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Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook United Nations Information for All Programme Cultural Organization i ii Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook STATUS: Version 1.0 DATE: 27 May 2016 PARTNERS • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Information for All Programme (UNESCO/IFAP) • United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) CONTRIBUTORS • Rehema BAGUMA • João Álvaro CARVALHO • Guillermina CLEDOU • Elsa ESTEVEZ • Susana FINQUELIEVICH • Tomasz JANOWSKI • Nuno Vasco LOPES • Jeremy MILLARD COORDINATION • Tomasz JANOWSKI, Head, UNU-EGOV, [email protected] • Paul HECTOR, Programme Specialist, UNESCO, [email protected] iii iv Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook Foreword I UNESCO, recognizing the transformative role played by information and knowledge across all spheres of human endeavor, has been promoting its vision of inclusive Knowledge Societies. Facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs), we see information and the sharing of knowledge, catalyzing changes across societal, economic and political landscapes. In this context, universal access to information and knowledge becomes crucial for social cohesion, sustainable economic development, intercultural dialogue and peace. Accordingly, UNESCO through its intergovernmental Information for All Programme (IFAP) and its Knowledge Societies Division, has continued to draw attention to the importance of the concept of knowledge societies and the need for related competencies and policies in today’s globalized and connected world. Since 2001, IFAP has been playing a leading role in the international policy landscape. IFAP provides a platform for international policy dialogue, cooperation and the development of guidelines for action in the area of access to information and knowledge. Through its capacity-building efforts and mobilization of resources, the IFAP network has been supporting Member States to develop and implement national policy and strategy frameworks in its six priority areas of information accessibility, information for development, information ethics, information literacy, information preservation and multilingualism in cyberspace. It was therefore only natural that IFAP would seek to develop linkages between UNESCO’s concept of knowledge societies and the most current, internationally agreed framework for humanity’s progress, the 2030 sustainable development goals. The policy environment in which we operate is an evolving one, so dynamic processes for ongoing policy-crafting that can leverage global lessons and experiences in a timely manner are essential. The Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook and its associated online platform of tools, policy resources and a diverse community of practice represent our latest response to the emerging challenges and opportunities. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are undergirded by a vision founded on a coherent, holistic approach to addressing challenges that relate to peace, people, partnership, prosperity and our planet. Realizing this vision requires both conceptual frameworks and processes that can be adapted and contextualized in light of local needs and specificities. Policies are essential. They make explicit the objectives embedded in each societal vision and also serve to manage the diverse actors, actions and resources available to each society. The Knowledge Societies framework presented in the Handbooks offers multiple diagnostic lenses for exploring each society, understanding its strengths, challenges and characteristics, thereby supporting the collective formulation of appropriate policy responses. This effort would not have been possible without the collective and ongoing support of numerous institutional and individual partners whose contributions have been acknowledged elsewhere in this publication. We are particularly grateful to our partner the United Nations University’s Special Operating Unit for Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV), for leading the fruitful research collaboration which has undergirded this effort. We are also thankful for the generous support provided by the Special Presidential Uruguayan Agency for Electronic Governance, Information and Knowledge Society (AGESIC), for co-organizing the international Expert Group Meeting in Montevideo and hosting ICEGOV2016 which served to validate this policy resource. We look forward to strengthening these partnerships and building new ones as we continue to build inclusive knowledge societies for peace and sustainable development. Getachew Engida Deputy Director-General UNESCO Foreword v Foreword II The National Information Society Policy Template which IFAP launched in 2009 was an important contribution to policy-making efforts at the international, regional and national level. In particular, this tool has been instrumental in supporting the development of national capacities to design and manage policy processes in a number of East African and South Asian countries. This training was delivered through a series of Executive Trainings in Government Information Leadership conducted in partnership with the United Nations University’s Special Operating Unit for Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV). These capacity-building exercises conducted through week-long regional trainings have also served to build networks for cooperation and experience sharing between participating countries and with IFAP’s and UNU-EGOV’s networks. The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, with its attention to the 5Ps - People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership – offers new possibilities for more holistic and contextualized approaches to development. The new approaches as well as the demands of a framework with 17 goals and 169 targets has also highlighted an urgent need for tools to support policy-makers in more effectively aligning their actions and efforts to this new global focus of action. To respond to this pressing need, IFAP and UNU-EGOV have again joined forces and leveraged their networks to develop the Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook. The Handbook builds on existing knowledge and practices to provide policy-makers with an actionable conceptual framework for understanding and assessing the relationships between the SDGs and Knowledge Societies. By identifying gaps as well as strengths, the Handbook will enable countries to more effectively deploy resources and implement appropriate policy measures. In line with the perspective that policy-crafting is a continuous, evolving and dynamic process, the Handbook is supported by an expandable online case library as well as an online global community of researchers and practitioners. Through their online interactions - sharing of experiences and research, collaborative problem solving and co-creation, mapping of emerging trends amongst others – this community of practice will provide enhancements to the methodologies, tools and resources that support the Handbook. We are truly grateful to our longstanding partner UNU-EGOV, for their ongoing support, and to the Uruguayan Agency for Electronic Governance, Information and Knowledge Society (AGESIC) for their role in the validation of the Handbook. We have been touched by the various institutions and individuals who have expressed support for this initiative and are appreciative of the commitments expressed by various Member States, notably Brazil and Colombia to provide direct and in-kind support to this initiative. IFAP invites like-minded governments, institutions and individuals to support this global initiative. Chafica Haddad Deputy Permanent Delegate of Grenada to UNESCO and Chair of the Intergovernmental Council of the Information for All Programme vi Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook Acknowledgements The current report belongs to the set of four instruments developed by the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) in collaboration with and co-funded by the UNESCO Information for All Programme (UNESCO/IFAP), to support UNESCO Member States’ policy-making efforts to guide and coordinate the development of nationally- or locally-appropriated Knowledge Societies. The instruments comprise: 1. Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook, as set of conceptual and methodological frameworks, guidelines and knowhow concerning the development of public policies for Knowledge Societies (UNESCO/IFAP and UNU-EGOV, 2016b); 2. Knowledge Societies Policy Library, a collection of relevant research literature, policies, indicators, case studies and other resources relevant to the development of public policies for Knowledge Societies (UNESCO/IFAP and UNU- EGOV, 2016c); 3. Knowledge Societies Policy Platform, an electronic platform that hosts the content of the Handbook and Library and facilitates the updates and additions to this content by community members through digital devices and channels (UNESCO/IFAP and UNU-EGOV, 2016d); and 4. Knowledge Societies Policy Community, a community of researchers, academics, policymakers, government officials and other stakeholders who, as part of their contribution to planning, developing, implementing and evaluating public policies for Knowledge Societies in the national or local context, are willing to use the Handbook, Library and Platform, and share the outcomes and experience for others to learn (UNESCO/IFAP and UNU-EGOV, 2016a). The origin of the Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook and the accompanying Knowledge Societies Policy Library, Platform and Community dates back to the
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