<<December 26, 1999>>

Timo Portimojarvi <hotipo@uta.fi>

Mauri K. Elovainio (Fax: +358-20-406 3440)
 

Dear Timo:
==========

(1)  ATTACHMENT I is the transcript of the Keynote Speech made by Mr.
     Elovainio of SONERA during our Tampere event.

     I OCRed it from its hard copy.

     I then uploaded it (with attached slides) to <http://friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/Keynote_Speech/SONERA/Mauri_K_Elovainio.html>.

          BTW, if you can obtain the files of those slides from him, pls
          send them to me -- I will replace with them -- since, of course,
          color is better than BW.

               His email bounced back so that I cannot send a copy of this msg to him.

     Pls link it to the corresponding location in the left frame of your web
     at <http://www.uta.fi/EGEDL/outline/>.

(2)  About the  GUIDANCE / FORMAT" in the left frame of the same URL;

     (a)  Pls link  Guidance to the Group Facilitators" to;

<http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/Guidance_and_Format/Guidance.html>, and

     (b)   Recommended Format for Pilot Project Proposals" to;

<http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/Guidance_and_Format/Recommended_Format.html>.

Thanks in advance.

Best, Tak
            ****************************************
                          ATTACHMENT I

       Mauri K. Elovainio, Secretary General, Sonera Ltd
             Keynote speaker - EGEDL'99 - 10.8.1999

The Outstanding Role of Telecommunication in the Finnish Information Society:
Making the bridge between telecommunications and learning

Finland is progressing towards a knowledge-based society. In the information
society, knowledge forms the foundation for education and culture and
constitutes the single most important production factor. Information and
communications technology (shortly ICT) significantly promotes interaction and
exchange of information between individuals, business enterprises, and other
organizations, as well as the provision of, and access to, services. The
extent to which the information society is implemented in schools and
libraries, health care, the promotion of business and industry and other
administrative services, as well as enhancing transparent decision-making,
largely depends on the decisions made and the measures taken by local
authorities.

The national vision is a society, which develops and utilizes the
opportunities inherent in the information society to improve the quality of
life, knowledge, international competitiveness and interaction in an
exemplary, versatile and sustainable way.

Half (51%) of the information society projects are regional and nearly 17%
local and national. International or Internationally regional is about 20% of
the projects. There are more regional and local projects in Finland than in
Europe on the average. International and interregional projects there are less.

To open up better opportunities for self-enhancement, interaction and
influence the decisive factors for the competitiveness of a business
enterprise are rapid responses, flexibility and networking. The public sector
develops the overall conditions for the information society and promotes the
construction of technology and the infrastructure. To be able to make the best
use of the opportunity thus offered for everyone who needs new skills or
intercommunication with one to other.

Uncontrolled information society development may lead to the exclusion of some
population groups and regions. The increasing use of ICT in office work is
conducive to efficiency, and at the same time it reduces labor needs.
Electronic transactions and trade may impair services for those with
inadequate skills and knowledge for electronic self-service. Access to sources
of information in the midst of the information flood may increase inequality
between people if the cost of reliable and well-organized information services
is too high. The constantly expanding data systems include more and more
information about individuals, which, if abused, may compromise people's
privacy. Dependence on ICT may increase risks in nearly all activities, which
highlights the need to prepare for exceptional circumstances.

Information society development is influenced by global trends, such as
progress in the global economy and electronic trade, the rapid progress and
integration of ICT, the growing presence of the media and the growth of
populations. Growing social inequality and urbanization, environmental
problems, increasing mobility and the strengthening role of regions in Europe
has also promoted the rapid development of information society.

How is the information society going to strengthen cultural creativity, and
will it allow each citizen easy access to multiple cultures while preserving
his own identity?

The role of the public sector is to create conditions for building an
Information society, which meets the needs of both individuals and business
enterprises by means of legislation, research and education. The public sector
also promotes the development of serviceable technology and infrastructure. By
means of strategic management, it will ensure access to information and
promote the development of knowledge, an efficient innovation system. Also
conditions for business activities, balanced regional development, the
implementation of human rights, and equality, credibility and security in
society will be developed. The public sector must constantly re-evaluate its
own role and mission.

