a) Develop policy guidelines for the development and promotion of public domain
information as an important international instrument promoting public access to
information.
b) Governments are encouraged to provide adequate access through various
communication resources, notably the Internet, to public official information.
Establishing legislation on access to information and the preservation of public data,
notably in the area of the new technologies, is encouraged.
c) Promote research and development to facilitate accessibility of ICTs for all,
including disadvantaged, marginalized and vulnerable groups.
d) Governments, and other stakeholders, should establish sustainable multi-purpose
community public access points, providing affordable or free-of-charge access for
their citizens to the various communication resources, notably the Internet. These
access points should, to the extent possible, have sufficient capacity to provide
assistance to users, in libraries, educational institutions, public administrations, post offices or other public places, with special emphasis on rural and underserved
areas, while respecting Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and encouraging the use
of information and sharing of knowledge.
e) Encourage research and promote awareness among all stakeholders of the
possibilities offered by different software models, and the means of their creation,
including proprietary, open-source and free software, in order to increase competition,
freedom of choice and affordability, and enable all stakeholders to evaluate which
solution best meets their requirements.
f) Governments should actively promote the use of ICTs as a fundamental working
tool by their citizens and local authorities. In this respect, the international community
and other stakeholders should support capacity building for local authorities in the
widespread use of ICTs as a means of improving local governance.
g) Encourage research on the Information Society, including on innovative forms of
networking, adaptation of ICT infrastructure, tools and applications that facilitate
accessibility of ICTs for all, and disadvantaged groups in particular.
h) Support the creation and development of a digital public library and archive
services, adapted to the Information Society, including reviewing national library
strategies and legislation, developing a global understanding of the need for “hybrid
libraries”, and fostering worldwide cooperation between libraries.
i) Encourage initiatives to facilitate access, including free and affordable access to
open access journals and books, and open archives for scientific information.
j) Support research and development of the design of useful instruments for all
stakeholders to foster increased awareness, assessment, and evaluation of different
software models and licenses, so as to ensure an optimal choice of appropriate
software that will best contribute to achieving development goals within
local conditions.
