, IT will be the topic behind closed doors after the summit. HP CEO Carly Fiorina is expected to meet South African President Thabo Mbeki to discuss IT issues in SA once the summit has ended. The two last met for the Presidential IT Task Force meeting at Lake Pleasant near George in the Western Cape late last year, along with other high-powered ICT experts who advised the president and his ministers on IT strategies for SA and the rest of Africa.
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