Africa and the Knowledge Society : Address By Ms. Lalla Ben Barka, Deputy Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

Abstract

Address By Ms. Lalla Ben Barka, Deputy Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) at the Sixtieth Commission Session: Africa and the Knowledge Society. Ms. Barka, on her remarks highlighted that, This event could not have taken place at a better time given the rapid pace in technological innovations through information and communication technology (ICTs) and its profound impacts on society as a whole, and industry and economic sectors in particular. This phenomenon now ensures that knowledge is recognized as the basis for competitive advantage backed by information and intellectual products as raw materials. Competition and the introduction of prepaid services have seen the exponential growth of mobile cellular and other wireless technologies in the past few years. This was the first step towards Africa's entry into the Information Age. Another step was to put in place national IT policies to advance the Information Society. The Information and Knowledge Society and Economy require the involvement of all stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of policies and strategies.