Digital Asia-Pacific in the twenty-first century: promises and perils in the creation of an inclusive knowledge society.

• Author: Heyzer, Noeleen

Change is accelerating in the Asia-Pacific region, including in rural areas, as it becomes the global economy's growth driver. In 2010, the region's developing countries grew at an impressive rate of 8.8 percent compared to 2.7 per cent for the world's developed economies. With growth in developed countries expected to continue to sputter at around 2.5 per cent for the greater part of this decade, a new development paradigm is in the making. The "made in Asia, consumed in the West" development model that served it so well in the past is giving way to economic growth that is more inclusive and sustainable, and thus increasingly sourced from within the region. Digital innovation has emerged as a key contributor to this paradigm shift, holding much promise that all peoples will be empowered to contribute more meaningfully to the emerging knowledge society.

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Three aspects of this digital revolution give us much hope for the future: the promises of the mobile miracle, the broadband revolution, and the social media.

THE MOBILE MIRACLE

In less than five years, the number of mobile telephone subscriptions in the region more than doubled, rising from around 1.08 billion to 2.53 billion. In East Asia, for example, 83 per cent of people living in rural areas have a mobile phone. This was accompanied by a rise in home-grown mobile phone manufacturers and operators that can now claim to rival the West's incumbents. Their business model is built on reaching out to the low spending, but huge, consumer base of the region. The result is that, for the first time, we have affordable and truly inclusive mobile telephony reaching all: poor and wealthy, rural and urban dwellers, women and men, youth and the aged.

THE BROADBAND REVOLUTION

With the introduction of high-speed broadband, the Internet has evolved from an information service to a critical infrastructure of connected computers and connected people, bringing transformative change to every aspect of our lives and economies. Here, as well, our region has shown innovative prowess. Local applications that increasingly make use of mobile devices, rather than personal computers, are making important developmental contributions as e-services evolve into m(obile)-health, m-banking, and m-education services. In particular, for the geographically isolated rural poor, there is evidence emerging on a daily basis that the yoke of preordained poverty is being lifted, irreversibly--we truly are in the midst of a second IT revolution, the likes of which we have not seen since the early 1990s when we gingerly started sending out e-mails. This is echoed by the United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development which stated in its Declaration to the world leaders attending the 2010 Millennium Development Goals Summit(1) that broadband will represent a momentous economic and social change that will be a game-changer in addressing the myriad challenges we face--healthcare costs, education gaps, and climate change effects, to mention but a few.

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THE SOCIAL MEDIA

Social networking has taken root as a new form of communication. It is changing the opportunities for...