Once upon a time, societies were organized around religion, farming, trade o

Once upon a time, societies were organized around religion, farming, trade or industry. In many parts of the world today this is still true, but something else is becoming more important—the exchange of information, and the technology that we use to do this. 24-hour news, e-commerce, mobile phones, Global Positioning Systems… all these are making the world smaller and faster.
    The growth in telecommunications is giving more and more people access to the science that will help their country to develop or to acquire the medical knowledge that can fight disease. But how can everybody in the world share the recent technological advances? Millions of people cannot read these words because they don’t have access to a computer. They don’t understand English either. They don’t even have a telephone. They are more worried about how far they will have to walk today to get clean water or if they can feed themselves and their families. For most people on this planet, information is not a priority. The United Nations is now trying to make the information society a reality for more of the developing world. Ten years from now, the plan is that everybody in the world will have a radio or television and that 50% of the world’s population will have access to the Internet from schools and universities, health centers and hospitals, libraries and museums. This will improve medical care and education, science and agriculture, business opportunities and employment.