Mr.
Chairman, distinguished colleagues,
In the
last ten years, we have witnessed a remarkable evolution and diffusion of
Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Unforeseen even a decade ago,
ICT has penetrated nearly all corners of the globe and every facet of our daily
lives. It has revolutionized how we interact, how we connect, how we travel, and
how we conduct business. It has even challenged our idea of what a business is.
Unlike
traditional finite resources which run the risk of being depleted, the
knowledge fueling ICT is potentially limitless. It is only constrained by the limits of human imagination and creativity. The
greatest advantage of ICT is its potential to democratize knowledge. Knowledge
is no longer geographically limited; it can be shared instantly with people on
the other side of the globe, enabling fruitful collaboration and
transformational developments.
Within the last decade, we have witnessed tremendous
progress on the march towards universal connectivity. As of this year, over 3
billion people have some form of access to the internet. However, far too many people are being left behind in this technological
revolution. In the world we live in now, and in the future to come, lack of
access to the internet and to communication technologies means increased
isolation, and ensures ever greater poverty
We must
reaffirm our commitment to connecting the unconnected. Addressing the digital
divide is of the utmost importance in order to assure that we meet the Sustainable
Development Goals and to ensure that no one is left behind. Reaching these
goals will require the successful development, utilization and application of
ICT.
The progress that we have witnessed in the last
decade is due to the cooperation between governments and the private sector,
and to an environment conducive to investment in ICTs. This has allowed for the
proliferation of new technologies into society and the rapid expansion of
access to the public. Therefore, in order to maintain the course that we are
on, and indeed to connect those left behind, it will
require the collective effort of all sectors of society: government, private
enterprise, NGOs and international institutions alike; a truly global and
collaborative effort.
Israel
knows first-hand how important a role ICT can play on the path towards
development. As many of you may already know, Israel does not have an abundance
of natural resources, but it is rich in entrepreneurial determination and
blessed with a people which has a creative spirit. In the 67 short years since
it’s establishment, through hard work, directed investment, and sheer
determination, Israel has been transformed from a land of swamps and sand into a
Start-Up Nation. Two prominent examples of Israeli ICT innovations are the
navigation application Waze, and the USB flash drive. The first transformed how
we get from place to place, and the second transformed how we store and save
information.
As the
saying goes, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. Living in a county whose
surface is over 50% desert, Israelis knew from the beginning that if they were
going to flourish, they would have to be creative. Israel has a well-earned
reputation for technological innovation that has helped the developing world.
In the 1960s, Israel developed a revolutionary system of drip irrigation that
has fundamentally altered the way the world produces agriculture by
significantly reducing the amount of water needed to raise crops.
Today, Israeli
ICT innovation is still helping to transform the developing world. For example,
a new Israeli company called Takadu provides monitoring software to leading
water utilities worldwide offering real-time detection and control over a
network. This will not only save farmers’ time, money and precious water, but
free up the opportunity costs of expanding farms and freeing up labour. The domino
effect will reverberate around the globe as smallholder farms currently produce
70 per cent of the world’s food supply.
This is
just one example of how ‘the internet of things’ –devices communicating with
each other - will come to shape the
world in the years to come. This is the next step in the ICT revolution, and
Israel is ready to play a leading role and share its experience.
Just as
the spread of ICT in society over the past 10 years had been unforeseen, the
challenges of utilizing ICT to achieve the SDGs still lie ahead us. However, if
we stand together, we can utilize the promise of ICT for a better future for
all.
Thank
you.