Democratic and open access will be offered to every one through reduced costs.
It can be for the diffusion or use of the interactive services offered on the
various communication networks. Each citizen will be granted easy access to
the kind of knowledge, which until now has been difficult to reach. Today he
has the facility to access the interactive tapping of cultural goods as those
from libraries, museums or galleries' art collections. The development of
permanent education will hence be made easier while specific cultural
identities will be preserved.

It is the administration's task to strengthen democracy and improve citizens'
access to information and opportunities for social influence by developing
legislation and procedures and making use of the opportunities offered by
technology. Legislation and legal control also promote the implementation of
the individual's data protection and freedom of speech and improve the
individual's status as a consumer.

Decentralized decision-making highlights the need for management by
strategies. ICT creates new opportunities for producing and distributing
public services, but at the same time it entails the renewal of processes in
co-operation with the private and voluntary sectors.

1) Information society development and changes in the operational environment
must be constantly monitored to provide support for strategic management. The
action models and cost-effective utilization of technology must be developed
and promoted in the administration to ensure compatibility and sufficient
steering of information management. Efficient procedures and funding
practices, which provide incentive for good performance must be developed and
instituted for cross-sectoral R&D projects in particular. All this entails
substantial annual funding.

2) With a view to transparent decision-making and the empowerment of citizens,
users must be able to access the information produced by the public sector in
an electronic form.

3) The public sector must take responsibility for data security in society
and, together with enterprises, ensure that all critical systems function
under all circumstances. The administration must develop norms and regulations
governing exceptional circumstances and see to the dissemination of information.

Shared responsibility and competitiveness must be developed in tandem, and due
consideration must be given to ecological factors. The individual requires new
skills as a citizen, consumer and employee in order to manage, critically
analyze and make full use of the information flow.

Knowledge management requires good feedback channels, indicators and
incentives, as well as constant alertness to changing needs. The prerequisites
of knowledge management can be improved with the introduction of renewed
procedures. Educational institutions, business enterprises and other work
communities can engage in closer co-operation with a view to knowledge
transfer and the utilization of information reserves.
1) Strategic management of knowledge and processes which support it must be
developed to keep know-how at a high standard on a wide front and a sufficient
part of it at the top level. The national priorities in education and research
and their financing must be regularly reconsidered by the combined co-operation
of both the public and private sectors to ensure a flexible response
to changes. Methods for anticipating changes in working life and in industrial
structures must be developed to help business enterprises and educational
institutions to respond better to the challenges arising from these changes.
Enterprises in growth fields could make the know-how qualifications in their
key professions available to job seekers and educational institutions on the
information network.
2) Measures must be taken to develop such methods for measuring human capital
which encourage organizations to appreciate and increase their own human
capital and which also serve to develop funding for growth of enterprises. The
accounting of organizations must indicate the investment made in know-how.
Taxation practices must give incentive for the development of know-how.
3) Wide-scale co-operation must be carried on, and further expanded, to offer
the necessary basic skills in the use of information society tools and
electronic services to all citizens, and especially to those who have not had
instruction in the new skills during their education or in their line of work.
All levels of education must increase the teaching of skills needed to
acquire, critically evaluate, transmit and present information and to interact
in the modern, international communications environment. Teachers' initial and
continuing education must be essentially improved to enable teachers to
utilize the possibilities of the information society and to pass on relevant
knowledge to their pupils.

We should critically exam the idea where service provider is considered as
information provider. As a provider of service platforms we should not take
the role of content provider. There are many principles that are worth of
building the digital nervous system. In a workplace, where we were simply
transferring information from paper forms into the computer are not needed
because they've been replaced by self-service. People going directly to their
PC, connecting to the Internet, and getting or putting the information they
need. All the jobs have to be converted into far more empowered jobs, where
you can actually deal with complex situations, and be value-added in a world
where just simple activities, like entering information, are no longer
necessary at all.

