For the Record Dean Wright on Ethics, Innovation and Values It
was 20 years ago that the Berlin Wall, the most iconic symbol of
the Cold War, fell, on Nov. 9, 1989. In recent days, there have
been a number of commemorations of the event and news
organizations around the world have taken note of what was one
of the most important stories of the latter half of the 20th
century. I had the privilege of attending and speaking at one
Berlin event organized by Google and Reporters Without Borders.
The event, Breaking Borders, took the anniversary as an
opportunity to explore how the Internet is playing a role in
advancing participatory democracy around the globe. Twenty years
earlier, television and satellite technology helped play a role
in the fall of the Wall, by connecting people and empowering
them with information.