ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: Almost five years ago, Saad Hamid tried to decode a cell phone which had come from abroad, but was unable to do so.

There was no one who could solve his problem, so he decided to find solutions from the internet and at last succeeded in opening the code.

`It gave me the idea to create a blog on the internet and offer my services to address such issues. Soon, people started contacting me and now I solve such issues and earn money as well,` Saad Hamid said.

`I am using the social media as a tool to contact people and bring them close,` he said.

Saad was not the only one convinced of the benefits of new technologies. Almost every participant of a conversation titled `How Can New Media and Technology Contribute to Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction in Pakistan` believed modern technology had numerous benefits. The conversation was held at local restaurant and organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

UNDP Country Director Marc-Andre Franche said, `In the last decade, we have witnessed an explosive growth of new media and technology particularly mobile technologies and social media networks. These have enabled the United Nations to initiate an unprecedented global conversation on development issues for the coming decades.

By using the new technology such as cell phones, internet and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), transparency and speedy transactions can be ensured, he said.

`Pakistani youth has the potential to earn money by use social media and it can also ex-port skills out of country. By using new tools, I can be in touch with offices of UNDP in 177 countries,` Marc-Andre said.

He said crises management could be ensured using new technology but a few challenges still had to be addressed.

The major challenge was the rural-urban divide due to which facilities available in urban areas would take years to reach the rural areas. The second major problem was the basic capacity of people, due to which most people experienced difficulty while using new technology.

Other speakers who participated in the conversation said the new technologies of cell phone and social media would replace the old ones by 2030.

Executive Vice President of a bank, Abrar Mir, said after the earthquake, an idea to use ATM cards to pay financial aid to victims surfaced. Soon it was accepted all over the country because of its transparency and authenticity.

`The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) also started releasing installments through smartcards and payments were given through banks. Most transactions of international donors are also being made through digital tools,` he said.

Similarly, the vice chancellor of Information Technology University, Punjab said everything today could be improved using new technologies.

Giving an example, he said, `The issue of dengue has affected almost the whole of Punjab but it takes time to get information from rural health centres. If the data was linked through SMS, an updated database could be created.