Abstract
A Tiger Leap into the Information Society
In the History of mankind, the biggest advances in the social and economic structures have been closely connected to improvements in the flow of information. The dramatic development of new ways of communication in the last century has shaped a new society in which knowledge is the main productive force. In the last decades, the spreading of electronic-processed information networks --boosted by cheaper, smaller and more powerful devices-- has changed the social habits and relations. In this new society, information technologies (IT) have become the key of the new economy.
The little country of Estonia is presented as a good example of these changes. After the independence from the USSR, the economic structures of the young Republic were to be built. The Tiger Leap project was launched in 1996, being its goal to improve the national Education system by using IT. Soon after, this project took also on the task of modernizing private business and public administration. The result is a society which is in the cutting edge of new technologies, with a high e-skilled population, able to use electronic (and even mobile) ID card for various purposes, vote on the Internet or reach free wireless Internet connection all across the country. Estonia has become the playground for new technologies: the IT services of the future in most western countries are part of everyday Estonian life.
The outcomes of this daring bid are rather positive since the Estonian economy and living standards have developed more than those of its closest neighbours, which proves again that information is the driving force of our society.
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Slideshow
This slideshow was shown on May 14, 2008, in the course 'Technology and Culture' of Telecom BCN, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. The actual slideshow available for download is a bit longer, since it has a couple of extra slides (they were cut in the oral presentation in order not to make it too long)
Download (PowerPoint 2003)
References
Tiigrihüpe ('Tiger Leap' project official website)
e-Estonia (Figures and facts about the information society in estonia, provided by the Government)
ID.ee (Electronic/Mobile ID official website)
Wifi.ee (Network of wireless hotspots in Estonia)
Eurostat (Statistics bureau of the European Commission, all the graphs of the presentation are based on its database)
Th Singing Revolution (American film --currently playing on theatres-- portraying the Estonian recent History and focusing on the 'Singing Revolution')
About
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