Photo: Finnish Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai
The following is an excerpt from the article "Finland unlikely land for the universal use of technology "written by Youssef M. Ibrahim and published by the New York Times (Ibrahim, 1997).
HELSINKI, Finland-Forget phones here. Since almost one third of five million inhabitants of Finland carry your cell phone and the number increases by 27 percent each year, phones are becoming something quaint, almost a relic. De
Indeed, even mobile phones are becoming a standard a bit old fashioned. The latest mobile phones come Now with email and allow users to roam the newsgroups and web sites. The 9000 Communicator, Nokia's new model is a hybrid phone and a computer the size of cell phones a decade ago, allows Internet access to a user who goes on a train, sitting in a cafe or standing on the corner of the street.
The Nordic nation is the world's most connected. Banks, shops and social life are migrating from the real to the virtual world faster here than anywhere else. Habits that distinguish high-tech regions as Silicon Valley in California are a national phenomenon in Finland.
The reasons cited are its high level of education, public spending on basic research and long nights of winter.
The Finns use the Internet to chat about their problems and for academic research and attend courses hundreds of miles away.
Universities offer free Internet access to students, as well as public libraries. In addition, municipalities, computer manufacturers and the government subsidize campaigns to provide access to many computers and cell phones as possible.
''Because Finland is so small, homogenous and has a high level of education, Internet use is becoming part of society, democratic access to government and institutions,''said Puirava Minna, a project manager in marketing studies in the University Tampere, about 100 kilometers north of Helsinki. ''Of course, America has an electronic culture that is very advanced, but focuses on small groups of the population. Here, it is very widespread.''
Former Minister of Education of Finland, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, explains that in less than two years, the country would invest 2.9 percent of gross national product on research and development in computer-related fields. This year, he said, the government and private industry would invest two billion Finnish marks (approximately $ 417,500,000 dollars) to educate 600,000 students and 400,000 adults on Internet use. Soon, nation's 5,000 schools will be connected to the Internet.
The goal:''A society where competition is based on knowledge, know-how and the creation of new economic wealth,''said Mr. Heinonen. (End of interview)
All previous data on Finland would not be as impressive if the date of publication of the New York Times story was not on 8 February ... 1997. So 13 years ago, the Finns had already been established that the use of Internet would transform the access to knowledge and generate new forms of wealth. What about Mexico?
Source report
Ibrahim, YM (8 February, 1997). New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2010, in Finland: Improbable Land for the Universal Use of Technology: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/20/business/finland-improbable-land-for-the-universal-use-of-technology.html?ref = finland & pagewanted = 1
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