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Showcasing ICT activities
Day three of the preparatory meeting for the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) began with highlights of ICT-related development
initiatives from a variety of regional and multilateral organizations.
Today's session, beyond outlining some of the key global initiatives
relating to the evolution of the global information society, stressed
the importance of partnerships between all of the stakeholders involved
in WSIS. The presentations also allowed representatives to share
their experiences ICT development and ongoing initiatives to close
the digital divide.
The morning session offered global and regional organizations a chance
to showcase the differentiating elements of their respective ICT
programs. However, some common themes emerged. Most of the regional
delegations indicated that transparency, good governance, and sector-specific
foci (e.g. e-health) are essential to making ICTs work in the unique
contexts throughout the developing world. Below are brief overviews
of some of the innovative ways in which ICTs are being used to help
less developed countries.
African Regional Conference
The plenary meeting began with an address from representatives from
the African Regional Conference (ARC) that took place in Bamako,
Mali in May 2002. Speaking on behalf of the ARC, Mamadou Lamine
Diallo pointed out that the overall goal of the Conference was to
share with the more than 2000 participants representing all stakeholder
segments Africa's needs and priorities, while stressing the importance
of helping the continent find its voice in the global arena. Focusing
on cultural diversity, institution building, gender and localized
content, the ARC laid out a comprehensive framework for facilitating
a participatory process to bridge the digital divide between Africa
and the developed world.
During the comment period, the UNCTAD representative noted that there is
a dire need to facilitate a global dialogue that will enable less
developed countries (LDCs) to express their needs as they relate
to the global information society. The representative went on to
say, "knowledge can be passed on to allow each state to have
access to information…while respecting their unique cultures."
The Algerian representative concurred, noting that access to knowledge
and the rights to communicate are essential elements in becoming
a participant in the evolving global information society.
UNICT Taskforce
Created in November 2001 by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, the
UNICT Taskforce is comprised of 39 high level members whose mission
is to utilize ICTs to close the digital divide. The Taskforce, which
acts as a facilitator, coordinator and catalyst for ICT-related
development initiatives, is designed around six specific themes,
including policy reform, human resource development and entrepreneurship.
Commenting on the uniqueness of the Taskforce, Pekka Tarjanne, Executive
Coordinator, said, "It is the first UN-wide process where all
the stakeholders participate on an equal footing, including civil
society, academics and NGOs." Mr. Tarjanne's comment underscores
one of the key themes of the first preparatory committee for WSIS:
partnerships. Responding to a question from the Indian delegation,
Mr. Tarjanne pointed out that the Taskforce has a mandate for three
years, and intends to publish annual reports on its efforts.
G-8 Dot Force
With more than 20 ICT-related initiatives under development, the G-8
Dot Force has become a key player in the global effort to narrow
the digital divide. Focusing on issues relating to Internet governance,
the creation of localized content and applications, human capacity
building and e-government, the G-8 Dot Force has become a model
for helping less developed countries modernize. Mr. Stephan Roberge,
Policy Adviser, stated that the multi-stakeholder framework of the
G-8 Dot Force is designed to be scalable, replicable and sustainable
across situations.
The Benin delegation asked Mr. Roberge to explain the Dot Force's strategy
for bridging the digital divide on the African continent. Mr. Roberge
pointed out that one of the key elements is to continue to appeal
to multinational agencies for development aid, while ensuring that
such aid is directed toward making use of ICTs in important sectors,
such as health and education. Mr. Adama Samassekou, president of
the First Preparatory Committee meetings, asked Mr. Roberge to elaborate
on the Dot Force's efforts in Africa, to which he responded, "we
have a variety of projects under development that are going to be
launched over the next few months."
European Union
Speaking for the European Union (EU) delegation, Mr. Ambassador Carlos Trojan
pointed out that at the center of the debate among the 15 member
states is the concept of universal access to affordable telecom
services. Given that telecommunications is a crucial component to
accessing the global information network, Mr. Verhoef stated that
the EU's focus on liberalization, privatization, market freedoms
and sound economic policies "has proven its value." He
went on to note that close collaboration with the private sector
and civil society has allowed the EU to capture the necessary expertise
to lead the region into the information age. He said, "The
development of a coherent and focused e-strategy [e.g. eEurope],
coupled with commitments at the highest political level, has proven
to be essential." Responding to a question from the Chinese
delegation about how to address the issue of universal access in
China, Mr. Verhoef pointed out that universal access must be at
the heart of policies relating to telecom diffusion, suggesting
"the market will adapt itself to the needs of each country."
Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT)
Comprising 32 member states stretching from Iran in the west to the remote
islands in the east, APT is a facilitator and coordinator of ICT-related
development initiatives in the region. According to Hugh Railton,
Deputy Executive Director of APT, the objective of APT is to foster
development of telecom services and infrastructure throughout the
region, with a particular focus on less developed areas. Our mission,
he continued, is to improve the lives of people in our member states
by allowing them to become members of the global information society.
In conclusion he said, "We declare that we'll do our best…to
enable [all] the people of the Asia-Pacific region to have access
to ICTs by 2005." The APT intends to facilitate the diffusion
of ICTs via publicly accessible access points located in remote
communities throughout the region.
ITU's ICT Activities
During his presentation, Hamadoun Toure, Director of ITU's Telecommunications
Development Bureau (BDT), offered insights about the many ICT initiatives
the ITU is currently undertaking to help societies in less developed
countries join the information age. Specifically highlighting the
Istanbul Action Plan (IsAP), Mr. Toure noted that regulatory reform;
multilateral cooperation, human capacity building and sound e-strategies
are essential elements to helping developing countries emerge
from the margins. Mr. Toure indicated that IsAP, which stemmed from
the World Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC) held
in Istanbul, Turkey in March 2002, provides a viable roadmap for
WSIS.
Drawing on the lessons learned from WTDC in Istanbul, which draws on insights
from the ITU's 189 member states and more than 250 ITU-BDT sector
members, Mr. Toure offered the following four action items for WSIS:
- Use WSIS as a catalyst for worldwide development
- Ensure that IsAP is an integral part of the WSIS framework
- Provide a platform to facilitate cooperation among all stakeholders
- Foster awareness of ICTs throughout the developing world
In
conclusion, Mr. Toure said, "Today's digital divide is a fertile
field for the growth of tomorrow's societal digital opportunity
in both developing and developed countries."
Following
Mr. Toure's presentation, an observer from one of Africa's NGOs
urged the assembly to ensure that WSIS will not be another international
conference where "Africa's hopes are dashed." Further,
he stated that we need a true international commitment to sustainable
development, saying, "Please let us [Africa nations] take an
extra inch to listen to the weak voices on our planet." Further,
he pointed out that WSIS should create a framework that will help
mobilize Africa's resources, and stressed the need to protect WSIS
from becoming another procedural bureaucracy rather than a substantive
summit that genuinely addresses the unique needs of the developing
world.
World Bank
Pointing out that the World Bank is in the business of poverty alleviation,
not ICTs, Bruno Lanvin acknowledged that ICTs have become an "unparalleled
tool" for our work. Mr. Lanvin, who heads up the grant functions
of the World Bank's InfoDev programme, noted that Bank spends approximately
US$2.5 billion in loans and over US$30 million in grants per year
on ICT-related initiatives. According to Mr. Lanvin, WSIS can bring
visibility and awareness to an area that has for decades been considered
a minor element in development. Moreover, WSIS will provide a forum
to share experiences, design clear objectives, facilitate the creation
of innovative ways to address the myriad social, cultural, political
and economic issues associated with the digital divide. In the area
of new ideas, Mr. Lanvin suggested that they must focus on low cost,
flexible solutions that are tailored to developing countries. He
concluded by stating that "we cannot use the best practices
from the most developed countries, rather we must identify best
practices in the developing world" that are replicable.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Similar to the World Bank's ICT efforts, UNDP is mostly concerned with strategies
that link ICTs to human capacities and infrastructure in an effort
to eradicate poverty. Speaking on behalf of UNDP, Denis Gilhooly
noted that UNDP is investigating innovative areas such as open source
software and the encouragement of small and medium sized enterprises
(SMEs) at the local level. To illustrate the importance of stakeholder
partnerships, he referenced the Digital Opportunity Initiative,
which brings together global consulting firm Accenture and the Markle
Foundation in an effort to develop and implement grassroots strategies
to close the digital gap. Additionally, he mentioned that UNDP is
also looking into the viability of a implementing a 'Big Bang' approach
in a couple of LDCs in an effort to rapidly alter their development
trajectories. In conclusion he reiterated the importance of regional
conferences to provide vital input to WSIS, adding, "This has
to be a participatory and transparent process to be effective."
