FINISHED FILE

ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM
BRISBANE 2023

AUGUST 31, 2023
IMPACTS AND CHALLENGES OF NATIONAL DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES 
9:00 AM AEST

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>> MAUREEN HILYARD: Good morning.  It is a minute after 9:00.  I want to give you the full hour you are entitled to for the presentation today.  Of course, lovely to see you.  I was saying to Cheryl, the quality, small but I have quality in the audience.  Fantastic.  Thank you so much.  
Okay.  I will introduce myself.  I'm Maureen Hilyard.  The Digital Transformation coordinator.  Based in the Office of The Prime Minister in the Cook Islands.  
Our session today is to look at the challenges that the impacted ‑‑ that impacts small Pacific States as they attempt to digitally transform their Government services, initially.  And everything else afterwards, hopefully.  
Once people see the value of digitizing their daily lives.  It is a utopia, but in the Cook Islands we feel it is achievable for a small population of 16,000 on a good day.  And men of us have inherited the Kiwi ingenuity to be experimental and innovative of how we might look at a problem.  We're not above looking elsewhere, to see where we might be doing something that someone else is doing.  Because it is actually shown value in their own countries.  That is to help us in our quest that we are taking on with regards to the new challenge.  
	The panel today consists of people who are assisting us in the Pacific to support our efforts to make the major transformation possible.  They will introduce themselves more before they begin their presentations.  And I will explain the flow of our presentation today. 
So my first guest speaker will be Calum Handforth.  He is beside me.  Who is a UNDP collaborator for us in Cook Islands as we're looking to develop towards the Digital Transformation strategy.  We will set up the roadmap for the Cook Islands to establish services for the citizens.
Calum Handforth can tell us more about his work as soon as I finish.  Our next guest speaker is Jeff Montgomery, to his right.  Who was formerly New Zealand registrar general for births deaths, and marriages and took on the role as the civil registration advisor at SPC.  And that organization supports 22 countries and territories across the Pacific Region.  And one of these countries of course, that he's working in is the Cook Islands.  And our special interests in digital identities, which is one of the new roles within the Region.
	Our final guest is Nicole Chan who is an industrial lawyer and currently the Vice‑Chair of Digital Transformation Association of Taiwan.  And Nicole is a fellow Board Member I have to mention that.  I was keen to have her join us because of her long‑time involvement in Digital Transformation in Taiwan, whose foundation in developments has supported rapid economic development within their countries.  This is a good model for us in the Pacific. 
But before we actually start, I thought I would give you an introduction to our session by starting off to give you a brief introduction into our journey in the Cook Islands towards Digital Transformation.  It started for us in February of this year when I was invited by the ICT unit of the Office of The Prime Minister to organize three half‑day‑long sessions of stakeholder workshops that were going to be coordinated by UNDP.  And it was progressing fine.  Until the day of the event when we found that Calum Handforth, going to take the workshop was still in Singapore.  Due to his flight being canceled.  So he was not going to be ‑‑ he was not going to arrive in time to do our workshop.  However ... being the trouper that we were to find him to be, he was prepared to take the three daily sessions virtually.  This was an effort in itself which was really creditable.  And he was dealing with time zones.  Such was his commitment, for a 9:00 a.m. start time, for Calum Handforth this was 3:00 a.m. in Singapore and he took positions until 6:00 a.m. his time.  In person.  And he had our utmost admiration.  
One of the things about the group we're working with, when I sent out invitations to heads of departments, businesses and community groups, I specifically asked that they send people that were actually interested in creating more digital processes or products within their organization that might help take the Cook Islands towards something becoming more digitally enabled.  
So we had people from all Sectors of the community in such was the interest that Calum Handforth was able to maintain by the presentations and breakout groups, group activities that he organized from his virtual platform and which Joseph from UNDP Samoa and I coordinated on the ground in the workshop room.  All were so impressed that they all attended as planned for each of the activities that took place. 
