The Ilham Winter 2010

23THE ILHAM A Journal of Contemporary Digital Policy The role of government? To facilitate the process of engagement with other global citizens around the world. THE KEY STEPS TOTHE FUTURE ARE CLEARLY LAID OUT BEFORE US IF OUR INSTITUTIONS SIMPLY LEADTHEWAY: 1. Provide the infrastructure required to access others across the globe 2. Provide the education to web users and potential web users to use the technology more effectively and without fear or stigma 3. Encourage web-based interactivity, don’t stifle it 4. Recognize the value of engagement across the complete spectrum of any national society 5. Eliminate bans on social media sites; these web sites tend to regulate themselves 6. Encourage web access through a more robust network of hot spots like cyber cafes and learning centers 7. Establish these facilities within public gathering places such as mosques to provide the social context for learning, commerce, and discovery 8. Integrate distance learning into current school curriculae to encourage the exchange of ideas 9. Eliminate any social stigma associated with web use through advocacy marketing 10. Legislate and enforce the proper Internet protection guidelines for the youth of the nation There is nothing to fear from engagement through the World Wide Web. It is as natural as shaking hands, bowing and smiling at a new face half-way across the globe.This digital connectivity will continue to grow in spite of rehab camps for Internet addicts in China, in spite of government “filtering” of emails in the United States, in spite of a low level of technological expertise – even in spite of the lack of electricity. Hand- cranked computers that turn physical energy into electrical energy already exist. The world has seen the power on the Internet, yet this technology is still in its infancy.We can only imagine the benefits the W3 will deliver in the years ahead. However, we can be sure of one thing: those countries that attempt to digitally isolate themselves through banning of web activity will fail.Theses nations will be left behind as the world grows more productive, more connected and more understanding of other value systems. Now is the time to embrace this technology and to accelerate its use, especially among the young. These young people, after all, will write the future. And the future is here today.