The concept of the global classroom is an excellent example of nervous system.
To create network which it self increase amount of information for educational
use. It's a reality because of the expansion of world communication systems.
These new and diverse telecommunication technologies represent powerful tools
for linking both students and teachers together for sharing knowledge and
diverse solutions to problems; and for actually creating the global classroom.
As this learning environment is evolving, education is developing new visions
of learning and teaching. That will provide students with new ways to think
and live in the global village.

Today there are many global classroom projects that have been designed for
implementation. These projects provide the tools for developing global
understanding as well as in depth studies in a variety of content areas and a
thorough introduction to computers and telecommunication skills. We should
remember also the projects to develop methods for the creation and publishing
of electronic learning materials.

To what extent is the Information society a worldwide stake?

The fundamental features of the information society are global interconnection
and interoperability between multiple professional educative or entertainment
services. A unique opportunity is thus offered for the distribution of a very
large range of products and creations, which will reflect the most diverse
cultural and linguistic identities.

The stake of information society is worldwide because the interconnection of
national communication networks gives birth to a global infrastructure thus
linking economical, political and social operators. The information society
will have considerable social and economic impacts which will affect all
citizens in various aspects of their daily lives.

The G8 member states have recognized the importance of that stake and during
that conference will express their intention

     1.   to lay down a common strategy defining the global principles
          without which the information society could not properly function
          on a world-wide basis,
     2.   to identify those applications and pilot-projects of global
          interest in order to promote the new services available,
     3.   to encourage developing countries to participate in long term co-operation
           to reinforce democracy and have easier access to knowledge and education.

The building blocks of the information society

Communications systems combined with advanced information technologies are
keys to the information society. The constraints of time and distance have
been removed by networks (e.g. telephone, satellites, cables) which carry the
information, basic services (e.g. electronic mail, interactive video) which
allow people to use the networks and applications (e.g. distance learning,
teleworking and telemedicine) which offer dedicated solutions for user groups.

Open service interfaces promote competition.
- to provide equal opportunities for the acquisition and management of
information and for the development of knowledge
- to develop services and cultural provision and increase international interaction

People themselves have responsibility for their own choices, as well as for
making their needs known or for putting their personal data at the disposal of
the markets. Information society development, together with the liberalization
of world trade, create new business opportunities and new markets for
enterprises, as well as subjecting them to stiffer competition and to
internationalize themselves.

The decisive competition factors are information and knowledge management,
swiftness in applying technologies and innovations, strategic management,
flexible organization and procedures, and networking throughout the value
chain, both in product development and production as well as in marketing.

There are still many questions open, but I hope that you will find some
answers from the publication "Facts about the Finnish information society"
which has already been delivered to you. (Reijo Lilius - Finnish national fund
for research and development)

When we build and develop the information society we have to break a gap
between different sectors. To achieve society coherence there has to be
someone who makes technology flexible to build the bridge and make
interactions between humans possible.
            ========================================

                        Attached Slides

Application areas of information society projects

The most important financiers of the Finnish information society projects

Information society strategies of the regions

Public libraries - 1200 service units

Elements of Sonera's information society solution
            ****************************************
                      List of Distribution

Timo Portimojarvi
Assistant
(Media Culture, Media Education)
Department of Teacher Education
University of Tampere
P.O.Box 513
13111 H‹meenlinna
FINLAND
tel. +358-3-61451
     +358-50-381 3443
GSM: +358-40-550-3193
fax. +358-3-6145 237
hotipo@uta.fi
www.uta.fi/~hotipo/
www.uta.fi/laitokset/okl/hokl/

Mauri K. Elovainio
Secretary General
Sonera Ltd.
FIN-00051 Sonera
FINLAND
Fax: +358-20-406 3440
**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA                  *
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education  *
* Founder of CAADE                                                   *
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education)      *
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of     *
*   Global University System (GUS)                                   *
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A.               *
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu;  Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676             *
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/                                   *
**********************************************************************

Return to: Global University System Late 1999 Correspondence
Web page by Steve McCarty, World Association for Online Education President