Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1281593
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 AUGUST 2020 Clayton Bartolo Clayton Bartolo is Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services and Digital Economy OPINION Towards a digital culture of Malta's tax-paying population – about both the decision itself, and its precise reasons for taking it. This would be warranted at the best of times; but it becomes almost a fun- damental necessity, when you also con- sider that there was (and had been, for many years) clear, undeniable political pressure – coming from the party that is now in government - to axe that par- ticular show. For this, we have the unequivocal word of former PL general secretary Jason Mi- callef himself, who in 2011 wrote: "Let us no longer beat around the bush, and I want to make it clear. Should there be a Labour government after the next gen- eral election, those entrusted with the running of PBS should ensure that Joe Azzopardi is removed from the national station…" Admittedly, that individual threat is unlikely to be the sole driving force be- hind a decision that was only taken this week: a full seven years after Labour won that election, and when Jason Micallef himself is no longer part of the resulting government. But placed in the context of other, equally bizarre actions taken recently – such as the Broadcasting Authority's astonishing order for PBS to censor jour- nalists' questions, during live transmis- sions of public health press conferences – it can only add to a niggling suspicion that 'Xarabank' might have been axed for similarly censorial reasons. Just like those press conferences, 'Xara- bank' also provided a platform – of which, let's face, there are hardly a great many others - whereby people in pow- er could somehow be held accountable to the public: if nothing else, by simply throwing politicians into the same old gladiatorial arena as everyone else… where they, too, had to put up (however briefly) with the discomfort of actually having to answer the questions of a live, televised, and sometimes hostile audi- ence. Call me suspicious, but I can't help feel- ing that two controversial decisions in a single week – both concerning public broadcasting, and both seemingly geared towards shielding politicians from 'ex- cessive' public scrutiny - does not exact- ly bode very well for the general health of our country's democracy: which, as we all should now know by heart, hinges precisely on the two things that are clear- ly absent from this particular episode. Transparency, and accountability. All things considered, then: no, I wasn't a Xarabank fan. And no, I won't be shed- ding too many tears for a television pro- gramme I never really watched anyway (and yet, strangely, always somehow found out what it was about the follow- ing day.) But at the same time, I just can't bring myself to do what so many other people seem to be doing at the moment… and 'celebrate' the demise of a TV show that (for better or worse) has had such a pro- found, formative impact on the country we live in; and whose overall influence, I would say, has generally been more posi- tive than negative. For what it's worth, I happen to share the misgivings of my former colleague Tim Diacono (not exactly a Xarabank fan, either). Like him, I can't help but feel that 'Malta's TV landscape is poorer as a result'... THE challenging times we have gone through in recent months required us to think about where we want to take our country in the years to come. I can say that in recent months it has been crucial for us as a government to take the op- portunity and formulate a plan through which we will be able to build the econo- my of tomorrow – a future proof econo- my that can withstand external economic shocks. No one can deny that in the last seven years our country experienced un- precedented economic growth. The gov- ernment's competence in financial ad- ministration has allowed us to strengthen various sectors that were already with us as well as attract new sectors aimed at building an economy based on knowl- edge and technology. Last week, in an historic cabinet meeting at the Chamber of Commerce, Prime Min- ister Robert Abela listed five main prin- ciples that need to serve as an economic model for the future, namely: good govern- ance, economic growth for a better quality of life, improving Malta's infrastructure, carbon neutral by 2050 with intermediate targets every ten years and significantly ed- ucation for a long-term healthy economy. The Prime Minister mentioned that an innovative education system is the way forward for an efficient economy. There- fore, we need to prepare our country for an education reform to prepare the next generation for more subjects related to Life Sciences, robotics, coding, IT infrastruc- ture, software development, Artificial In- telligence, cloud computing, quantum and even cybersecurity. We can never talk about the digital trans- formation of a country without giving proper importance to education. A cou- ple of weeks ago, in collaboration with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority and the University of Malta, we launched scholar- ships amounting to €100,000 in the field of Artificial Intelligence. This emerging tech- nology is with us today and preparing us for tomorrow. It is within our interest that we open the door of opportunities not only to those who are already familiar with technological fields but also to those from different aca- demic fields. I firmly believe that education is the key to success through which we are able to guarantee a better future for our children. It is the best legacy we can leave them as politicians, beyond any monetary value or any other materialistic objects. Therefore, this educational investment will play an important role in making our ambi- tion of a 'digital Malta' a success story. I ap- peal to anyone interested in learning about Artificial Intelligence to apply for these scholarships. Malta has consistently worked hard to be ahead of the curve where technology and innovation are concerned. In recent years, we have established ourselves as the main hub for the iGaming industry. As a result, the island's digital ecosystem is healthy and flourishing and companies from many dif- ferent sectors have been attracted by Mal- ta's investment in digital technology, in- cluding IT and corporate service providers, as well as marketing agencies and law firms. Our goal of creating a digital culture is not solely based on the number of companies we will bring to our country. We need to create a regulatory environment for every- one away from any abuse or addiction. We must bear in mind that in our society there are people who end up victims of exces- sive gambling. It is our duty to help these people by strengthening our efforts in ed- ucating more about the social problems that gambling brings. In recent weeks, the Maltco Lotteries Ltd presented a contribu- tion of €50,000 to the Responsible Gaming Foundation with the aim of strengthening our financial resources to overcome this same abuse within Maltese society. I firmly believe that this issue is still a taboo when compared to other addictions. Therefore, while conserving a thriving gaming indus- try, we must speed up our efforts to help out excessive gamblers overcome this problem. We have established a regulatory frame- work centring around the use of innovative technology arrangements capturing distrib- uted ledger technology (DLT) platforms, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence with the primary aim of providing transparency and legal certainty. The legislation aims to instil peace of mind and certainty, as socie- ty places more trust in innovative technolo- gy. Furthermore, this regulatory framework positions Malta at the forefront of techno- logical business opportunities, as it creates a sound platform for innovators. With a highly stable political and eco- nomic environment, a strong ICT infra- structure, an ever-growing gaming industry and strong financial services sector topped up with a tech-savvy population, Malta can continue to gain strategic competitive ad- vantage in the digital economy. An exciting voyage is ahead of us and the government is ready to integrate a digital culture for today and the generations of tomorrow.