WOLFGANG MAINZ
YES President - YES - Execom
YES Başkanı - YES - Execom

Nowadays almost everybody is concerned about new economy, about new business, information society, information technology, about the Internet and e-commerce, e-business, and so on. Seminars, forums, conferences, debates are constantly organised, both on public and private level, to discuss the risks and opportunities of this challenge.

From our side, as Yes for Europe, we are publishing an electronic newsletter called "The entrepreneurial-mail" and are planning to organise our annual Forum on this topic. For once we didn't have to argue in order to define the general subject of the Forum and this, in my view, is already a sign of the importance of the issue. It is a sign that we are all highly involved in the process. As "entrepreneurs", as "young" and last but not least, as "citizens".

We are witnessing a revolution and we are the actors of this revolution. What can we doş and howş What can we gain or obtain, what will we looseş Is there a conflict between the so called "old" and "new" economyş Is there a possibility of integrationş Is it possible to survive without adaptingş These and many other questions are affecting us when facing at our present, near and far future. We should try to find an answer and a solution to all these questions as individuals and as part of the society, the "European society". We are not only young entrepreneurs but also "European young entrepreneurs". But Europe is late. In the USA the integration between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and production have created more demand, more employment and more quality, equal to 10 years of growth. The USA economy represents 36% of the world market on the Internet.

Nevertheless since 1998 the Internet customers in Europe have increased of about 80% per year. The European Union is working to close the gap. Some recent examples:

o Regulatory initiatives have been undertaken such as the "Directive on e-commerce" and the "Directive on electronic signatures".

o 'New Technologies' and 'New Economy' were discussed as a priority in the Agenda of the Intergovernmental Conference of Lisbon.

o The European Commission launched a new initiative promoting access of citizens to the Internet, called "Europe: an Information Society for all".

Still a lot of work has to be done.

The rules and models of the new knowledge-based society are totally different and full of many implications. Some examples:



1. Time. The concept and measure of time are changing. We talk about "Internet time" where information and technology are running quicker than imagination.

2. Communication. The way of communicating is changing and communication is the base of culture. And culture without a proper communication has no sense for the growth of the civil society. Now the language is changing and old barriers are falling. The potential is enormous.

3. Creativity. The new technological tools offer and require new creativity and new imagination. Culture and mentality will be enriched by new opportunities.

4. Globalisation. The Internet erases geographical barriers The words local, national and international change their traditional weight and concept.

5. Networking. Networking and the creation of new relations is the basic concept of the web. This opens to an extreme flexibility and to a new dimension of independency.

6. New social rules. The traditional social rules will be reshaped mainly by reducing inequality. Just to make an example any single citizen will be able to communicate directly with politicians and private or public bodies. At the same time we have to avoid discriminations related to possible difficulties of using new technologies (e.g. less developed countries).

7. Growth and competitiveness. The new economy promotes growth and increases competitiveness. We have to be ready and to respond in real time to the new demand of the market.

8. Employment and new professional skills. We are moving towards a new concept of work. The human capital will increase its power and importance within the enterprise. At the same time new professional skills will be required. That's why training and learning to learning are now the base of future knowledge and professionalism.

9. Saving. The new technologies certainly offer a potential for saving resources and energies and be one of the main benefits for new entrepreneurship. However in order to participate to this process we have to adapt to the developing reality and to build up the necessary infrastructures and rules.

This means mainly:


- to adapt and integrate the regulatory framework in view of a sustainable competitiveness;

- to reshape, reinforce and diffuse an adequate training system in order to fulfil the multiple requirements of the future social and economic scenario. The European Union is certainly moving in this direction. Commissioner BOLKESTEIN (Internal Market) said:
"The key to success is the creation of an open competitive Europe which delivers choice for the consumer and new markets for business. To achieve this we need to create an environment, which nurtures dynamism and creativity, built upon the foundations of a secure legal environment. The "New Economy" however, will not be able to deliver all the benefits if long delayed reforms are not made across the board. So, what action is necessaryş Reduce the regulatory burden: useless bureaucracy and red tape is killing innovation and wasting resources. (…) Secondly, we must build up the infrastructure for the "New Economy": Efficient logistics and low telecommunications costs are a pre-condition for competitiveness and for the pick up of e-commerce. (…) We need to enforce competition and bring competition to the local loop. We need to complete liberalisation in all sectors. Thirdly, Europe must adapt quickly to the knowledge-based economy and harness the potential of its labour force through extensive "re-skilling" so as to reduce exclusion from the labour market. It must transform its economic culture into one, which fosters entrepreneurship." I am sure that we will start an interesting and fruitful debate that will accompany us for a long time. We, as young entrepreneurs of Europe, have the responsibility and the chance to contribute to this process and to make a garden out of this jungle.

WOLFGANG MAINZ: "YENİ EKONOMİ"

Günümüzde herkes yeni ekonomi, yeni iş, bilgi toplumu, bilgi teknolojisi, internet, e-ticaret ve e-iş kaygısında...

"Eski" ekonomiyle "yeni" ekonomi arasında bir uyuşmazlık var mış ...Uyum sağlamadan ayakta kalmak olası mış Hem birey hem de toplumun "Avrupa toplumunun" birer üyesi olarak bu sorulara yanıt ve çözüm bulmaya çalışmamız gerekiyor...

Ama Avrupa geç kaldı. ABD de Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojilerinin birleşimi, 10 yıllık büyümeye eşit daha fazla talep, daha fazla iş ve daha yüksek bir kalite yarattı. ABD ekonomisi internet dünya pazarının %36'sını oluşturmakta.

Yine de 1998'den bu yana Avrupa'daki internet müşterileri senede yaklaşık %80 bir artış sergiledi...Ama daha yapılacak çok işimiz var.

Bu yeni bilgiye dayalı toplumun yeni kural ve modelleri var. Örneğin;



1. Zaman: "Internet zamanı"nda bilgi ve teknoloji hayal gücünden daha hızlı ilerliyor.

2. İletişim: İletişim yöntemleri değişiyor...

3. Yaratıcılık: Yeni teknolojik aletler, yeni bir yaratıcılık ve yeni bir hayal gücü gerektiriyor.

4. Globalleşme: Internet coğrafik sınırları siliyor.

5. Ağ örgüsü: Ağ örgüsü ve yeni ilişkilerin kurulması web'in temel kavramını oluşturuyor.

6. Yeni sosyal kurallar: Eşitsizliğin azalması geleneksel sosyal kurallarına yeni bir şekil veriyor.

7. Büyüme ve rekabet: Yeni ekonomi büyümeyi gündeme getirerek rekabeti hızlandırıyor.

8. İstihdam ve yeni profesyonel beceriler: İnsan sermayesi iş dünyasında daha çok güç ve önem kazanacak. Aynı zamanda yeni profesyonel beceriler gerekecek.

9. Tasarruf: Yeni teknolojiler kaynak ve enerji tasarrufu sağlıyor.



...Bizler de gelişmekte olan gerçeklere uyum sağlayarak, gerekli altyapı ve kuralları oluşturmalıyız.

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