Human Resource and Telecommunications – Issues in the Commonwealth

Abstract

Telecommunications for Education and Development in the Commonwealth Workshop, May 22, 1997, Malta "Human Resource and Telecommunications - Issues in the Commonwealth" by David Walker, Educational Specialist (Educational Technology) // I would like to thank the Secretariat, COMNET-IT, and the Government of Malta for hosting this workshop concerning Telecommunications for Education and Development in the Commonwealth. // It is indeed interesting for me to visit Malta for the first time. In 1943 my parents were in a convoy of ships that were sailing not far from this island. They were both in the Canadian medical corps on their way to Italy to join up with Allied troops fighting their way up the boot of Italy. Just at sunset, as my father was enjoying an after dinner cigarette on the stern deck (remember this was before the days of warnings by the Surgeon General!), German bombers flying extremely low to the water, let go torpedoes that hit their ship. My mother and father both ended up in floating in the Mediterranean after theirs, and four other ships were sunk, including a large destroyer that my father saw disappear as he recalled, "with a large flash". They were picked up by an American merchant ship and eventually made it Naples where they served for two long years. My father told me of the awful pounding that Malta took in 1942, unprotected at that time by the Allies. I can understand somewhat, after seeing pictures of the destruction, the heroic resistance and resilience of the Maltese people during the German siege. // I have been surfing and reading about your island and the especially the mandate of the Department of Education as well as learning about the Minister himself. I can see that Malta is fast becoming one of the IT leaders globally. I am sure that the determination you have shown to the world during those years of the war will be important towards achieving your goal as a predominate IT global leader.