But from this initial consultation, Calum Handforth produced a digital readiness assessment for the Cook Islands based on the discussions we had, coupled with the results of the survey that was undertaken during the consultation session, plus other session gained from other related activities. 
And the assessment was ‑‑ I think a digital slide.  There were 68 slides.  So it is a really comprehensive, very impressive summary of where the Cook Islands sits on the continuum of digital readiness.  But pleased to know, Calum Handforth finally made it to the Cook Islands last week.  And we held two more stakeholder sessions, one for the general community, which was really well attended and probably more so since our Prime Minister asked if he could launch our new ICT policy at the event.  Because he saw how align said the digital readiness assessment was with the new policy and also his own perception of development of Digital Transformation in the Cook Islands.  This was a major breakthrough for us that he, as the Minister of Telecommunication and ICT and as Chief of Staff, who is in charge of our office, are both very much behind the new venture for us.  So I really do want to make it happen and we want it to work for us as well.  But the second session was ‑‑ that we held was a short two‑hour High‑Level presentation to Government heads of ministries and officials as well as leaders of our banking community who play an important role in regards to our economic development.  At this session leaders were presented to the ICT policy presented to the Chief of Staff, too.  That was quite interesting.  But also our e‑commerce ‑‑ I have a copy here.  Our e‑commerce acceleration work plan, which has just been completed and also, actually aligned with a regional initiative that is being coordinated by the Pacific Islands Forum of Government leaders.  
And I will also introduce Calum Handforth and the digital assessment.  Taking the regional developments to the heads of ministries and community leaders, provided a great session of discussion that really did exemplify the importance of communication and stakeholder consultation at all levels before you can embark on something as important and as transformational as this in an island community. 
So for this reason, I really appreciate that we have been given this opportunity to share the stage with others from within the Cook Islands from the Pacific Region, the Asian community and in the islands to demonstrate how inclusive we need to be to successfully achieve our goals for the future of our small Pacific Nations. 
So ... from there, to our other speakers, I have questions that I want to pose to each of my panelists to respond to.  And following their presentations we'll open up the floor to the audience for their questions.
	 My first question is to Calum Handforth.  It is UNDP has been supportive of the Digital Transformation across the Pacific, even when it is known that there are practically challenges for the small island Nations, what are you seeing in the A‑Pac Region and the world in general to help us progress with this project. 
>> Calum Handforth: Thank you for the generous introduction.  Good morning, everyone.  I'm Calum Handforth.  I'm a global digital advisor at UNPD.  We work in about 170 countries and territories across the world.  Every country and territory, digital is a real driver.  But also a challenge in some aspects as well.  
	I will walk you through a few trends that we're seeing around the world.  And happy to pick up questions around this as well.  
The first is what is known as the twin tech challenge.  That is how you build fundamental digital foundations, digital public infrastructure, digital inclusion and keep half an eye on other technologies so other countries are not left behind.  It is driving discussion and debate and action in many countries we work in.  The second point to highlight is we're seeing a shift away from individual solutions.  How do you involve Civil Society and Academia and R&D and others to make a whole of society effort to make sure no one is left behind.  I want to talk to a few topics we have heard.  In our work as well.  That is the importance of tackling the digital divide.  We have known about it, and around connectivity.  Many remain offensive line women and girls and border challenges around this as well.  First is funding and financing.  For example, if you are a female founder, you much are likely to get funding in many Regions if you are a male team.  Inequality, we are seeing risks entrenched and exacerbated.  The metaverse is interesting.  You have land grab and people buying up the metaverse.  And we're creating and entrenching now inequalities as technology develops.  In the Region we're doing work in tackle disinformation and misinformation.  Last month there was a big project that was launched in many areas looking at how to work with Civil Society to tackle the growing challenges of disinformation.  In many countries we're speaking to and working in issues around COVID misinformation, cyber bullying, harassment, online scams.  As countries get the increased connectivity, but it can be at an accelerated pace and challenge of the harms as well.  To end on a more positive note than the disinformation side, two aspects to highlight.  Really seeing exciting ways of thinking.  Elements like donut hurt economics, looking beyond measurements of GDP, border welfare and in the digital context is exciting.  And lean data.  Not just big data, the lives and livelihoods of data points, how to spend time with users to understand how digital has an impact.  And talking to countries more about the concept of environment centered design.  We'll see websites powered by solar power to reduce emissions and by design website to make them draw down less data and power.  This is an exciting movement we see as exciting potential.  
