Opening Ceremony & Keynote Address
The Connectors
Being connected is an aspiration running throughout the history of every remarkable civilization.
By leveraging collective intelligence and pooling scattered resources, communities have strived to improve living conditions, elevate their goals, and promote their culture.
This art of connecting has both determined the legacy of civilizations, as well as shaped their future.
The creation and dissemination of the cuneiform script of the Mesopotamian civilization allowed people to learn how to connect and collaborate, which helped give rise to the agricultural revolution.
In the same vein, the printing press paved the way for the industrial revolution and modern civilization. Knowledge and wisdom came to be shared effectively on a mass scale, which eventually led to the bloom of the information technology revolution and the birth of the digital age. Now we are entering the next stage of digital civilization, epitomized by ubiquitous mobile technology and social network services. The art and skill of connecting is in full stride and is allowing the formerly unheard voices to be heard through an unprecedented mechanism for sharing thoughts and ideas. With everything - devices, people, culture - connected and at our fingertips, a potentially seamless ecosystem is finally in sight and is accelerating the pace of change in both the biosphere and blogosphere. The Connector, whoever that proves to be, shall yet again open a new world.
Nevertheless, this new world of connectedness still poses some old and new questions.
- How can we make the best use of these technologies to confront perennial global challenges like war, poverty, disease, nuclear proliferation, and climate change?
- What must be done to meet new challenges such as terrorism, cyber warfare, privacy, and the digital divide?
- In this age of empathy, how can corporations better serve both shareholders and citizens?
- Who is the real king in media in this storm of hyperconnectivity?
- Can 600 million Facebook subscribers leverage their people power to make the world a more collaborative and creative place?
- As the focus turns to Asia, how should Asian leadership and values be best utilized to help create a more sustainable and harmonious global community?
At SDF2011, we will discuss the meaning of connectedness and how we can create a future that is linked together in a way that enables us to realize what it means to be global, emphatic and harmonious.
In the same vein, the printing press paved the way for the industrial revolution and modern civilization. Knowledge and wisdom came to be shared effectively on a mass scale, which eventually led to the bloom of the information technology revolution and the birth of the digital age. Now we are entering the next stage of digital civilization, epitomized by ubiquitous mobile technology and social network services. The art and skill of connecting is in full stride and is allowing the formerly unheard voices to be heard through an unprecedented mechanism for sharing thoughts and ideas. With everything - devices, people, culture - connected and at our fingertips, a potentially seamless ecosystem is finally in sight and is accelerating the pace of change in both the biosphere and blogosphere. The Connector, whoever that proves to be, shall yet again open a new world.
Nevertheless, this new world of connectedness still poses some old and new questions.
- How can we make the best use of these technologies to confront perennial global challenges like war, poverty, disease, nuclear proliferation, and climate change?
- What must be done to meet new challenges such as terrorism, cyber warfare, privacy, and the digital divide?
- In this age of empathy, how can corporations better serve both shareholders and citizens?
- Who is the real king in media in this storm of hyperconnectivity?
- Can 600 million Facebook subscribers leverage their people power to make the world a more collaborative and creative place?
- As the focus turns to Asia, how should Asian leadership and values be best utilized to help create a more sustainable and harmonious global community?
At SDF2011, we will discuss the meaning of connectedness and how we can create a future that is linked together in a way that enables us to realize what it means to be global, emphatic and harmonious.