Leveraging
Cyberspace
Remarks by
Hon. David Kilgour
MP for Edmonton Southeast and Secretary
of State (Asia-Pacific) to the
“Communication for Social Change”
Forum
Organized by South Asia Partnership Canada
Four Points Sheraton Hotel
Hull, May 1, 2003
Many here today are no doubt familiar with
Dr. Sugata Mitra, one of Delhi’s top
computer scientists. Mitra is struck - as
most of us who have had the privilege of
visiting India are - by its incredible contrasts.
During a visit in January, I heard much
of India’s leadership in the
nanotechnology,
information communications technology (ICT),
biotechnology and more. I toured the offices
of Satyam, Infosys, and Kshema Techonologies
and saw operations that are giving California’s
Silicon Valley - and Canada’s own high
tech sector - a real run for their chips.
But I also walked just steps outside of
these buildings into a world where half
the population evidently cannot read or
write, only one in four has access to adequate
sanitation, and, despite living in a country
that grows more food than it needs, over
a third appear to go to bed hungry every
night.
Mitra wanted
to know what would happen if poor children
were provided with free and unlimited access
to computers and the Internet. So he created
the first terminal of what is now known
as a “Hole in the Wall”.
He installed
a high-speed computer into the outside wall
of his office, gave the local children permission
to do whatever they pleased with it and
set back to watch what would happen. Within
minutes and without instruction, the children
began to learn the basics and were soon
surfing the Net.
Since that
time, Mitra and his colleagues have established
“Hole in the Wall” kiosks in dozens
of India’s poor communities - often
targeting young girls. At one point, Mitra
asked one young boy to define the Internet.
He replied immediately, “That with
which you can do anything.”
Indeed, it’s
difficult to understate the impact and the
potential of technology - and especially
the Internet - to change the world. To say
that knowledge is power has become terribly
clichèd, but, more than ever, it
rings true. In a world of growing disparities
of wealth and opportunity, knowledge remains
the ultimate leveler. You’ll hear later
today and tomorrow from Mr. Chowdhury about
some of the good work done by BRAC in Bangladesh.
I must say
that one of my fondest memories of my trip
there last spring was visiting some of the
projects Canada helped sponsor just outside
of Dhaka. One of them brought together women
from the community to discuss the law; to
teach them about some of their most basic
human rights. As often happens when a minister
visits, the operation was thrown into high
gear and the entire group came out to greet
our delegation. When I asked them, “What’s
the most important thing you’ve learned?”.
One brave woman stood up and said, “I
learned that polygamy is illegal!”
If you don’t think that even that small
bit of knowledge has forever changed her
family’s life, you’re mistaken!
Increasingly,
those with the knowledge are the ones with
access to technology. This phenomena is
certainly not unique to South Asia, or to
developing countries; it’s a reality
throughout the world. While the focus of
this Forum is to discuss the impact of ICTs
in development work, I think it’s perhaps
appropriate to start by looking at the exceptional
impact technology has had within our own
borders. I’d like to start by discussing
how ICTs affect the promotion of human rights
and democracy, how we need to ensure that
they are instruments of inclusion, how they
are impacting diaspora communities within
Canada and around the world, and how we
can leverage the changes they represent
to expand opportunities and improve the
lives of billions of people.
A tool of
democratization & Human Rights
Imagine if
all of the people in the village I visited
in Bangladesh had access to the Internet.
The potential for ICTs to build and foster
cultures of human rights around the world
is limitless because, of course, before
someone can assert her human rights, she
has first to learn what they are. ICTs put
the power to do just that in the hands of
those who would never before have had access.
What will be the impact of the sole cybercafe
in the DPRK? Or the very limited few in
Burma?
Closely
tied to the promotion of human rights, is
the idea of the Internet as the ultimate
tool of democratization. James Madison described,
“A popular government without popular
information, or the means of acquiring it,
is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy,
or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever
govern ignorance, and a people who mean
to be their own governors must arm themselves
with the power which knowledge gives.”
As an elected person, I can hardly imagine
a more transformative invention.
Anyone with
access to the Internet now has the power
to de-construct traditional media, explore
diverse opinions and formulate alternate
viewpoints. We are no longer dealing with
an electorate whose key source of information
is the local newspaper that appears each
morning on a doorstep. Canadians can access
an unlimited number of news sources, commentators,
editorialists, and even newsmakers themselves
(If you doubt this ,try the portal “ceoexpress.com”.)
ICTs have
helped bring about increased transparency
in government by making information accessible
and challenging cultures of secrecy. Gone
are the days of phoning the Queen’s
Printer to order a report. Canadians are
now able to read virtually every statement
made by their representative in a provincial
assembly or the House of Commons.
