E-Techonlogy Challenges and Opportunities: Empowering a Graying Society
Address by Ambassador Hjalmar W. Hannesson
ECOSOC Vice President and Permanent Representative of Iceland to UN
E-Technology Challenges and Opportunities:
Empowering a Graying Society
19-20 June 2006
I am delighted to take part in this conference as one of the four Vice-Presidents of the Economic and Social Council and it is a great pleasure for me to address this distinguished audience.
I would like to thank the organizers of the Conference which is organized in coordination with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Programme on Ageing, Department of Public Information, School of Health Technology and Management and Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, SUNY, NGOs, and the private sector.
We are in the second day of this two day conference and we now also express our appreciation to all those who exerted their utmost efforts in preparation of it and to all participants who shared, and will share today, their deep knowledge with us.
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations has always been at the forefront of promoting initiatives that aim to advance the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals both in the short and long term. We continually invest efforts into conferences and activities like this. Through the previous United Nations ICT Task Force and the new Global Alliance for ICT and Development, we have fostered the coming together of stakeholders and constituencies, the building of a network of regional nodes and working groups around the globe in the quest to mobilize resources and expertise in ICT applications to advance us closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Over a number of years, we have worked closely with the International Council for Caring Communities and other organizations to foster awareness of these issues and bring to the table proposals for groundbreaking initiatives to be taken in this direction. We have organized conferences, launched activities and initiatives to support ideas within the same framework to create an enabling environment for various stakeholders to form relevant platforms and fora to advance the common goals of development across every divide and information and communication technologies (ICT) in particular.
The ideal of an inclusive information age is one that the Economic and Social Council considers as much of a priority as any other within the framework of achieving the goals set at the Millennium Summit. Recognizing this and going further to formulate policies and take steps to achieve it will move us closer to our goal.
In this respect, we hear lots of things about ICT and older people but not much about particularly what is being done to bring older persons into this sphere, to empower and enrich their lives through the use of ICTs. Older people possess the wisdom and experience of years, but we do not hear much about what can be done to incorporate this knowledge into our rapidly growing information society.
Older persons are among those who have not fully benefited from the potential of e-technologies. E-technologies can effectively be used to improve the quality of life of older people. These technologies can provide the elderly with services they need as they age. They can do so by enhancing individual employability, knowledge and development, and by creating networks of internet based information/training, support and communication systems for their social, economic and health services. But most importantly, they can transmit the wisdom and experience of senior citizens to all of us, and enable people of all segments of the society and all generations to remain connected.
In this regard, we should all keep in mind that all generations must benefit from e-technology and that policies encouraging cross-generational opportunities and shared experiences can contribute to meaningful and cost-effective development. We all know that there is merit in what older people can bring in our societies. And e-technologies can help us use this capacity in its full and effective implementation. It is only through an all inclusive approach that we can achieve successful and sustainable development.
Our wish is that this conference will become a part of these efforts. I welcome this important gathering and I am convinced of its success and that it will lead to other important projects on the way to efficient use of e-technology to benefit older people.
I thank you