Finally to land on the last point is the potential we see additionally in the Region and beyond.  Seeing digital create new products, services, industries and opportunities, new lives and livelihoods which is exciting.  At the U.N. 70% of the SDGs have a strong digital found another 30% could benefit from digital as well.  And a real appetite for digital.  Maureen mentioned the digital development.  We have run this across 16 island States and a public survey where we ask the public do you see efforts in your country using digital to be bold.  And many want their partners to be bolder.  We see a license and appetite for deeper, more accelerated and expansive Digital Transformation as well.  I will pause there and happy to answer more questions about this and our work more broadly.  Thank you.  
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: I will ask a question.  I will get to it first.  I mentioned before how Jeff is working in a job at SPC.  Jeff, from a transformational perspective, initial identity system, which is a strong interest of mine for a long time.  I know it is proposed with several Pacific Island states for them to secure access online public services.  In reality, is this a simple tool to develop for a Small Island State and what are the enabling conditions needed to make it successful?  
>> Jeff Montgomery: Thanks, Maureen.  By way of introduction, I'm Jeff Montgomery, I'm the vital statistics advisor for the civil community.  An organization that provides scientific and advice to 22 States and territories across the Pacific.  Previously I was the registrar of births and marriages in New Zealand.  In answering the question I draw on those two pieces of experience.  Over the 10 years that I was in the role in New Zealand, we managed to move all of our services 100% online.  The ability to register a birth and get a birth certificate, with the exception of the birth certificate itself is online.  The ability to renew or apply for a passport is online.  And to become a New Zealand citizen can be done online.  We achieved quite a lot.  However, what was really difficult and never achieved before I finished was a digital online identity.  That is particularly difficult to achieve, even in a country like New Zealand.  We are in need both a high‑level of uptake by the population to make it economical.  So you need lots of New Zealanders in that case, to be using a digital identity.  And to get that, you need organizations that require that digital identity to access services on a regular basis.  Without both of the components, we didn't get there.  So ... for those who might be from New Zealand, you will be familiar with real me.  The challenges which is a digital Government online identity struggled for those three reasons. 
But drawing on my work in the Pacific community, a key enabler for all of this is civil registration systems.  So most people won't know the technical term.  Most of you know it more as births, deaths, marriages.  It is essentially the continuous permanent, compulsory universal registering of key life events.  That is the United Nations's definition of it.  It is a multi‑Agency approach.  It is not one Agency.  It usually starts in the health Sector when something occurs such as a birth or death.  And then transfers to civil registration Agency.  The product, the data or identity credentials are being used by a number of different agencies across Government, whether it is the enrollment system, passports, school enrollments, the health services, often use the civil registration data for planning, service delivery and ultimately for the identity of the citizens in the country.  
The system to work well needs to have both ends of the spectrum.  Needs to be a birth system for registering babies and death registration system.  An opening and closing of the identity.  
Most countries in the Pacific do not have good coverage of both of those systems.  So of the 22 countries in the Pacific, it ranges from 15% birth registration.  Around one in 10.  15% to 100%.  And for death registration it is worse, it ranges from 2% in a country like Papua New Guinea and other countries is up to 100%.  But many float around the 70% to 80% mark.  That means the populations don't have legally recognized identities.  In Papua New Guinea it is uncertain how many people live in the country because you don't have a count at the start.  Through birth registration and you don't have a count at the death registration. 
So there are three broad approaches that we're taking to address this in the Pacific.  Countries like Papua New Guinea, the focus is completeness and focus of the system.  It is to get babies registered.  Having death registered as well.  A key technology component is mobile kits.  In places like Papua New Guinea it is about getting 400 kits using people like UNDP and other agencies to fund the kits to go to the territories and islands and register the babies and adults in the villages.  
