Congressi 2009-2018

2017
Connectivity can be also used for health activities. As the world’s primary means of enabling
learning, delivering knowledge, providing health care, enhancing agriculture, saving
the environment, creating jobs, and understanding each other, the Internet has moved from
a commercial service to an essential instrument for expressing all human potentialities
both as individuals and as members of society. While in the past connectivity was a privilege,
it has now become a full human right. Internet access to those to whom it’s currently
unavailable is therefore a priority that the international community must address. A world
more connected and open, it’s a richer, more equitable and better world. Although great
progress has been achieved in terms of number of Internet users, billions of people in the
world still lack connectivity. Today, approximately 4 billion people are connected to the Internet,
which means that more than three billion people are not connected. In other words,
the world is now divided between those who are connected to the NET and those who
aren’t. Moreover, the rate of development of a country or a community is strictly linked to
the level of connectivity. Empirical evidence – coming both from developed and, especially,
developing countries – show the correlation between economic growth and web access.
Therefore, the iniquity in the access to the Internet is today unacceptable. And we have
the moral obligation to respond immediately to the current situation and, in doing so, empower
millions of people who are still denied of this basic human right.
The question, then, is how to guarantee the conditions for access to people who live
in remote areas of the world or in countries where Internet is limited and controlled.
This is one of those important issues that we must discuss today. The good news is that
the cost to connect every human being worldwide is less than 0.1% of global military
expenditures. Surely, this is a small price to pay to elevate world society, to reduce ignorance,
alleviate poverty, share basic knowledge, and work towards world peace by
better understanding each other.
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