Earlier this month the Leader of the Opposition, Adrian Delia, appointed me as the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson for ‘digital society’.
I am personally thrilled with this opportunity for two reasons. Firstly, on a personal level I have been involved in digital transformation and technology since 1985. This is my chance to unleash my years of experience for the benefit of our society. Secondly, the Nationalist Party in government has always been at the forefront of transformational change. Given the chance, the PN will no doubt deliver again and take Malta on a journey from good to great through digital transformation that will land Malta into the 21st century, the Digital Age.
Since my appointment, many people have asked me, “So what will you be talking about? What is a digital society?”
A digital society reflects a modern society capable of adopting and integrating information and communication technologies at home, work, education and recreation. In the 21st century, digital innovations are reshaping our society, economy and industries on a scale and speed like we have never experienced before.
Mobile, cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data and the internet of things offer unlimited opportunities.
These tools drive economic growth, improvement of citizen’s lives and efficiencies in sectors such as health, transportation, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, retail, environment, planning and the public sector.
In the wake of COVID-19 digital solutions will shape our new way of life at home, work, hospitals and schools
In the late 1980s when the personal computer found itself in our offices and homes, we witnessed analogue processes that were executed on analogue platforms transported to a digital platform. Given the technology tools mentioned above, we now have an opportunity to transform analogue processes to digital processes resulting in increased efficiency, improved quality and reduced cost.
A practical example of how an analogue process can be transformed to a digital process is at home. Can you imagine your fridge, freezer and kitchen cupboards digitally linked to a supermarket application and have your shopping list being prepared for you based on your consumption? And, at a touch of a button submit your online order to the supermarket of your choice? Can you imagine the same application providing you with instant and constant visibility of the expiry and best-before date of the products you stock at home through notifications on to your mobile phone?
Will this one simple transformation improve your quality of life? Will this save you time and increase your efficiency? Will this assist you with reducing your cost as you reduce wastage?
Another example is education. Can you imagine how the quality of education can increase through the use and applicability of virtual and augmented reality? In an environment where our students can simulate and visualise things, try them out and freely make mistakes, the outcome is an increased skill level and more importantly increased confidence going into their first job. In other words, improved quality of our workforce making Malta more competitive and attractive for foreign investment.
There is no doubt that in the wake of COVID-19, digital solutions will shape our new way of life at home, at work, in hospitals and at schools, among many other places. Malta must rise to this challenge. Malta must continue to invest in its digital infrastructure and in people to grow the necessary technical skills for today and tomorrow.
To create a digital society, Malta must seriously embrace and create a positive ‘start-up’ culture.
Since Malta’s independence in 1964, the Nationalist Party has always left its mark through the delivery of key milestones that made our nation proud. Milestones that improved our quality of life and made Malta proud on the world stage. The PN is committed to deliver on yet another strategic milestone and transform our society to a digital society with the sole aim of placing the Maltese citizen at the heart of a digital strategy.
The outcome will improve our healthcare, education, transport, environment, energy, planning and much more.
Digital transformation is not about technology, digital transformation is about leveraging technology to empower our citizens to have more control over their own lives. Think progressive. Think PN.
Ivan J Bartolo, PN spokesperson for digital society