In other countries such as the work in the Cook Islands, it is around moving a well operating paper‑based system online.  So the work we're doing in the moment is moving from largely paper‑based to electronic system to having it data flow from the health system to civil registry and other agencies. 
The third area for places like New Zealand which has a strong online service and surround joining up services.  We have a product called smart start.  Which is a product that parents choose from the point they learn they're pregnant for nine months of pregnancy through the child's first six years to do all of the services required for the child.  Health information, birth registration, enrolling in school, the whole digital identity journey for the child is done online.  
So to answer your question, Maureen, the key enablers are firstly legislation needs to be in place to ensure that civil registration is occurring.  You need community engagement, so you need members of the public actually engaging in the system and doing what they need to do to register their babies or record their deaths.  And then the final part is the technology to do that.  So it is a three‑legged stool.  Yeah.  I will leave it there.  Happy to answer any questions about anything later.  Thanks.  
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: Nicole?  
>> Nicole Chan: Yes, I'm here.  
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: What are the biggest gaps that prevents Pacific Nations from getting easily engaging ‑‑ from easily engaging in Digital Transformation is the lack of enabling environment.  And that includes legislation.  What do you think Pacific Governments need to know before they can even start to think about implementing a Digital Transformation strategy?  How would you recommend they go about identifying what is required?  
>> Nicole Chan: Thank you, Maureen.  Good morning everyone.  I'm Nicole Chan from Taiwan.  It is my honor to be here to share some experience for Taiwan.  On the works of Digital Transformation.  I'm going to use a few slides.  Yeah, actually as our panelist mentioned, I have already participated some international project regarding the Digital Divide and create a digital opportunity for long time in creating the A‑Pac digital opportunity center project.  Yeah.  I visited twice.  Very special experience.  Yeah.  
For Taiwan, there is maybe the experience is a little bit different from other countries.  But I think it can take as an example.  Yeah, in Taiwan, there is national scale, Digital Transformation program and have the Digital Transformation economic development program.  Not only limited to Digital Transformation but also the ‑‑ we need to cultivate our innovation for the digital economy development goal. 
So we set up some goals including the digitalization.  It means the optimizing the communication network and the innovation extending digital economy.  And the Governance, I think this one is more important because we need to set up a mechanism and make the registration and legislative, of course including data Governance and some other essential legislation. 
Another one is the inclusion.  We need to focus on the social impact and pay attention to the equal digital right for every citizen.  So ... you can see on the slide the ‑‑ of course, I share some experience about the industrial Digital Transformation, but it can be suitable for the Government Digital Transformation.  
The aim is to at the national level, we would like to develop a digital economy and the industry level moving up to the value chain.  Yeah.  And enterprise level, we need to cultivate the globally competitive digitalized enterprise for individual enterprise.  So there are a few key successful factors.  We are focusing.  The first is the information.  Yeah, because we need to improve awareness of the current digital status.  I think it is very important for Digital Transformation to transform.  It is all about the mind‑set transformation.  Maybe the technology is not the most important issue.  Yeah. 
I think the mind‑set is most important.  So recognizing the benefits from Digital Transformation is important.  So we need to promote awareness.  And second one is the leadership and strategy.  I think it is ‑‑ the Digital Transformation is not only the works for the MIs but it is for the High‑Level leadership including the Government and enterprise.  New digital mind‑set.  And we need to set up the blueprint and the Roadmap for Digital Transformation even for the country or for the nation or for the single enterprise.  And the resources of course.  We need the resources to do this kind of works.  So adapting emerging digital technology.  We need resources including international funding and VC and others.  And of course digital skills.  Digital Transformation is a journey, not only work or program.  We need to cultivate our people internally and externally and set up capacity building works for every participants.  Unskilled talents and appropriate training program.  Yeah.  Right now, in Taiwan, we set up so many programs, even within the Government or in the enterprise, yeah.  