United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Given its focus on diversity and multilingualism, freedom of expression
and education in/for the information society, UNESCO has much experience
with many of the objectives of WSIS. Noting that UNESCO works closely
with civil society and NGOs, Mr. Philippe Queau stated there is
a real systemic issue plaguing less developed countries, and WSIS
must address this fact. Mr. Malempre urged the assembly to address
issues relating to access, multilingualism, localized content development,
and expanding the information available in the public domain. He
concurred with many of his colleagues that preceded him in that
WSIS is the optimal venue for identifying ways that ICTs can be
used to usher in the era of information throughout the developing
world.
World Economic Forum
Speaking on behalf of the World Economic Forum (WEF), former Costa Rican
President, Jose-Maria Figueres suggested that the international
community faces the challenge of moving in the direction of a culturally
rich and sustainable society or a "meaner, more fragmented
world." He suggested that the political isolation of developing
countries, coupled with inadequate institutional frameworks, has
left would-be visionaries incapable of addressing today's challenges.
Mr. Figueres stated that "we need a collaborative global effort
addressing these new technology issues, a private sector committed
to sustainable development, and a civil society willing to get engaged
in the digital divide issue."
Stressing the importance of partnerships between all stakeholders, Mr. Figueres
highlighted the WEF's new CEO Charter for Digital Development initiative.
The initiative calls on CEOs to make public commitments to provide
funds (approximately 20 percent of corporate citizenship budgets)
specifically to help close the digital divide. He contended that
such an initiative would help spur the business sectors' interest
in international development. Thus far seven global corporations
have signed onto the initiative, including Microsoft, Hewlett Packard,
Vivendi Universal. In conclusion he said, "We need a new approach,
and mainstream ICTs in our development efforts."
Global Knowledge Partnership
Rinalia Abdul Rahim stated that the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) envisions
a world where new technologies are utilized to create a world of
equal opportunity for all. With a membership that includes grassroots
organizations to civil society and the business sector, the GKP's
mandate is to identify ways to build knowledge societies throughout
the world. Ms. Rahim recommended that the assembly ensure that the
following items are incorporated into the WSIS action plan:
- Include everyone in the digital revolution
- Build on existing human resources
- Focus on key sectors, specifically e-commerce, e-health and e-government
As a facilitator of partnerships for ICT-related development initiatives
and events, Ms. Rahim said, "GKP is a power channel for disadvantaged
groups to affect the evolution of the global information society.
It is our hope that WSIS will develop a vision that will build on
cultural diversity and shared values." She also stressed the
importance of encouraging the participation of women in children
in the process, which is a key focus of WSIS.
AHCIET
The focus of AHCIET is to organize summits on new technologies and the
information society throughout Latin America. The organization also
serves as an important platform for discussions between regulators
and the business sector in the region. Speaking on behalf of AHCIET,
Birgit Gocht pointed out that by forming partnerships that integrate
efforts and collaboration between all stakeholders in the region's
digital revolution, AHCIET is a "key actor in the development
of Latin America's knowledge society." The overall objective
of the organization is to identify mechanisms for development of
human resources, while finding a balance between policy formulation
and grassroots priorities. Of specific note, Ms. Gocht mentioned
that AHCIET has been involved in helping regional actors embrace
ICTs by hosting conferences relating to teleworking, creating digital
cities, e-government, and e-health. Concluding, Ms. Gocht offered
to help facilitate the creation of a business sector preparatory
meeting in Latin America.
For media information concerning the second phase of the Summit, click
here
Contact information
Telephone: +41 22 730 6039
Fax: +41 22 730 5201
E-mail: wsismedia@itu.int
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