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(0:56 people's noises)

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(check who) 1.17 We've got one hour[br]and a quarter.

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(confused voices then 1:31) How do we know[br]when these things are going to be turned on?

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(confused voices, then1:58) What? OK? [br]Right.

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(Chairperson 2:03) Ladies and Genltemen, [br]can I ask everyone

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to take their seats, please?

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We're about to begin, [br]so if you're visiting the bar,

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can you charge your glasses and return [br]to your seats, and then we'll begin.

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We've got an hour and a quarter[br]for this debate.

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OK, can I -- Welcome everybody to[br]the Online Educa OEB debate.

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I'm not sure what number this is[br]in the series of debates that we've had,

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I think it may be getting up to our 10th.

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What I can tell you is that in the time[br]that we've been having these debates

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and that I've been chairing them, [br]my eyesight has now gone so bad

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that I can't possibly read any notes[br]that I have without using glasses, so

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I think we must be on at least our 10th.

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What I can also tell you is that [br]Online Educa itself, OEB,

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this year is celebrating [br]its 21st anniversary.

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So I think that perhaps deserves[br]a round of applause.

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So happy birthday to Online Educa --[br](Applause) -- this fantastic conference.

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And 21 years ago was a very difficult --[br]very different world indeed,

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when one thinks about the scale and scope[br]of change that there --

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that has taken place in the last 21 years.

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One statistic I was reading recently was [br]that in the UK, in 1994, 21 years ago,

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there were only 67 mobile phones[br]per 1000 people.

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But only ten years later, in 2004,

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there were more mobiles in the UK [br]than people.

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And that pattern of spread [br]of mobile communications alone

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has spread across the world and [br]in Africa, for instance,

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those of you who have been to [br]Elearning Africa will have learned about

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the spread of mobile communications[br]across the African continent.

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So in terms of the scale [br]of technological change,

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and the spread of that change [br]across the world,

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the change in that short period of time,[br]in these past 21 years alone,

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has been enormous, and we heard about

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the scale of it in the opening [br]plenary session this morning.

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We live in a world that is globalized,[br]interconnected, hyperlinked

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and that scale of change we're [br]experiencing, have experienced

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in the last 21 years, is going to[br]gather pace and continue.

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And all that is going to create a huge [br]challenge for education and training,

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which is going to be at the heart

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of dealing with both the positive and [br]negative aspects of that change.

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And that's why the motion that we're [br]dealing with today, in this debate,

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is so important, and why the whole subject[br]of giving young people the skills

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that they need to cope with [br]the challenges of this new world

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that we all are going to --[br]that we are creating, is so important.

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We've got four speakers, [br]four panel speakers

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to open the debate this evening

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and I'm going to ask each of them [br]to speak for 10 minutes,

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and then I'm going to --

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-- two of them will speak for the motion, [br]obviously,and two against --

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then I will throw open the debate [br]to all of you,

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but if you want to intervene[br]whilst they are speaking, because

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we're having a parliamentary-style[br]debate,

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then you can try to intervene on them

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and if they want to take [br]your intervention,

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then they can do so, but it will be[br]entirely up to you.

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And if they don't, then you can draw[br]whatever conclusions you want from that.

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But I want to ensure that [br]we keep the flow going,

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so I'm not going to let you bully them[br]but I'm going to allow you,

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if you want to make a particular point,

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or if you want to make [br]a short intervention, to do so.

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Then after they've spoken, we'll[br]throw open the debate to the floor

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and you can make your contribution,

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but do please realize that time [br]is of the essence,

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so please try to keep it short and [br]to the point, succinct.

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This is the kind of debate equivalent[br]of texting.

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So, no long rambling contributions, [br]because I will cut you off

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if you try to do that.

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So, very short contributions, please.

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And then I'll ask each of our --[br]I'll ask one speaker from each side

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to sum up, and then we will take a vote,[br]and we'll do that by a show of hands.

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And I've also made it clear [br]to all the speakers that they may

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say things that they don't necessarily [br]want to be held to in the future,

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so I hope that you will understand that.

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But this is an opportunity for us [br]to explore some of the issues,

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but don't take it all too seriously,

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and don't come and accuse people of saying[br]things that you would --

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that they might not necessarily always [br]want to be held to.

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With that in mind, I'm going to ask[br]our first speaker, who is Jo Swinson.

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Jo Swinson, who is the former Minister[br]for business, innovation and skills

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in the UK's coalition government of[br]2010 to 2015,

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to speak first for the motion.

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And Jo, since leaving Parliament, [br]has begun a new career

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and is involved in an award within[br]a data intelligence company

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called Clear Returns

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and she is an expert on the challenges [br]and opportunities of the digital age.

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So, over to you, Jo.

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(Jo Swinson) Thank you very much indeed,[br]Harold.

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And I'm absolutely delighted to be here[br]in Berlin at OEB.

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A bit of a first, actually, the first[br]technology-related conference

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that I've been to where there is a queue[br]in the ladies' loos!

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I have to say I was particularly pleased [br]by that, not only as a feminist,

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but also as a Brit who appreciates[br]the art of queuing.

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So it was good on two fronts.

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So, this house believes that [br]21st century skills aren't being taught,

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and they should be, is the motion[br]that I want to convince you

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to support this evening.

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We absolutely need to be equipping[br]our young people,

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and indeed, people at every stage[br]of their lives,

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with the skills that they need [br]for the 21st century.

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And our education systems, [br]and our wider society,

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have an important role to play in this.

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But I will put it to you, this evening,[br]that when it comes to technical skills,

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when it comes to social skills,[br]and vitally,

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when it comes to capacity [br]to embrace change,

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we are not yet rising to that challenge[br]sufficiently.

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There are very specific skills, [br]there are gaps in science and technology

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that are not being properly filled. 9:32

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These shortages are causing[br]significant problems

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for businesses, for employers.

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Half of engineering companies say that[br]they have delayed taking forward

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new products or services, because [br]they have vacancies

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that are so hard to fill, because[br]the skills are not there to recruit.

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Digital start-ups are often in real need[br]of software developers

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that they cannot find sufficiently.

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And companies of all sizes, grappling with[br]cybersecurity challenges

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struggle to have the skills that they need[br]to take on those important issues.

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As Harold mentioned, I'm now a director[br]of a company called Clear Returns.

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It's been going for about three years,[br]based in Glasgow, and uses data analytics

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to help retailers understand the problems[br]they have with product returns

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and therefore successfully cutting [br]the costs for retailers,

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and resulting in better [br]customer satisfaction. 10:33