Page 218 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

different actors in civil society, none of the advances that we have witnessed
over the last 50 years would have been possible. Civil society is a vast concept,
but its engine is made up by the people of vision and enterprise leaders
throughout the world. Persons like yourselves who, together with an
organization like ITU, translate the aspirations of people, technological
advances and political decisions, taken locally and globally, into action that
benefits all.

Telecommunication and information technologies have transformed the
world into the smallest place it has ever been. Sometimes it feels like we are all
passengers on a single space ship called Earth. Doors have been opened to new
worlds, the vastness and richness of which we could not even imagine just a few
years ago. The opportunities for using and sharing the accumulated knowledge
and ingenuity of humankind for the social arid economic well-being of every
man, woman and child on this planet have never been greater. We are on the
threshold of a new era in which we can truly implement both the spirit and the
letter of the Charter of the United Nations which fifty years ago, with great
foresight, showed us how, through international economic and social coopera-
tion, we can create the stability and well-being necessary for a safer and more
peaceful world.

Together - you the world political and industrial leaders and we, the
United Nations family of organizations - share the obligation to ensure that the
resources and tools available to us are put to the best possible use. We must
insist that equitable access, both to resources and to information, is given to all
the members of our new global village. We have to be more diligent in bridging
the gap between rich and poor, and especially between those who have access
to the information society and those who do not.

The private and public sectors must work more effectively together, both
at the global and local level, if we are to meet the major challenges facing our
planet today in the rational and efficient way that will preserve our world for
future generations.

In this spirit of cooperation, I raise my glass to you, the world leaders, to
the distinguished Chairman of the IC&C World Leader's Council, Dr. Carin
Christian and to our joint efforts at the service of humankind.

Thank you.

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