ISSUE 6

Message From the New Commonwealth Secretary General, HE Rt Hon. Donald C. Mckinnon

The pervasiveness of information technology in almost all fields of human endeavour is undisputed, as is its potential impact on development. Unfortunately, authoritative studies such as the UNDP’s Global Human Development Report, indicate a widening gap between rich and poor countries in the application of the new technologies. It is our challenge to narrow that gap.

Commonwealth Secretary General, HE Rt Hon. Donald C. Mckinnon

Over the years “Sharing” has been at the basis of much of the Commonwealth’s activity.The opportunity available to us now is to unleash the Commonwealth’s knowledge resource through the application of information technology.

The resources of the Commonwealth Secretariat, albeit limited, are often directed towards the seeding of activities or mechanisms that in time become self-sustaining and provide leverage to the discharge of our development mission.Thus, the setting up of organisations such as the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM), the Commonwealth Network of IT for Development (COMNET-IT) and the Commonwealth Knowledge Network (CKN) - all of which enjoy the endorsement of Heads of Government - are a result of that commitment.

The Communique from the Durban CHOGM held last November recognised the role of the COMNET-IT foundation as a forum for IT policy-makers “and encouraged Commonwealth countries to participate in its activities”. I wish to express support for COMNET-IT, whose work strongly complements the Secretariat’s initiatives in good governance, e-commerce, science and technology and a host of other fields that provide the context for the application of IT.

Over the years, IT has matured from being a management tool to become an economic driver in its own right. Governments, as well as the Secretariat, need to take stock of this new reality and to assign to this topic its rightful importance in terms of deliberate policy-formulation and investment in technical, legal and human infrastructure.

Information Technology, often described as the key enabler in the overwhelming process of globalisation, presents us with a paradox and another challenge: the inherent tendencies towards dominance of some forms of thought, culture and business can be tempered by the potential of IT (particularly the Internet) to preserve local and regional cultures, expressions and economic interests. This may be one of the areas requiring policy awareness initiatives in conjunction with organisations such as COMNET-IT and other international development agencies.

The Commonwealth, as a cross-section of the global community with diverse cultures and different economies, yet having so many commonalities and shared values, has a special role to promote such policy initiatives.