Many fear that their customs, culture and even their livelihood are in danger of being lost in a sea of foreign products and ideas. Many sense that their elected Government does not have as much control over things as it once did. These are, I believe, some of the feelings that lay behind the protests I witnessed during the WTO meeting in Seattle last week. People were voicing their fears about the effects of globalization. It would be wrong, however, to portray globalization as the source of all evils.
Globalization does present tremendous opportunities for growth and prosperity.
It does help us connect to one another and learn more about each other. It does knit our world closer together. The challenge before us is to seek creative and constructive ways of managing globalization so that it benefits the greatest number of people and nations. We must strive to give globalization a human face. Your presence here tells me that you have understood this well.