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Statement 5 July 2000 Ms. Deputy Secretary-GeneralMr. President Mr. Ministers Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen, It is indeed a great privilege for me to welcome each and all of you to this luncheon in honour of the Heads of Delegations attending this historic High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council. Historic, for this year the Council embarks on one of its most ambitious missions ever, a mission to harness the most powerful technological revolution of our time, the information revolution in the service of development. Before going any further, I would like you to know that I strictly abide by the golden rule of luncheon speeches, that is that, like a good aperitif, luncheon speeches are only meant to whet the appetite in advance of the main course, not to replace it. Moreover I have a great respect for fine food, particularly Indonesian, which, by the way, is the fare at the luncheon today, and I always have enormous respect for the patience of my fellow man. So let me be very brief. As we gather here at the United Nations, the world is in the midst of a profound information and digital revolution, a revolution that has the power and promise to propel economic growth and development to new and staggering heights. There is no doubt that information and knowledge revolutions represent the new and promised land, the newest asset that is replacing the gold rush, the rush for land and for industrial machinery. But unlike these other assets the new frontier of knowledge is an inexhaustible one. It cannot be used up through its use. Rather, it is a territory without limits and we can thus all stake a claim to it. And obviously we should, for whether we like it or not, the information revolution is putting its defining stamp on the 21st Century. But beyond the euphoria with ICT innovations, we are gathered here to tackle a major dilemma. While the tidal wave of ICT is sweeping across the world propelling those countries with the highest levels of connectivity to new and staggering heights, billions still live “Beyond the Pale” in a state of digital famine, untouched by the information revolution. To reverse these trends and bridge the digital divide is our great challenge. We must strive to unlock the vast potential of the ICT for the benefit of all. For these purposes ECOSOC has taken up the challenge. Charged by the United Nations Charter to promote higher standards of living, full employment and conditions of economic and social progress and development, the Council is poised, through your deliberations and policy measures at this High-level Segment to launch a global campaign to firmly place information and communication technologies in the service of development. By so doing, the Council hopes to employ the powerful engine of ICT for accelerating development and the eradication of poverty on behalf of all mankind. One last word and this one is on food and entertainment. You have probably noticed that the menu today is a sampling of Indonesian fine food. Without divulging the chef’s recipes I should ask you to prepare your pallets for some of Indonesia’s best-kept secrets. Now I invite you to experience the exotic ways of fine food dining, the Indonesian way, and I hope you will also enjoy some of our traditional entertainment. Before concluding let me first say that in honoured of the occassion I would like to give all our friends and guest present a little momento. The wait staff will bring the momentos to each table and I will do the honoures at this our table. So thank you all and let me end by wishing you for a very productive High-level Segment and as we say in Bahasa Indonesia “selamat makan”, Bon Appetite.
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