8 thoughts on “Future Scenarios 2022”

  1. Just ten years ago in 2012, it is hard to believe that the government of Myanmar did not allow access to the entire internet; many anti-government, free email, and web sites were blocked. The costs to install internet access and ongoing user charges were purposefully and prohibitively expensive for most people. The government restrictions on pricing and deliberate lack of facilities and infrastructure kept people in the dark. The internet speed was by design slowed and a range of websites were banned by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. Less than one in a hundred people in Myanmar had a cell phone. All media was state run or censored.
    Today, we see a thriving array of independent newspapers with award-winning reporters; young and old people in all cities in the countries can be found on cell phones; internet cafes abound. High speed internet is unfettered and available to everyone.
    How did this remarkable change happen? What was our role in helping this unprecedented transformation?
    With the historic elections in 2012, we at the UNDP saw an opportunity for change in access to information in the country. We started a campaign to Shed the Light on Myanmar by first changing the legal bottlenecks to free access to communications.
    We knew that one of the biggest obstacles to opening up the country were antiquated and repressive laws on the books. The internet was regulated by the Electronic Act which banned the importing and use of a modem without official permission, and the penalty for violating it was a 15 year prison sentence, because it was considered “damaging state security, national unity, culture, the national economy and law and order.” The media laws were punitive against reporters who questioned the state.
    The strongest opponents for such legal change were the former military who still dominated the parliament. The Shed the Light campaign targeted those who were in a position to change the outdated laws.
    To reach the former military parliamentarians, we met with business leaders whom we knew would have their ear. Our message was that an open Myanmar was good for business. The business community had access to pressure the parliamentarians to change the laws if business was to thrive in the country.
    We approached ASEAN members to pressure the lawmakers. Their message to parliamentarians was that Myanmar could not be a successful host of the next ASEAN gathering if they were a closed society when it came to communications.
    We provided support to key civil society organizations who themselves pushed for new laws. We worked with parliamentarians to help draft those laws through seminars and multi-stakeholder meetings.
    We also produced Shed the Light T-shirts and billboards to make the campaign a household name.

  2. Opening paragraph of speech

    We are on 2022, in Morocco. In 2011, I was appointed to manage the High Institut of Information and Communication (ISIC) with the mission to modernise the institution and developpe the studies in the sectors of journalism, information and communication around the differents regions of the country.
    This coïncide with the context of Arab Spring in wich the studants of ISIC was the leaders in the Level of Morocco.
    The speech proposed will explain the link and the interference between all this différent events around the theme of the Challenge of the media and education in changing society.

  3. ‘THE FREEDOM SONG’ YEAR 2022
    ‘Today we can sign a song, a song of freedom not from slavery, not from poverty, not from oppression as freedom can never be given by the oppressor but, a song of freedom from media suppression. Barely two years ago, Parliament passed the Freedom of Information bill which liberated every journalist to cover any story in any part of the country objectively without fear. The state media is no longer controlled by politicians in state house; the state media today is not biased to the ruling party and what the party officials are doing but, about enlightening people on what the government is doing whether good or bad. The private media have not being left out, for they too are able to express freely the views of every citizen on any issue that pertains to how the state, organisations and individuals acquire and exercise their authority (Governance).’
    Ladies and Gentlemen, the freedom of information bill didn’t come on a silver plate, blood was spilled and lives were lost; it was a fight for the brave, a good cause for the future of our country which was embraced by the young and the old. We succeeded were others failed, we were oppressed by the government yet, we never lost hope and today, I stand with my head high because of the good fight we fought.
    We have not yet arrived because they are people who will rise against this bill as they would want to consolidate power in their hands by supressing and controlling the media. Therefore, we must stand ready to defeat any enemy; for an enemy of media freedom is not only an enemy of media freedom but an enemy of the state as well…………

  4. Speech on the economic issues
    In my country (Republic of Yemen), I am planning as a minister of finance to implement strategic information system during the coming ten years to modernize the system of revenue and expenditure of my country to reach to electronic government. During this period, I have to contact all donors for assistance to achieve this important plan. In fact, I need assistance in training, software, and hardware. I hope I will achieve this plan during ten years or less. When I finish this plan which I consider it the first step in implementing economic reform, the economic reform will run in the correct way.

  6. I’m posting this for Migara re: Sri Lanka

    What propelled our country to becoming one of the most democratic states in South Asia was the early emphasis we placed on creating an information economy. We believed then as we believe even more fervently now, that freedom of information was a key prerequisite to growth and equitable development. The important transmission channels to achieving these two objectives are good governance and transparency—both of which are firmly rooted in an information economy. We have seen the massive improvements in service delivery as a result of a participatory approach where all key stakeholders are able to provide the input. Now that we have 100% Internet infrastructure, 98% mobile phone usage, and access to i-phone generation 15, which allows video conferencing at less than $0.02/hour, we will continue to strengthen our long-standing democratic regime and good governance.