And the fifth is close industry coordination.  Yeah.  Because the Digital Transformation is kind of a paradigm shift for industry.  It is totally different changing of the way of how you are doing business, how you communicate to each other.  So the core of the Digital Transformation and the new economy is the platform and the data.  
So it is kind of a close industry coordination is very important.  So we need to build up some close domain know‑hows and try to build up the mechanism for different Sectors, including public and private and the different domain to work together. 
So that is the end.  
And yeah, it is a little bit.  Yeah.  Three arrows to help industry success at Digital Transformation we need to strengthen the core values.  Continue to strengthen core business value and the expand to high value Sectors.  That is in Taiwan.  We try to upgrade our value chain from manufacturing to the service level.  The second one is smart process.  Adopting digital technologies to improve efficiency and quality.  
I think we can adapt the technology only if we need that.  We don't want to do Digital Transformation just for technology.  We adapt the technology because we need that.  
It needs to be very cautious to do that.  We are doing this work not for technology.  It is for our value.  For our goal.  We are going to portray.  The third arrow is digital marketing management.  We leverage digital marketing tools to better services to our key customers and business partner. 
So we said it is very important to know how we are positioning right now.  Yeah, for industry and for enterprise in Taiwan we set up a kind of index, yeah.  We name it Taiwan Digital Transformation.  TDX, that is the framework, including three dimensions.  One is digital input.  It measures enterprise investment in digital tools and resources, even including cultivation of the talents.  The second part is the digital maturity.  The index can evaluate enterprise digital maturity level, what level the enterprise is positioning right now. 
And the third one is digital impact.  Of course, it is a journey.  We're focusing on the second maturity digital maturity index.  It includes the people, process and tech.  Those three factors from our point of view are the key successful factors.  Yeah, for example, the consensus within the Government.  Consensus within the enterprise.  And the vision and strategy.  
In the process, it includes the internal process and external process.  I think the flow, the domain, the working flow no matter manufacturing or service providers, the working flow are very important.  How to make them mostly flow and upgrade to the value created chain, ecosystem.  The tech, it related to what kind of technology you are adopting.  The data safety and system integration are very important within this index.  
So the index journey is good for the small and medium enterprise to evaluate.  So we see many enterprise, they are from the hesitation level and the two adapt the TDX how to clarify what is their position.  Then set up goal and reallocate the resources and then take action. 
So I think yeah, another issue is for the data Governance.  Because although we have already adapted some program for the ‑‑ to let the enterprise or Government get on the track of the Digital Transformation, the journey of the Digital Transformation, but I think the infrastructure and not only limited to the physical infrastructure, but the ‑‑ some kind of soft power infrastructure is important.  That is regulation and legislation.  Of course, the data as I mentioned before, the flow and data and platform will be the core of the new kind of model.  So I think there are ‑‑ I think it is very complicated as we have heard during the two days, yeah, I think right now the problem are very complicated.  Yeah.  Because it is caused from different layers.  And it kind of metrics problems.  We need to set up the good data Governance mechanism.  Including personal data protection and open data policy and the data Governance procedure.  Of course, the broad Data Act, yeah.  
So I think that is very important.  Yeah because we are now facing the challenges.  We are now ... almost going to the 6G era, right?  And IoT is everywhere.  And even the AI has already emerging.  So I think the 6G network is the AI network. 
So beyond technology aspect, the adoption of new technologies raised many new legal policy and regulatory challenges in a broad and complex scope. 
One of the biggest challenges brought about the new technology is the question of trust.  So how to build up the trust environment.  Trust ‑‑ how can I say, as we mention about trust with the AI and the responsible AI.  That is important.  As this technology are being deployed across various are Sectors, Cybersecurity is a condition for trustworthy AI and technology.  And AI may open new ‑‑ maybe ‑‑ we need to avoid the manipulation and abuse of the new technology.  The security, data protection and Governance and protection of privacy is very important.  There is a need to discuss the digital forensics in regard to the new technology.  Yeah.  Because it is related to the privacy and data protection. 
