The 21st Century and Information and Communication Technology

The 21st Century and Information and Communication Technology The concept of wealth that prevailed in the last century has radically changed. The whole world rightly acknowledges that the wealth of the 21" century is knowledge. It means that neither agriculture, mineral resources and energy, nor industry and business are the sources of wealth. Human beings are because they are capable of searching knowledge. This concept has reshaped the people's way of thinking throughout the world. They have been taking preparations to face the challenges ofthe 21st century. We have already started realising that the world of the 21st century is making its firm standing on a knowledge-based economy. In this century, two more important factors - globalisation and internationalisation have come into being, and is the main driving force behind their acceleration. NOW the geographical border of a country transcends and extends to all parts ofthe world as an effect Of globalisation. We can refer to Bangladesh as an example to make the point clear. Millions of Bangladeshis now live all over the world. The place where they live in is as if a small Bangladesh. So, in one sense, the border of Bangladesh has extended beyond its own one. Moreover, they, in spite of being the natives of Bangladesh, are living as the citizens of different countries. 'Internationalism' is the unwritten law of the present world. Once people had to depend on the blessings of nature for survival. However, by inventing machines and tools, they have lessened this dependence. With the help of machines and technology, they have controlled the world economy after the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century. The nations, which participated in the industrial revolution, once ruled the world. A similar shift of power has been observed, as the knowledge-based economy has started dominating the world in the 21 st century. • ev We can realise that we should take adequate preparation for taking part in this revolution. The specific skills for survival are the ability to cooperate and communicate with each other, awareness about the obligations of the citizenry, acumen in solving problems, critical thinking, creativity, and skill in ICT.