  7. Education is to human soul what sculptor is to a rock. The wise saying was my opening sentence for my first meeting in education department and has energised me ever since. I take this opportunity to remind myself of the task at hand and to thank the Honorable Minister for Education and Respected Chief Secretary to post me at a place which is so close to my heart. I feel greatly honoured to take up my responsibilities. It is like home coming. I’ve been in this department for over three years and many of you know me already. The clock has come full circle and after seven years I am back here again. Education is not work, it is labour of love. Those who have worked with me know that how much we wanted to do and how many hurdles we wished to overcome. We succeeded in some and we failed in few. But the prospect of being able to bring about good change and the satisfaction of having made some progress were rewards unmatched which kept us moving. I know this is not a very good news for few of you who want things to be done at its usual pace according to the set patterns. But I am sure those who want to break new grounds and wish to feel the rush of adrenaline with prospect of being able to do things in new ways will be delighted to be in the team. I shall not promise easy time. Yes, I will promise a sense of progress and real time results which many of us in government sector keep missing very often.

  8. World Bank Communication and Good Governance Scenario Exercise 2022
    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    Ten years ago, we took a bold step to set aside our prejudices about reforming the postal and communications services in our country. We took a leap of faith and restructuring our telecom industry and licenced our second national telephony operator. We opened up our air waves to the private sector and allowed our national broadcaster and newspaper to operate in a competitive environment. Indeeded, through the inactment of the far reaching Telecom and Communications Reform, Restructuting and Divestiture Laws (Cap 2012); we achieved a historical landmark which not only impacted the socio-political economics of our people and country but had a huge positive impact on the sector as a whole and national GDP.
    Of course as a department of Communications we are honoured to be invited to speak before this esteemed professional gathering. Looking back to 2012 however, we are quick to point out that our achievements would not have been registered without a proactive national consultative process; and the commitment of our President and Parliament with whom we shared the vision and resolve to act in a timely manner to wholesomely reverse the state of dilapidation of our national communications’ backborn.

    State of Affairs Prior to the Reforms in 2012

    The following are key figures that characterised our country’s communications sector:

    every six(6) families shared one telephone line in the city and twenty families (20) shared one in the rural areas.

    there was no cell phone services in the country

    Internet and money transfer services were based at the post offices which lacked national coverage and were heavily un invested.

    we mantained a single broadcaster and television monopoly in “national interest.”
    countrywide, we averaged one month for internal courrier services of mail and packages and about three months to move international mail becuase we were not signatories to global conventions.

    Roadside telephone booths were either non functional or non existant (in villages) while the interconnectivity network was lacking in most parts.

    Despite the above state of affairs, it was not easy pushing through the reforms. The politics of the reforms far outweighed the technical- monitory challanges we faced. That the reforms were going to take way control of a sector from the line Minister and place it in the hands of the private sector was then unacceptable. That through the reforms 1,500 jobs were going to be lost in the telecom company alone; 2000 in the postal services and that the only source of “national” news was to have an alternate news source operated by un known “bidder” tantamounted to a tresonable act.

    Impact

    To-date, from a mere single broadcaster we have 50 fm stations and 10 television operators; we enjoy fibre optical connectivity, a cellular operator is on board and 4 million people out of 20 million people are connected country wide. Our mobile money transfer system is the fastest growing in the region and has dwarfed commercial banks by facilitatting trade to the tune of UDS 300 million annually for the last two years alone. In a hugely unbanked society, this volume of cash movement and trade facilitation is a huge push sparked off primarily by the availability of communications services and upgraded technology.

    The opening up the media industry for example has facilitated licencing of an additonal 10 local newspapers which are privately owned. These papers contemnt is so diverse to the extent that some serve to enhance the education of our children. a case in point is The new Vision which runs “childrens’ vision” every week and will once a week which is targeted at primary schools. Another local paper, the Monitor, publishes past examination papers for the advanced level schools and are circulated free of charge. This is a complementary service that has benefitted our education services sector and contributed for the last 10 years to raising our literacy levels and hence fight poverty.

    There are similar success stories in the health sector where radio and Tv are used to create awareness on health issues. A recent study by reknown Annenburg School of Communications which focused on the impact of infotainment in health directly attributed savings to the tune of USD 500 million on the health budget to this communications initiative.

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    We have sustained our GDP growth as a nation at 7% per annum for the last 7 years due to the above key reforms. Our interconnectivity levels across the communications sprectrum are comparable to those of Norway and Sweden at this point about the time they launched theirs. In only 10 years maternal deaths have decreased by 35% out of which 20% is associated to interventions and awareness through communications facilitated by the reforms. We are proud that our country currently receives 10% of our projected DFI from repartriations made by our citizens in the diaspora. This hitherto was un heard of becuase the value added commnimications facilities such as the internet; SMS, MMS and Mobile Mobile Money Transfers were un heard of and or, impractical given the underinvestment and lack of technological transfer.

    An educated, healthy and socially accounatble community drives a nation on the road to economic growth and sustainability. Communications’ reforms in our country ensured that we achieve the above. our aim is to look to newer and modern solutions in the sector. We aim to liberalise further and invest a lot more in innovation so that we develop our own local solutions for local challanges. the lack of investment in energy for example is a deterrent to timely communication. We need such solutions as batteryless phones.

    Yes we did it; you too can. We soldier on for the tasks ahead are still enormous.
    I thank you.

    Jim Mugunga
    Head of the Department of Communications Reforms

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