So I think yeah.  There are so many challenges.  So if we are going to set up some national program for the Digital Transformation I think it is important and maybe the TDX is share some experience to you.  Besides that, the environment and the soft power of the infrastructure, we need to set up some appropriate legislation and mechanism.  That is important.  So that is my sharing.  Yes, thank you.  
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: Okay.  Right.  So this is your chance to have a say.  I know like for example, I'm having a look around.  I sort of see several of my Pacific colleagues in the audience.  I know some of them have also are on this Digital Transformation journey.  Because I heard about them during the first two days.  And so if you have any comments or any questions, please ... 
>> QUESTION: Okay.  Hello, everyone.  My name is Isan.  Maybe I will tell something about people on my rural area.  It is like a small island in my country, on rural area.  There is something about these people.  The people there think about having a lonely life and have conventional life.  Still giving them money.  So yeah, the Digital Transformation is quite far from them.  And about the infrastructure, it is a very basic for them.  They use it for basic activity like watching YouTube or something like that, they don't take it seriously to giving more value for life to give more money with the implication.  So one thing about maybe not ‑‑ I don't know about the Cook Islands, but maybe there is some similarity, but there are some rural area and there are some other island.  How to change the mind of the people from the small island area.  But the digital is very fast forward now.  We need to ‑‑ we need to be ready to take it everywhere you are.  And then it have some value for your life to give more money.  For the future.  Something like that.  
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: Just to sort of look at it from a native perspective with the Pacific Islands, very laid back.  But I mean the digital world has already imposed on us already.  I mean, we're ‑‑ in the Cook Islands for example, we're very much ‑‑ we're quite digitally advanced.  So it doesn't matter that people may not ‑‑ like, I mean I know there are people who still don't have ‑‑ they don't ‑‑ there are too many ‑‑ there are so many people, for example, in Tonga that don't have Internet in their homes.  The only time they have the Internet is they get through a cafe or something like that.  
But everyone has a phone.  Okay?  Everyone ‑‑ honestly, kids have a phone.  
So they may not have a landline, they will have a mobile.  Have a smartphone, too.  They're becoming digital natives even though they're ... it doesn't matter where they are.  Like, for example, we have landlines that are also being connected to 4G as we speak.  So they too are getting really speedy Internet.  Life is changing.  Yeah.  You know ... 
>> COLIN HANDFORTH: I think the work in the rural areas, three points that stand out to me.  The first is we need to make digital real and relevant to the people.  We talk in the abstract.  5G, big data and improve access to public services and make near customers for your business.  It can impact people's lives and livelihoods.  On the skills piece, how do you build skills, literacy and community champions.  Find people in the community that are trusted Ambassador and advocates.  Often Government and others may not have credibility or relationships in the communities, but a local farmer or village Chief can be powerful for this piece.  We need to recognize digital is not homogenous.  To really engage in what is the way of doing digital in some of the communities.  Things like business models for public services may need to change.  How you engage with the market.  
In one area, if you are small farmer, your income is small.  So you have very little income to invest in drones, tractors, this kind of stuff.  We see things like subscription models popping up.  A start‑up in Africa called hello tractors.  They know farmers can't buy a tractor.  You rent it by the hour.  And another track to look at to afford access to digital access will not happen.  But can we share and that can be exciting for the communities, too.  
>> Jeff Montgomery: Picking up on the question, thank you for it.  There are some areas in the islands where there is no electricity.  The Internet is irrelevant.  This is an experience in Papua New Guinea, even in the capital city, the power goes off in a regular basis.  Daily the power goes off.  So there are other challenges before you even get to the issue of 4G, 5G, 6G in a number of the Pacific Nations.  I put that on the table as well.  
In Papua New Guinea for the birth registration mobile kits.  They have battery packs and solar panels they use.  It is a two‑hour walk from the nearest town to a village.  It is not walking down a highway or trek.  It is all sorts of challenges to be addressed.  Thanks.  
>> Nicole Chan: Thank you for the question.  I mentioned technology is not the purpose, not the goal.  It all depends on what kind of value you are going to create and what kind of business you are going to do and what kind of life you are going to have.  So I think we see technology as a tool how to empower our business, our life, our value. 
