Put society first, urges Ministerial Forum

People should be at the heart of benefits brought by internet advancement and sound public policies are essential to tackling challenges, according to the Ministerial Forum on smart society and sustainable development at the sixth World Internet Conference.

The building of a smart society yields benefits and challenges, with the rise of cyberspace extremism and terrorism being increasingly unavoidable, said Rashid Alimov, former secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

"Technology advancement should always place 'people' at the center. We need to ensure that our intentions of serving the people can be realized," Alimov said through an interpreter on Sunday.

Stavros Michael, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport Communications and Works of Cyprus, agreed. "We have to be careful that... we connect people, not isolate them," he said.

International organizations like the United Nations are setting new standards and adopting new measures to promote smart society.

"Data and digitalization are shaping up to be crucial tools powering cities' development," said Zhang Zhenshan, UN Habitat Program manager for China.

The agency is teaming up with Chinese companies like Huawei Technologies for security city projects, using real-time data for intelligent and data-driven city management. This will protect the rights of children, women, the elderly and other disadvantaged groups, Zhang noted.

It is imperative that governments establish a cyber-related framework with mechanisms and institutions in place to ensure cybersecurity and that coordinate between different industries and regions with more use of ICT technologies, said Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal, first vice-minister of the Ministry of Communications of Cuba.

"We are currently at the expansion phase of a four-stage development cycle and on course to create cycles of interaction between citizens and governments," he said.

Central to the construction of smart society is planning and realistic decision-making by the government, said Ryan Vincent L Uy, assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office of the Philippines.

"We need a good environment that also allows the private sector and others to be part of the process," he said.

He added that sectors like education, healthcare, traffic management and trade stand to benefit the most from the smart society initiative.