Beyond WSIS: Building a Global Information Society

Yoshio UTSUMI
Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union
Secretary-General of the World Summit on the Information Society

The digital revolution in information and communication technology (ICT) has had a profound impact on how the world functions and interacts, and will continue to play a major role in shaping our global future.

Unfortunately, access to the benefits of ICT has not been even, be it between or within countries, between urban and rural areas, between the rich and the poor, between the educated and the illiterate, or between men and women. The need to avoid perpetuating the inequities of the past has now taken on a real urgency, which is why many of the world’s key players in ICT are now taking active steps to bridge this information and knowledge divide and bring the benefits of ICT to all.

In addressing these challenges of our times, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which has coordinated global telecommunications for the past 140 years, is once again pioneering a new path by laying the foundations for a global Information Society that seeks to provide universal and equitable access to information and knowledge through widespread use of information and communication technologies.

Building the Information Society is not just about technology; it is about what these technologies can achieve. The Information Society is about people and their pressing needs. It is about eradicating the misery of poverty and hunger and the hardships caused by the destruction of our environment. It is about leaving a healthy legacy for future generations. It is about increasing the capacity of our children and about giving a voice to all those who have been silent too long.

In 2002, mandated by the UN General Assembly, ITU took the lead role in organizing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The first phase of this top-level Summit concluded in Geneva in December 2003 with global leaders from over 175 countries, including some 50 Heads of State/Government and Vice-Presidents, agreeing on a shared vision of the Information Society and setting out a concrete Action Plan for its realization.

Specifically, WSIS is committed to “building a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting sustainable development and improving their quality of life.” These goals of WSIS were also endorsed by one of the largest gathering of world leaders at the UN Summit in September 2005.

Unique in the history of global summits, WSIS was envisaged in two phases with a built-in follow-up mechanism to keep the momentum and to ensure that the goals and principles adopted at the first phase would be achieved. The Tunis Summit, 16-18 November 2005, set out to build on the commitments made in Geneva and chart the future course of the Information Society by looking at operational details. The focus has been on ensuring that ICTs are made globally accessible and devising strategies to use ICT for achieving the development goals enshrined in the UN Millennium Declaration. Difficult political issues have been addressed on Internet governance and financial mechanisms to bridge the digital divide as well as on implementation and follow-up after the Tunis Summit.

Summit of Solutions
Information has the power to dispel ignorance and empower people to reach their personal aspirations. It has the power to bind communities on a global scale and to spread the common ideals of peace and tolerance, growth and development. ICTs are increasingly important tools in accelerating the pace of social and economic development. As a result, WSIS has been globally recognized as the Summit of Solutions.

ICT targets for the year 2015 include connecting all villages around the world and bringing ICTs to all universities, colleges, secondary and primary schools, scientific and research centres, public libraries, cultural centres, museums, post offices and archives, health centres and hospitals. Local and central government departments should also be connected, and have their own websites and e-mail addresses. By the same date, all primary and secondary school curricula should have been adapted to incorporate ICTs in the study programme, to equip young people around the world to meet the future challenges of the Information Society.

Looking ahead
The Summit's successes have provided the necessary momentum to effectively address many pressing global issues, particularly in the area of improved ICT for development. WSIS pioneered an inclusive multi-stakeholder approach engaging effectively with not just governments, but with civil society and the business sector as well as other organizations within the United Nations system. It is now quite obvious that in future, too, all stakeholders of the Information Society will need to put their resources together to build on the foundations laid by WSIS.

Forging partnerships to bring the benefits of ICT to all is one of the Millennium Development Goals. In keeping with this goal, ITU launched the Connect the World initiative, a partnership that brings together the most innovative minds and resources and includes experts from governments, business, civil society and international organizations. They have brought to the table their commitment to use technology and resources to help people communicate, foster the flow of information and knowledge and accelerate the pace of development. This initiative will spearhead ITU’s commitment to transform vision to reality, to convert the digital divide into digital opportunities to promote peace, sustainable development, democracy, transparency and good governance.

ITU, with its long experience in developing the technical and regulatory frameworks and standards that allow the world to communicate, is committed to providing the necessary expertise and tools needed to implement the WSIS Plan of Action in partnership and coordination with all players. In view of the many constraints presented by these somewhat difficult times, paving the road ahead will be an arduous task, so it will be crucial to make the most efficient use of existing resources and avoid wasteful duplication of effort. Having received the mandate from its Council Members to build on the WSIS framework, ITU is ready to take on the challenge.

The challenges faced are multifaceted. They include how to improve the current Internet international coordination arrangements without undermining the stability and reliability of the Internet, how to provide affordable access to all without jeopardizing existing financial mechanisms that prove effective, how to ensure network and information security without affecting people’s human rights and their right to privacy, and more. Clearly, these challenges will require a new commitment to work together if we are all to realize the full benefits of the Information Society. Looking ahead beyond Tunis, we must remember that ensuring the fruits of today's powerful knowledge-based tools are within reach of people living in even the most impoverished economies will be the true test of an engaged, empowered and egalitarian Information Society. Communication and information must be freely and readily available to all humanity, not just the privileged few.