Our challenge, therefore, is to make globalization work better in producing equitable growth. Perhaps the most important force spurring globalization along is the spread of information and communications technologies. They can promote openness and transparency, leaving polluters and dictators fewer places to hide. When entrepreneurs in rural areas can place orders by telephone or e-mail instead of travelling long distances to capital cities, that is ICTs at work saving precious money and time. When citizens have immediate access to news and independent analysis about government policies and actions, that is ICTs at work for good governance.
Information is power.
Knowledge is the new global asset, the new business capital, the very premise of progress. But access is crucial. The world's population has just passed the six billion mark. Five out of those six billion live in developing countries. For many of them, the great scientific and technical achievements of our era might as well be taking place on another planet.