For example, in Taiwan there are also rural areas, East Coast.  And it is I think use technology as a tool.  It is easy for tourism and agriculture and other specified domains.  It all depends on how you create your value.  It is easy for us to go to some areas for travel.  There are new kind of digital domain.  Have you heard of that.  Work‑cation.  You can work everywhere and live a life like vacation.  That is work‑cation.  Maybe we can create some new model for living and for doing business.  So technology is not the purpose.  Yeah.  Okay.  Thank you.
>> QUESTION: Thank you and hello to everyone that is here.  I'm Richard, and a council elder at Internet New Zealand along with Jeff. My question, we have accepted AI and Internet as part of our life, but as an ethnic minority in our country, we are struggling with the question of how are we going to protect our cultural knowledge online?  That is my question.  Are you aware of policies anyone in this room may be working with, we're engaged in many Government departments asking for policy papers and research on this.  How can we protect our cultural knowledge against AI, if you like, against robotics, basically people that do not live our values but are now fast becoming the experts thanks to this wonderful technology.
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: Just very briefly what you are talking about, one ever the things we're actually very concerned about of course, is ensuring our culture is maintained in light of the invasions of other technologies that are born.  Even in the Cook Islands I don't think we have anything that is specifically a policy on this.  It is definitely something that we will add to the list of things that seem to be building up.  It is something to incorporate into the strategy in regards to how we can maintain this. 
>> Calum Handforth: Important question.  We run a survey of 50 island States over the course of the last year.  To young people, 18 to 35 in the island states.  We recognize it is an underheard voice.  Recognizing that.  This is using WhatsApp, Facebook and messenger.  They talked about communication and many highlighted issues of alienation and loss of heritage and cultural value.  We will release a report on this next month.  An interesting piece of this is the young people want to become more connected to the cultural heritage through digital and don't want digital to take away the heritage.  Another is how to share the heritage with the world?  We see a few island state singers who are trending heavily on social media and getting music into the local communities.  There is power and potential there, too.  There are links to the colleagues in UNESCO that lean on the cultural piece.  There are things that could be relevant.  The first is how do you make the tools align with cultural aspects?  
The Gates Foundation and Mozilla have a project called common voice.  They are training datasets in Swahili and other East African languages to build this database to make sure the voices and perspectives are not left behind.  We're doing work on this as well, including nonspoken languages and enshrine for the next generation. 
The next is how to protect it for future generations.  Haven't seen answers.  We talk about metaverse, which is interesting but not enough yet.  The metaverse is a five, 10, proposition.  Looking at 50 to 100 years.  One thing I have seen is a seed vault.  This seed vault, managed by a crop trust.  What they are doing is take a seed from every community around the world.  Store it, they can often preserve seeds for future generations.  The first time it was used where they withdrew seeds to germinate a crop that was lost in Syria.  
They have this in Van Noy.  And they can store well.  How do we protect this stuff for 200, 300 years?  Not looking at Cloud, it is microfilm.  This protection piece, that is exciting.  We are saying we don't have many answers, but happy to connect you to others working in the space that can be useful.  Anyone else?  It is a tough question.  
>> Nicole Chan: Yeah.  Thank you for the question.  Yes, it is really a tough question.  So that is why I mention that when we plan the national scale plan from one hand we need to make the usage of the technology.  But from the other hand, we need to provide a mechanism of protection of the traditional heritage and the traditional control especially under the cultural diversity, yeah, philosophy, right?  
So I think we set up some including the copyright and IPR protection and database protection, something like that.  At the same time we cannot only push the usage of the technology but also we need to provide this kind of mechanism to protect our traditional culture.  Yeah.  
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: Okay.  Well, we have five minutes left.  So I think what we might do is just have a bit of a summary from everyone?  I'm really pleased with the questions that have come from the audience.  It has been great to sort of like get an idea of people's perspectives of Pacific Islands and what our expectations are.  We ‑‑ meant to make mention of the fact that in the Cook Islands for example. As we're actually like moving towards this Digital Transformation.  Our outer islands, 13 middle islands range in population from about 50 on one end to about 1500 on one much the larger ones.  
