[asia-apec 951] new list on y2k / global financial crisis

[Roberto Verzola]

LIST NAME:

     Interdoc-Y2K

LIST OWNER:

     Interdoc is a loose international network of non-government
organizations (NGOs) and advocacy groups who are monitoring recent
information and communications technologies (ICT) for their social
impact on ordinary citizens and developing countries. The Interdoc
coordinator is Roberto Verzola from the Philippines. Interdoc members
keep in touch by email and meet every few years or so to discuss
issues face-to-face, do training, and conduct planning. Roberto
Verzola will moderate the Interdoc-Y2K list.

LIST DESCRIPTION:

     Interdoc-Y2K is a moderated list that continues the Y2K
discussions on the World Bank-sponsored Global Knowledge for
Development (GKD) list, which were held Nov. 5-30, 1998. Roberto
Verzola was part of the panel of three experts who led the GKD
discussions.

     A major GKD thread raised concerns about how the Y2K problem can
aggravate the global financial crisis and therefore cause more serious
disruptions than originally expected. To avoid a cascade of problems,
the "modularization" approach was proposed, whose prescriptions ran
against the present paradigm of "globalization". This led to a
discussion about a paradigm shift that may be initiated by the crisis
triggered by the Millennium Bomb.

     Thus, a debate about two approaches to the Y2K problem emerged:

* BUSINESS AS USUAL: Let's solve the problem and get on with it. This
     approach basically looks at the M-bug as an atypical case of
     misjudgment or perhaps temporary insanity, when a whole
     generation of designers lost their bearings entirely and happened
     to commit exactly the same blunder.

* SYSTEMIC REFORM: Let's identify the deeply-flawed technological and
     economic thinking behind the M-bug, which are probably the root
     cause of our other problems elsewhere. In the universal
     soul-searching that will surely be caused by the crisis, let's
     initiate a thoughtfully planned process of discrediting and
     replacing these flawed thinking and behavioral patterns (the term
     "paradigm shift" was earlier; "systemic reform" may sound less
     pompous to some).

     The Interdoc-Y2K list was created to continue discussion on the
second approach. If you are interested in the details of the "business
as usual" approach, please note that this will be a small issue on
this list, which will concentrate on the "systemic reform" approach to
the M-bomb.

     Please address your questions about this list to Roberto Verzola
<rverzola at phil.gn.apc.org>.

SUBSCRIBING TO THE LIST:

     To subscribe, send a message to majordomo at jca.ax.apc.org and in
the body of your message (not the subject), put the line:
subscribe interdoc-y2k

POSTING A MESSAGE:

     To post a message to the list, address your message to:
interdoc-y2k at jca.ax.apc.org.

UNSUBSCRIBING FROM THE LIST:

     To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo at jca.ax.apc.org and in
the body of your message (not the subject), put the line:
unsubscribe interdoc-y2k