Jack Ma to co-chair new UN panel

UNITED NATIONS - The UN is establishing a high-level panel co-chaired by Chinese e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma and Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to make recommendations on ensuring "a safe and inclusive digital future".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that he sees the UN "as a unique platform for dialogue in our digital age" and the panel as an expert group to make proposals to strengthen international cooperation.

"The scale, spread and speed of change made possible by digital technologies is unprecedented, but the current means and levels of international cooperation are unequal to the challenge," he said.

In addition, he noted digital technologies make a significant contribution to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, and that "they cut uniquely across international boundaries".

Therefore, the UN chief said cooperation across domains and across borders is critical to realizing the full social and economic potential of digital technologies as well as mitigating the risks that they pose and curtailing any unintended consequences.

Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group, said: "In this digital era, data and technology are more broadly available, enabling entrepreneurialism, economic growth, and improved quality of life for those who have the access and training to leverage it. Global, cross-sector collaboration is critical to ensure the benefits of the digital era are possible for all."

Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said: "If all people, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, have equal access to digital technology, they will use it to improve life for themselves and their families and raise their voices in conversations about what the future holds. Enabling this wide scale empowerment is what this panel is about."

The panel has a total of 20 members, representing a cross-section of expertise from government, private industry, civil society, academia and the technical community.

Guterres has asked the panel to contribute to the public debate on the importance of cooperative and interdisciplinary approaches to ensure a safe and inclusive digital future for all, taking into account relevant human rights norms.

The panel will hold its first in-person meeting in September and is expected to submit its final report to the secretary-general within nine months.

Xinhua- AP

(China Daily 07/14/2018 page8)