It has truly been inspiring to be here and listen to all the experiences and viewpoints that have been raised from so many different parts of the world, look at the information society and examine it from your individual angles. The information society is arguably the most remarkable advance made in dissemination of information since Gutenberg introduced printing. The great possibility opened up by printing was mass production of the written word. From that time on, language and literature ceased to be instinctive human responses to the passing age and could be preserved for ever possibly nowhere more remarkably than in my country, where the early printed translation of the Bible into Icelandic established the ancient Viking tongue in a form which has withstood the onslaughts of the centuries even today. People marvel now that Iceland has preserved its ancient language, but not everyone realises that this is not just something quaint and charming, but actually the result of keeping up with the leading technological developments of the day, which is what printing really was.
Progress is therefore compatible with preserving the past, and even contributes to it.
In today s information society we talk about computer literacy, and a whole new wave of democratic advances follows in the wake of this modern skill. The difference from printing is that this information is instantly available globally. The Internet demands responsibility as much as it offers freedom, just like the freedom of speech, in fact. In the past few days you have been addressing themes of paramount importance, and please allow me to express my admiration and appreciation of your wisdom in these fields, since such wisdom is the basis for action. It takes courage to contemplate the state of affairs and describe it at international conferences, and possibly even more courage to have to wait for the truth of nature of the problem to dawn on others, who then finally will be prepared to do something about it.