The Istanbul Action Plan
Awareness, Accessibility and Affordability singled out as key factors in bridging the digital divide
The multi-pronged Istanbul Action Plan adopted by the Conference underlines the leading role which ITU can play in
bridging the digital divide with its inclusive membership base of 189 Member States and nearly 670 Sector Members from the private sector, public organizations and regional and international organizations. Throughout the Conference, delegations stressed the need to:
Develop larger scale partnerships (public-private, public-public and South-South) to better implement strategies for ICT development. Enhance cooperation, particularly with regional organizations and the private sector, and reinforce and support regional initiatives for ICT development, such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Connectivity Agenda for the Americas region and the Tokyo Declaration of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Summit on the Information Society. Increase available resources for telecommunication development and direct a greater share to least developed
countries through aggressive resource mobilization.
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The Istanbul Declaration
The Istanbul Declaration enshrines a shared vision of the future development of telecommunications worldwide. It highlights the fact that the reduction of the digital divide will not only bring opportunities to countries but will also create the conditions to derive benefits from the implementation of new services and applications. It stresses that “the emergence of a conducive environment and entrepreneurial approaches to providing a rural service and more cost-effective
technologies, may provide an opportunity for more rapid deployment of telecommunication services in rural and remote areas”. It also underlines the fact that community access to ICTs is one of the most cost-effective ways of achieving universal access in many developing countries. The Declaration urges all stakeholders to make their contribution to extend the benefits of ICTs to all the world’s inhabitants. Governments are urged to establish an enabling environment that promotes reasonable and affordable access to basic telecommunication services for all. |
The Istanbul Action Plan consists of:
Six programmes focusing on regulatory reform, new technologies, E-strategies and applications, economics and finance, human capacity building and special assistance to the least developed countries. Two cross-cutting activities to support the six programmes. These activities focus on statistics and analysis of telecommunication and ICT development. Special initiatives on private sector as well as on gender, youth and indigenous people. Action to be taken by ITU Members including world and regional telecommunication development conferences, regional evaluation meetings, and the work of experts within the scope of Study Group activities.
The difficulty lies not in new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones ...
“The digital age represents a new frontier of human accomplishment and its locus should reside in all countries.”
Hamadoun I. Touré, BDT Director
(ITU 020041)
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In his closing remarks, Mr Touré told delegates that the commitment made at Istanbul was the beginning of a new era.
Quoting Lord Keynes, he said: “The difficulty lies not in new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.” He went on to add that the time was ripe to escape from old ideas and to focus not on the digital divide but on digital opportunities. “The digital age represents a new frontier of human accomplishment and its locus should reside in all countries. Let the conclusions of this Conference truly mark the birth of the ‘digital’ baby. If we all commit ourselves to these conclusions, the low teledensities in least and developing countries can be doubled or even tripled before our next World
Telecommunication Development Conference, Internet penetration will reach at least 25 per cent of the population and every school will be wired or unwired, making information accessible to every child in the world.”
WTDC–02 Chairman receives the ITU Gold medal
As the first person to have chaired two major ITU world conferences, the Chairman of the Conference, Fatih Mehmet Yurdal became the first to receive a gold medal from the ITU. “The digital divide continues to be a serious problem, particularly for LDCs, and ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector is an important platform that tackles this
problem with a coherent and comprehensive package,” Mr Yurdal said receiving the award from the ITU Secretary-General.
(ITU 020039) |
ITU Secretary-General, Yoshio Utsumi, shares a joke with Fatih Mehmet Yurdal, Chairman of WTDC–02, after presenting him with the ITU Gold medal as the first person to have chaired two major ITU world conferences |
(ITU 020040) |
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