Recent British Irish Council meeting on the knowledge economy

Dangger

Jersy was delegated to take the lead in the sectoral area of the Knowledge economy at the
British Irish Council's inaugural summit


On the 14th of June 2002 the Taoiseach, Tony Blair and Jack McConnell Scotland's first minister met on Jersey to discuss the knowledge economy. It appears the event was to a certain extent hijacked by David Trimble, who wished to tackle Blair on the Good Friday Agreement however I have found the following comments from Jack McConnell. It's a pity however that I have not found anything from our Taoiseach on the matter. I understand Mary Hanafin was also in attendance.

From a press release from the Scottish first minister.....

"The hallmark of a developing economy is the speed at which new developments flow from laboratory to market. The Knowledge economy is built on rapid communications and constant change. It is therefore essential that we equip our young people to make the most of these opportunities.

"This doesn’t happen by chance and we must provide our children with the skills for the future. Scotland is ahead of Europe in having the only national programme of enterprise education in schools through the Schools Enterprise Programme.

"The programme is planting the seeds of enterprise firmly in young minds and preparing them for life and work in the 21st Century. Encouraging enterprise skills in young people is key to encouraging creativity and ambition for the future.

"That’s why I want to see all the administrations here today work together on the development of enterprise skills in young people. I hope we can all meet before the end of the year to discuss this exciting way of preparing our young people for the future."

The First Minister also referred to the problems of the digital divide in Scotland. Mr McConnell said:

"This is a divide which I am determined we shall bridge. It is simply unacceptable that those on low incomes in Scotland are six times less likely to have home access to the web than those on high incomes.

"Our strategy "Connecting Scotland’s People" is raising awareness and improving access to the web, developing skills and involving communities. Over the next few months we will be delivering over 1000 public internet access points which will bring the web right into the heart of Scottish communities.

"We must ensure that everyone can take advantage of the opportunities that new technologies and the web offer."

Mr McConnell continued:

"It is of particular significance that these talks on digital inclusion are taking place here at the British-Irish Council. Digital inclusion issues are common across Scotland, the British Isles and Republic of Ireland - that’s why it makes sense for us all to work together in tackling the digital divide.

"The partnership approach and the pooling of expertise and knowledge that we are witnessing here today shows us that the vision of a digitally connected Scotland has every chance of becoming a reality."

Membership of the British-Irish Council comprises representatives from the Irish and British Governments, devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales together with representatives of the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey