Fiji first country to launch food app designed in NZ

Fiji has certainly taken long strides in its quest to keep up with, if not abreast, with technology.

During the recent Top Executives (TOPEX) Conference at Pullman Nadi Bay Resort in Nadi, Permanent Secretary for Industry, Trade and Tourism Shaheen Ali said “Innovation for Successful Societies” was vital if countries were to remain ahead in this competitive world.

Technology has the power to change the world and people should be privileged to be living in a time where science and technology could make things simpler and lives easier.

The Fijian Government has continued to invest in infrastructure to enable Fiji to have the best technology in the region.

It was noted that today, Fiji has the fastest broadband speed in the Pacific region and according to the Worldwide Broadband League 2019, which surveys 207 countries, Fiji is ranked first in the Pacific, and has improved 38 ranks since 2017.

Of course new technology is an everyday occurrence and while we admire and witness its wonders, we cannot sit back and wait for the world to go by. Jagdish Punja, of Punja and Sons who lives and works in New Zealand, has co-designed a new food app that is expected to take Fiji by storm when it is launched in November.

In fact Fiji would be the first country in the world where this app would be tried, even though it was designed in New Zealand.

Such are the giant leaps we are taking into a world where technology has no limit.

Today, a majority of the world’s population cannot live without technologies such as television, mobile phones, computers and others.

It has become part and parcel of our daily lives – just look around and see the time people spend on Smart phones or at their PCs or laptops or in internet cafes.

See how modern technology has assisted in the construction industry, especially in high rise buildings and in other areas.

See children as young as two years old cry for phones or i-pads and then search for games or cartoon sites with their tiny fingers.

So while technology has helped pave the way in different fields, it has been especially welcomed in medical circles with the provision of new techniques in curing certain major illnesses.

On the other hand it has provided us with a setback which we don’t realise – we really do not have to think much – the calculator is one example.

The other is the loss of jobs because in some cases what ten men used to do, and get paid for to feed their family, machines have taken over.

People are then left unemployed and this causes a rippling effect if the breadwinner cannot find alternative work to keep the family together.

Social problems kick in which will have a detrimental impact on family life and society as a whole. So while we embrace technology, let us be mindful of the side effects.

In saying that, it was heartening to listen to the different speakers during the TOPEX Conference talk positively about the future generations and how we will leave this world for them to survive in.