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The future of wellbeing in an interconnected world

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The future of wellbeing in an interconnected world

November 18, 2020 Let's Connect

We live in an interconnected world, where mobile devices have become indispensable and digital platforms a symbol of everyday life. This is a development that benefits various social processes, but it also poses new and profound challenges. 

 

In 2015, the 215 members of the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals —SDG— as a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Quite a challenge! 

There are 17 objectives in total that cover all social spheres: education, environment, work, justice, poverty, health and well-being, among others. Since then, efforts have been made in the countries of the region to meet the stated goals and, as an important ally, technology has played a leading role. 

How has this been? Without a doubt, one of the most challenging goals for a government is to reach the most remote communities in its territory: due to costs, the difficulty that access sometimes represents, or because they do not have the human or logistical capacity to get there. 

Isabel Guerrero, executive director of the NGO Imago Bases Globales and professor at Harvard University, believes that technology is a powerful tool that today allows us to reach that last place, that mile that was previously not on the radar. “What you need in the last mile is a basic health service and you can use technology to provide more specialized consultation services, for example. Or now there are applications that can diagnose malaria. So technology can certainly accelerate the goals of sustainable development.”He says.

 

At different times, technological advances have brought about changes in societies. But never have there been such drastic transformations in such a short space of time as those underway with the digital revolution we are experiencing today.

 

The report of the UN Secretary-General, entitled 'The age of digital interdependence', concludes that digital inclusion is not equitable worldwide and recommends, as a first step, establishing actions so that all adults have access to technology, as well as financial and health services with digital support by 2030, in line with the date of achievement of the SDGs.

Now, if technology plays such a decisive role, should digital inclusion be considered a public good? For the panel of experts who participated in the UN Report, this is a question that should be resolved in the future, as they consider it necessary to propose scenarios  “where connectivity, outstanding content, apps relevant, for everyone”They also consider that it is not just about connecting, but also creating the capabilities for both the use of technologies and the development of apps and tools provided by the local people themselves, so that they are in line with the needs of this last mile.

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