The Internet
has given Canadians a direct line to their
government - in a sense, creating “real-time
politics”. Instead of writing your
MP a letter, for example, you can send an
email and within minutes, he or she can
be aware of your position on a breaking
news event. Whereas people wanting to learn
about their eligibility for government programs
like senior’s benefits, employment
insurance, or student loans used to have
to physically pick the information up from
their representative’s office, most
now simply go online.
One of the
most significant elements of ICTs as a tool
for democratization is that they enable
this line of communication to work both
ways. Politicians and governments have the
means to communicate with Canadians like
never before and it’s changing expectations
all around. A constituent who sends me an
email, for example, often expects an immediate
answer. Those who want your position on
something often expect to find it on your
website. For most elected persons, having
your own website has become a mark of modernity
- to the point where we are quickly approaching
the day where a candidate for election won’t
even be considered credible without one.
The challenge,
of course, is to use websites as tools to
engage, not just as a forum for disseminating
information. Elected officials around the
world are using the web to recruit volunteers,
raise funds, reach out to young voters,
generate discussion groups and get voter
feedback.
While some
argue that only a small proportion of Internet
users actually select candidates based on
the information they read online, Paddy
Ashdown of of the United Kingdom points
out: “in marginal seats, (the Internet)
could shape the results: where a few hundred
votes decide between victory and defeat,
having the right list could make all the
difference.”
Your government
too is using ICTs to reach out to Canadians.
Satya Das, a panelist in this Forum, one
of the Canada’s leading public policy
analysts and, I’m proud to say, fellow
Edmontonian, cites Bill Graham’s current
Foreign Policy Dialogue as a prime example.
Satya moderated the Town Hall meeting the
Minister held in Edmonton two weeks ago,
and notes that mainstream media was little
help in generating interest for the event
beforehand. There were no references to
it in major papers or TV networks. Yet,
the event was standing room only. According
to Satya, at least 90% of those present
learned of it through list serves. The entire
Foreign Policy Dialogue, in fact, is centred
around a web-based collaborative tool so
that not just those who can make time in
their busy schedules to attend a Town Hall
can have input.
In terms
of impacts on the ultimate expression of
democracy, I think that the day may not
be far away when explaining to our children
or grandchildren that we used to vote by
manually putting a little piece of paper
into a box at a school gymnasium will be
akin to telling stories of having to ride
a bicycle from New Dehli to visit the Taj
Mahal (I do realize that such will always
be safer than driving there in a car.).
Bridging
the Digital Divide
While recognizing
that new technology offers limitless opportunities,
we must ensure that they are available to
all. Bridging the ‘digital divide’
must be a priority of responsible governments
everywhere.
‘Connecting
Canadians’, one of the most extensive
initiatives ever undertaken by the Government
of Canada was designed to do just that.
Through Community Access Programs (CAP),
Schoolnet, Smartcommunities, and more, we’ve
tried to ensure that virtually all Canadians
- youth, seniors, persons with disabilities
- and especially those in rural, remote,
Northern and Aboriginal communities have
affordable access to the Internet.
We were
the first nation in the world to connect
virtually all of our schools to the Internet,
and since 1995 we’ve established or
approved more than 8,800 public Internet
access centres in rural, remote and urban
communities throughout Canada. Adults in
rural areas beyond the reach of community
colleges are now taking high school equivalency
courses online at their own speed. In the
North, village elders are evidently marketing
their hand-crafted hunting and fishing spears
to customers around the world through the
community’s website.
Students
in Nanaimo, St. John’s, and for that
matter even our friends at a ‘Hole
in the Wall’ site in Delhi have the
same access to the collections of the National
Library of Canada and the National Research
Council as a student in Ottawa.
interpreting
Canada’s Changing Face
The ways
Canadians relate to each other and to the
rest of the world are changing quickly.
As illustrated by the people in this room,
the face of Canada is changing briskly too.
For the last year, I’ve been telling
just about anyone who will listen about
the importance of what I call Canada’s
‘Asianification’. Our population
is increasingly linked to Asia-Pacific through
trade, education, and to an almost staggering
extent - immigration. Our two way trade
across the Pacific exceeds our trade across
the Atlantic, and has for the better part
of ten years. Vancouver is quickly becoming
recognized as the epitome of a North American
Asia-Pacific city. The top five source countries
for new immigrants - China, India, Pakistan,
the Philippines, and South Korea - are all
in the Asia-Pacific region. One in thirty
Canadians is of South Asian origin! From
Afghanistan to the South Pacific, Mongolia
to Australia, each Asia-Pacific nation has
its own community in Canada. As David Hubert,
author of Peace Canada: A Choice of Futures,
maintains, we are “a nation becoming”.
And what we are becoming is a mirror of
the world.
Much has
been made of the extent of these people-to-people
contacts. However, what they mean in practical
areas such as domestic and foreign policy
development is sometimes uncertain. I would
assert that what ‘Asianification’
will mean for Canada will depend in very
large part on how all diaspora communities
harness the power of ICTs/technology.
Michael
Szonyi, a professor at the University of
Toronto who is currently doing some fascinating
research on the impact of Asian-Canadians
on Canada’s international relations,
claims that previous waves of Asian immigration
to Canada have had a negligible impact on
Canada’s foreign relations, largely
because of their small numbers, lower social
standing, lack of geographic concentration,
and disenfranchisement from the political
process.
That was
then, however, and this is now. We live
in the age of globalization. People everywhere
are connected by cell phones, email, and
relatively low cost travel. Diaspora communities
across the country now have access to one
of the most revolutionary tools ever - the
Internet.
First, one’s
ability to stay well informed of developments
in countries of origin has improved dramatically.
The probably many more than 200,000 Canadians
of Sri Lankan origin, for example, can monitor
the progress of the current peace process
through a plethora of websites dedicated
to reporting every last detail. The often
criticized occurrence of diaspora communities
being ‘stuck in a time warp’ or
sticking to opinions based on past realities
is disappearing.
Secondly,
the speed at which new Canadians can learn
about Canada’s government processes
and political players, including their own
MPs, MPPs/MLAs, city councillors, and more,
is accelerated by the Internet. These days,
one has only to enter your postal code into
the Elections Canada website to be instantly
provided with a map and profile of their
electoral district, a detailed breakdown
of the results of past elections, and an
email address for their Member of Parliament.
Not only
has the Internet changed the way an individual
can communicate with his or her government,
it is revolutionizing the way members of
various groups - including diasporas - are
communicating with each other.
Organized,
connected diasporas also have a vastly improved
ability to lobby governments on issues that
directly impact them, as well as those related
to homeland politics. Those doubting the
impact of diaspora communities on issues
of importance need only consider recent
anti-war demonstrations across the country.
Information about the many of these - especially
those organized by diasporas - was disseminated
through the Internet. Again, list serves
and message boards proved capable of turning
out large crowds.
The benefits
arising from being a part of an organized,
connected diaspora extend beyond an ability
to influence politics. ICTs can be a valuable
tool for capitalizing on the needs of Canadian
employers seeking to compete in new markets
and reach new customers. It means improving
a community’s employability by ensuring
that its members retain the level of local
knowledge, and often most importantly, personal
connections, that give businesspeople an
edge.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade (DFAIT) is trying to move away from
traditional ‘bricks and mortar’
approaches to more virtual approaches; we’re
watching business councils across the country
do the same. The Pakistan-Canada Business
Council, for example, is trying innovative
new approaches. And needless to say, the
South Asia Partnership is another prime
example. That we’re having a Forum
in Ottawa - whose opening keynote speaker
is joining us via teleconference from Bangladesh
- is certainly a testament to your forward
thinking.
Governments
around the world are assessing the changing
dynamics of diaspora communities and are
moving quickly to take advantage of them.
India’s recent decision to allow dual
citizenship with certain countries was designed
in part to encourage investment by members
of its enormous diaspora communities worldwide.
In China, government efforts to do the same
have resulted in overseas Chinese investing
some $130 billion in foreign direct investment
- or 60% of China’s total.
Leveraging
Change
All of this
is not to say that diaspora community members
without technological savvy will - or more
importantly, should - be excluded from political
processes or economic opportunities. It
is simply a reflection of the fact that
throughout the world technology is changing
our lives; it’s those who embrace these
changes who will ultimately have the advantage.
As Canadians,
we must consider how to leverage these changes.
How do we make sure that increased immigration
and people-to-people connections actually
translate into expanded trade and investment
with Asia-Pacific’s powerhouse economies,
as well as increased influence in some of
the world’s most contentious political
hot spots. How can Canada’s growing
Asia-Pacific communities help improve Canada’s
profile as high-tech leader thereby enhancing
our brand in Asia-Pacific and vice-versa?
And how can we capitalize on the tremendous
knowledge and experience that new Canadians
bring? No doubt, many of the answers to
these questions lie in the innovative use
of ICTs.
In summary,
I congratulate the SAP on the work you delegates
will be doing over the next two days. What
a meaty menu–assuming you are not vegetarians--
you have!
Let me leave
you with one more quote from Dr Mitra: “If
cyberspace is considered a place, then there
are people who are already in it, and people
who are not in it ... I think the Hole in
the Wall gives us a method to create a door,
if you like, through which large numbers
of children can rush into this new arena.
When that happens, it will have changed
our society forever."
Thank you!
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