Capacity Building for Web 2.0 (Workshop 60)
Friday, December 5th 2.30PM - 4.00PM
The workshop was organized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in the name of a national multi-stakeholder group on the IGF follow-up. Attendance was approx. 40 people.
The panelists
Ambassador Yrjö Länsipuro (Moderator), Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Mrs Eppie Eloranta, Managing Director, Finnish Information Society Development Centre (TIEKE)
Mr Jyrki Kasvi, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Future, Parliament of Finland
Mrs Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto, Member of Parliament, Parliament of Finland
Mr Naimur Rahman, Director, OneWorld South Asia
Mr Sandeep Bhargawa, Head-Corporate Affairs APAC Region, Nokia Siemens Networks
Summary of the panelists' presentations
The workshop examined various aspects of capacity building that will enable innovation and learning networks, new users and their communities to benefit from their access to the internet and social software (Web 2.0).
The internet keeps on evolving. It started as a web of computers, became a web of knowledge and is now turning into a web of people. The social skills needed are developing among youngsters. A gap in the skills of adults and youngsters exists. Parents manage the technical side, but lack understanding of the social side of Internet. The same applies for our educational system. Virtual learning should be better understood by older generations.
Finland was taken as an example. At present, 83% of Finns use the web daily (children >90%, elderly ~11%). Public discussion is focusing on the dangers of Internet use, whereas it should focus more on parents spending more time with their children and especially spending it web 2.0 environment.
Work life is changing, societies are becoming virtual. The first generation of 'internet natives' is entering the work force. Core skill of the future is communication. 'Human capital' is developing and changing all the time. The internet is being used more and more innovatively. A recent example of the power of Internet societies was the U.S. elections, where Obama's campaign used the Internet in a way not seen before. Internet societies have tremendous work capital in their use, which can be seen e.g. in wikis and voluntary translations of web pages.
Most of the next one billion new internet users will have their first web experience with their mobile phones. They enter directly into web 2.0. How to take advantage of it? Technology gives for example children of distant areas easier access to education. Adults can be educated to become entrepreneurs taking advantage of mobile technology, thus being able to affect their lives to a larger extent. With local content and services people become more integrated into the society. New technologies can be used innovatively combining new and old technologies.
Interaction with participants
The panelists' presentations stimulated discussion where the participants shared their own personal experiences. Social networks can achieve big scale results, such as the 'Star Wreck' movie series, which was created by a group of Star Trek fans and has reached millions of Internet users worldwide. Nokia shared some of its experiences of the changing needs of the labour market as it has developed into a global giant. Virtual and social skills are needed in growing extent.
It was noticed that the nature of news is changing. People create content with their mobile phones which is then published on the web. This type of news is popular especially in Europe. It creates a challenge to the reliability of news, but also to the traditional business models of media companies. Local content creates significant added value in a global network. Local uses of new and traditional technology together was discussed through examples of i.e. weather services for farmers and fishermen. Mobile phones (and internet access) improve significantly one's chance of acquiring a job for example in India. It was visioned how in the future godparents could keep in touch with their 3rd world godchildren with the help of a mobile phone. The technology exists and is mostly affordable.