I would like to extend a most cordial welcome to the participants of the 6th International Scientific Conference on Work With Display Units 2002 in Berchtesgaden. It is my pleasure to assume the patronage for this international meeting.

We are heading for the global information society: Germany is not staying behind. Modern information and communication technologies permit virtual structures to be set up across national borders. To this adds that the knowledge of humankind doubles every five years through modern information technology. The other side of the coin is that knowledge soon becomes obsolete, its half-life is reduced. Those who do not want to miss the boat have to bring their knowledge up to date on a permanent basis. This applies to companies which want to remain competitive in the globalized markets. This applies to employees who are faced with new and higher demands of the labor market. Old production methods are replaced by new ones. New occupational fields evolve. This requires specialized experts with appropriate qualifications.

The Internet revolution has long since started worldwide: It changes our lives, our way of communicating with each other. It changes our world of work, transforming it into a new working society. The agricultural society once turned into the "hardware" society, which is now developing into a "software" society. We live in a transitional period, in a space which leaves a vast room for action and which is yet unstructured in parts, which can and must be shaped. Giving shape is the key word of the new working society. The global competitive situation gives further momentum to this development.

The changes in the world of work bring about a new type of employee: People no longer merely do work - they shape work. Historically seen, the pluralization of types of employment and work across borders are not new concepts, though. We find them in Germany in the theoretical debates of the seventies under the slogan "different work - different economies", in which the shape-giving elements of work were virtually adopted as the principle of a new way of life. Types of employment providing a greater degree of autonomy and elements for one's self-realization were already sought at that time. What is new in terms of social history is the fact that the necessity to shape work now emanates from the heart of society and is not labeled as "alternative" or "different".

The information society creates new types of employment: Many people still have trouble with terms such as "call center", "telework" or "virtual offices". Yet these types of work become a reality for an increasing number of people. They are types of work which benefit everyone: companies, employees, but also society as a whole. The information society opens up new occupational fields this way, providing new possibilities for jobs. The German government wants to seize these employment opportunities and lastingly combat unemployment. We also pursue this objective in the action program "Innovation and jobs in the information society of the 21. century".

Occupational safety and health will play a major role: Presumably, nobody would be prepared today to work under the conditions Adolf Menzel impressively portrayed in his painting "The iron rolling mill" of 1875. We can observe a shift of the strain, away from individual physical strain, such as noise or heat, toward increased psycho-mental demands, e.g. in the context of work with display screen equipment or higher pressure to perform in new lean companies. The demands on occupational safety and health have developed accordingly. Thus, the prevention component of occupational safety and health was extended, in particular in the occupational accident insurance, whose mandate is no longer merely to prevent industrial accidents and occupational diseases, but to avoid all work-related health hazards. If applied correctly, occupational safety and health is, in a broader sense, also part of successful staff management today.

We have to avoid a global divide between information "haves" and "have-nots": It is interesting to know that also among the Navajo Indians, an equivalent has been coined for the term computer. In their graphic way of speaking, they call it "béésh nitséskee", which translates into "thinking metal".
This is both a fascinating and a frightening picture when thinking about modern weapon systems for example. I believe that also in the future, people will be released neither from thinking, nor from their responsibility for it. And against the background of technological progress, this holds true for the political, the economic and not least the social field.

Politics have to accompany change: Politics have the mandate to accompany the business world and society into the information society and to grant support in setting up virtual structures and shaping the world of work. Politics have to provide the right overall conditions, identify and promote concrete possibilities. But the state cannot shape the societal change toward the information society all on its own. Nor can the economy rely solely on the offer in competitive products and services.

It is the joint interest of the state, of - competing - companies and of the people concerned to cooperate more closely also on an international basis in building the information society. I think that there is a great interest to cooperate among all those involved from the scientific sector and from the practical fields. The 6th International Scientific Conference on Work With Display Units is an appropriate forum to accompany and promote international cooperation.

With this in mind, I hope that the conference will see a great number of participants, provide interesting contacts and discussions and yield forward-looking results.

Yours,
Walter Riester
Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs