The K-economy deals a lot with technology and of global economy. K stands for knowledge, and implies the betterment a knowledge driven economy can do for the nation. Nazarea exemplified the importance of knowledge using common scenarios. He mentioned a farmer needing knowledge in producing mangoes. K-economy is about learning and unlearning knowledge. In this scenario the farmer should try to learn new ways that are proven to be more efficient in producing mangoes and unlearn the traditional methods that is proven ineffective and costly. This kind of strategy is currently being used in Malaysia. K-Dot Force, a private company that sells computers have a Corporate Social Responsibility group that ensure that people who cannot afford their units can still be able to access them. They were able to install a number of computer units in rural areas specifically near farming communities. They emphasize the importance of people in those areas to continuously upgrade their knowledge. A farmer in their region can browse the internet and see different ways on how other farms produce their mangoes in different regions.
The question now will be the accessibility of these technologies for the Filipino people. Malaysia may have a different kind of government then, undeniably a more effective one, but what is more important is not the current status of our government but instead what can individual initiatives, like that of K-Dot Force can do. In the Philippines, Ateneo-Management for Information Science Association has a project that aims to install computer units in a selected public school. Such projects are cost-intensive making it difficult for them to get funding even though they are already from Ateneo, a school known for its connection in the business sector. They were able to raise Php200, 000. They used the money to provide the brand new units for the computer laboratory in a certain school on Quezon City. Though it is quite a good project, it benefits only a certain group of people, those who have been selected for some kind of criteria that they themselves made.
K-economy furthermore wants that if one is trained as a chemist, one should not only think as a chemist. This is because the knowledge in the world is integrated and associated with one another just like a virtual network of information. There are several knowledge that if we reflect really closely, we could conclude as not to be of use in our line of work. We should unlearn knowledge that neither concern nor affects us and try learning more knowledge that will affect us.
In Singapore, 200, 000 Singaporean dollars are used by the government in training 8,000 workers as they embrace new technologies. Look at Singapore now. The advent of the K-economy will in effect bring new profession where localization will no longer be important and where legal framework will be more knowledge friendly.
An example of jobs that will be created is an online commerce. A person can upload his comic strip and even earn from people who patronizes his site or from the advertisers although there are the advantages of a K-economy, Nazarea, upon the insistence of Macasaet, explained that if the knowledge that is in the web is used improperly could cause disadvantages for some people. He expounded that knowledge, like anything else is like a double bladed sword. He added that the challenge of the next century is for people to unlearn, learn and relearn knowledge.
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