Synergos brought us here to discuss one of the big challenges of our time - how to bridge the gap between those who have access to resources and are part of the globalized world and those who are excluded from knowledge, technology, progress and hope.

We are all aware that social, economic, and cultural gaps can only be reduced through the participation and the solidarity of the state and civil society, joining forces in new and creative ways to fight for a better and more equitable world. This basic and simple assumption underlies the work of Brazil's Conselho da Comunidade Solidaria (Community Solidarity Council), which I have chaired since its creation. The Council, composed of four Ministers of State and 28 civil society leaders, was designed to open new dialogue and cooperation between government and civil society.

It brings them together around the same table to promote synergy in social programs.

Each of the programs implemented by Community Solidarity involves a large set of partners, such as government agencies, universities, churches, volunteers and private companies. I would like to share with you some important lessons that we have learned in the last five years.

First of all, I would like to stress that partnership and network building are more effective when they follow a pattern of "variable geometry." Government and the private sector are learning how to come together and cooperate on the basis of common interest, comparative advantages and added value. This cooperation does not erase differences nor does it eliminate disagreement. Public debate and even conflict are intrinsic to democracy. Different people in different organizations do not need to agree about everything all the time in order to put together their resources to deal with the task at hand.

Another point I want to emphasize is that, in a country like Brazil, money may be scarce, but resources - such as social capital - are abundant. Contemporary Brazilian society is more open, informed, responsible and participatory than ever before. And this is a social asset to be valued and leveraged.

The challenge is how to strengthen the channels and mechanisms required for social capital to be invested with efficiency and scale.

Scale is very important. It is important to experiment and assess the potential for scaling up innovative and cost-effective social projects. Procedures are needed to test and evaluate the cost-effectiveness and impact of strategies to bridge the gap between rich and poor.

I would like to share with you one of my concerns. While we endeavor to deal with inequalities inherited from the past, we are also increasingly confronted by new gaps such as the widespread digital divide. With today's impressive pace of technological change, these emerging gaps, if left unattended, will create extensive and intractable patterns of inequality. That is why the latest program that we are developing in Brazil aims precisely to bridge the widening gap for the young people, especially those from the poorest sector of society who do not have access to the new information technology.

In Brazil, as in many other places, the young are at the same time deeply attracted to new technology and painfully excluded from it. My conviction is that these emerging divides, by their very nature, cannot be surmounted at the national level alone. They call for broader global alliances. The discussion of these questions is a renewed challenge for our imagination. I'm very hopeful that young entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of technological innovation will join us as partners in the process of bridging the gap.

I want my final words to be a celebration of faith in our common ability to find creative responses to this new challenge. Thank you very much.

 
 

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