World Leaders must shape the direction of the ‘Information Society’

United Nations General Assembly told that ‘global strategy’ needed

Geneva, 17 June 2002 — The transformation to the Information Society is every bit as profound as the movement from agrarian to industrial societies and just as in the past, such change has led to winners and losers. "Some countries have prospered, while others have fallen behind," Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, told the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. "If we do not take any action. The gap between the information ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ will continue to grow."

Information poverty is a reality for much of the world. For example, 83 countries still have a teledensity below 10 lines for every 100 inhabitants; 25 countries still have a teledensity below one per cent. The situation is worse for Internet access. Some 61 countries have less than one percent Internet use. Mr Utsumi stated that the services are often prohibitive to use due to high prices. "A call from the United States to Switzerland costs less than five US cents a minute, whereas a call to many parts of Africa costs over one US Dollar per minute, or twenty times more. If the price came down, African citizens would better be able to join the international community."

While Mr Utsumi acknowledged that people couldn’t live on information alone, "it is quite obvious that humanity, for better or worse, is now entering an age where information-oriented activities are a major part of GDP." Therefore he said, "it is all the more urgent to build the basic telecommunication infrastructure and to develop the capable human resources needed to make the best use of information technologies for every aspect of human activity. Information has become the key to competitive advantage for both business and modern states."

He urged world leaders to shape the direction of the Information Society and create a more just, prosperous and peaceful world by taking the right decisions now. "It will not be easy, but I am confident that we can work together to establish the global strategy to create a ‘win-win’ situation. That is the objective of the World Summit on the Information Society."

The World Summit on the Information Society will be held under the high patronage of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, with ITU taking the lead role in preparations. The first phase will be held in Geneva 10-12 December 2003 and the second phase in Tunis in 2005.

The development of a competitive market for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) was cited as one example of a ‘win-win’ objective for the Summit. "A higher penetration of ICTs in the developing world will allow them to jump ahead to an information-oriented economy. It will create new business opportunities and global markets for their products and services."

In order to create this successful scenario for the Summit, Mr Utsumi stated, "It will be necessary to first elaborate a vision of the Information Society that will enable us to anticipate and embrace the positive benefits it will bring."

Secondly, the Summit should draw up a concrete and clear action plan for improving access to ICTs, "we need to find a way to convert the digital divide into a digital opportunity that can and will be implemented by all stakeholders."

Thirdly, the Summit should look beyond technology and focus on applications. "The real goal is not just to get more computers or more telephones, but rather to extend access to information, to guarantee the right to communicate and to focus on how ICTs can be used to achieve the broader social and economic goals, such as the eradication of poverty."

In order for the Summit to be a milestone in the Information Society, it must bring together all of its stakeholders from both the developed and developing world. In this regard, it will provide a unique opportunity for Heads of State, UN agencies, regulators, industry leaders, NGOs and civil society, including the media, to gather together and discuss all relevant issues in the Information Society.

Utilizing ICTs as a tool for development has a successful, if relatively brief, history. Mr Utsumi cited examples such as the software industry in Israel or Bangalore in India, as well as the Asian hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore. He also noted the e-commerce success of a mountain village in Peru, which has succeeded in selling its agricultural produce in New York and in the process increased household incomes fivefold.

Today in Senegal, there are more than 9’000 entrepreneur-owned telecentres, which have created more than 20’000 jobs and in the process have widened access to ICTs. As well, Africans can now market their handcrafted goods globally. The African International Shopping Mall (www.aism.co.za) established with ITU assistance, offers products such as sculptures or musical instruments for sale over the Internet.

Mr Utsumi stated that while there are many more positive signs, "these individual success stories must be transformed into successful national strategies that can bring affordable ICTs to all of the world’s inhabitants. Only when access to ICTs is ubiquitous and truly inexpensive will we realize the full potential of the information society as a tool for development."

The World Summit on the Information Society will be the outcome of a wide variety of inputs, including previous meetings, existing Action Plans of the various partners involved and inputs from the Preparatory Committees of the Summit (PREPCOMs) PREPCOMs will be attended by governmental representatives and other parties concerned, including representatives of the UN specialized agencies, the private sector, civil society and NGOs. Regional conferences and thematic and expert meetings are also an important part of the process. Regional conferences will be organized to address the specific concerns, needs and priorities of the various regions. They will, most likely, be organized at ministerial level.

• PrepCom 1 — Geneva 1-5 July 2002
• PrepCom 2 — Geneva 24 March — 4 April 2003
• PrepCom 3 — Last quarter 2003 (tentative)

• Africa — Bamako 28-30 May 2002
• Europe — Bucharest 7-9 November 2002
• Asia Pacific — Tokyo 2003
• Latin America & Caribbean 2003

For more information on the Summit and the Media Accreditation procedure, consult the website at www.itu.int/wsis. The full text of the ITU Secretary-General's speech can be found here.

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