But those islands are 100% sort of solar powered.  That is one of the things that was made ‑‑ was one of the building blocks towards going into digital Government and Government services and making sure that our outer island populations were also enabled with regards to their contacts with Government.  
So the electricity is on the islands now they're going towards proving the Internet services. 
So this is just on our island, in our country and I know it is also happening in other countries over the Pacific.  You know, the Region is becoming more digital.  It is becoming more accepting towards, you know, going online and we at the same time, we need to as said, we need to protect those things that are important to us as a country.  
>> Calum Handforth: Thanks Maureen.  Thank you all for your participation and questions.  Three quick closing points.  It is highlighted today and for the conference, technology is the easy bit.  The hard part is the mind‑set shift and making it relevant.  Not focusing on solutions but the needs and problems and context.  
And we do work around digital public infrastructure and digital public goods.  Not every country is on this ‑‑ every country is on this journey and we can confide in each other.  Can we open source things and use it in another country.  In India we have the digital infrastructure and shared components to be applied between countries so people don't have to start from scratch each time.  For me, a regional approach, how to bring countries together for economies of scale so you're not all procuring from the same people and have a more strategic and regional basis for this as well.  We publish the human development report and tracking the state of human development in every country around the world.  It highlighted the uncertainty complex.  Polarization, distrust, mistrust, climate change, conflict, creating the issue of uncertainty of where we go as a global community and seen reversals of human progress in 90% of countries.  And 2020 saw the first global poverty increase in recent decades.  We have a problem in place.  We have 3Is that are relevant.  The first is insurance.  We need social protection.  We need to support those most at risk of being left behind.  Digital is a powerful tool for payments and other mechanisms.  The second is investments.  Digital can be driving new ways of funding, financing, crowdfunding.  Venture capital.  Patient capital, other aspects.  The third I is innovation.  New ways of working, thinking, living to try to tackle this uncertainty and get us back on track toward the SDGs to those I add inspiration.  We want to look to you all and your communities to learn how to champion it.  Keep in touch.  Let us know what you are working on.  And keen to connect you to others in the community as well.  
>> Jeff Montgomery: Thanks.  What I have taken away today is diversity in the Pacific.  There are 22 countries and territories, each is completely different.  Range in size from 2000 to maybe 9, 10 million or maybe 11 million in Papua New Guinea depending on the statistics you look at.  The languages are diverse.  The infrastructure and conditions in each country is diverse.  When we talk about national Digital Transformation a small island developing states it is a range of different circumstances. 
The second point to life us with is digital is not always the answer. 
If you don't have a good civil registration system in the country.  If you don't count all the babies and not count the people when they pass away, you can't have a digital identity system.  Particularly death registration.  If the identities are not turned offer when someone passes away, the digital identity system is rubbish.  You have to get the basics right first.  Thanks.  
>> Nicole Chan: Yes.  Although we're talking about technology‑driven transformation, I bear in mind that the most important thing is the value that we are going to ‑‑ the value we are going to ‑‑ what is the value we are going to create?  And what kind of life we are going to have.  I think when we ‑‑ when we are on the journey of the Digital Transformation, we need to make balance for using technology and the inclusion.  And Celt up appropriate Governance mechanism for all the works and implementation.  Then we can ‑‑ we can ‑‑ we just see technology as a tool.  Not the purpose.  Yeah.  That is what I always bear in mind.  Thank you.  
>> MAUREEN HILYARD: So just to close.  Thank you so much for being with us.  I hope you enjoyed your hour with us and hope you enjoy the rest of your day.  Thank you.  
(Applause)
>> Put any of the highlight issues on the platform.  Help us shape this document for this year.  Up next in the same room, starting at 10:10 is Bridging the Communications Divide.  Stay in the room.  It will be a great session.  
(Concluded) 

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