10 Themes on the Digital Divides

OECD Emerging Market Economy Forum On Electronic Commerce Dubai, UAE, 16-17 January 2001

Bertrand de LA CHAPELLE Head NTIC Mission [email protected] FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY

• Transition to Information Society

• Concerns all countries, « developped » or not • Is an interaction between technical, political, economical and societal levels • Requires the involvment of three categories of stakeholders : public, private, third sector

2) Various Reasons for action

• Development of ICT as a global sector

• Compensation of drawbacks in fragile economies

• Use of ICT for development 3) Two dimensions for the DD

Inter-country Divide « Digital Development » Major EU USA

India Brazil Balance China Finland Singapore

Other EU

Intra-country divide Africa « Digital Inclusion »

4) Four Fields of Action

1 - Regulatory environment • Telecom regulation • Digital Economy Framework (signature, copyright, … ) • Protection of Privacy and personnal rights 2 - Infrastructure and access • Connection of a country to international networks • National infrastructures and regional balance • Individual and collective access (public access points)

4) Four Fields of Action (2)

3 - Human capital development • Training • Access to public data and information • International public domain information 4 - Applications and services • Cultural and linguistic diversity • Local Economic development • Non for profit (but viable) activities 5 ) Finding Common Objectives a - Stakeholders own interests

• Governments : to get their country into the global information society, become « Digital Powers » • Businesses : to make money and create new markets and profitable activities with less risk • Third Sector : to promote wider participation and transformation of society • Organizations and fora : be part of the process and push their agenda (ie their mission)

5 ) Finding Common Objectives b - More and more shared interests

Public Private

Public Private Third Sector Yesterday Public Private Third Sector Today

Third Sector

5 ) Finding Common Objectives c – Three possible formulations

• Create balanced and Enabling Frameworks to maximize benefits for all stakeholders • Enhance Wealth Creation and Entrepreneurship • Extend / Promote Active Participation of populations at various levels

Each require involvment of all partners 5 ) Finding Common Objectives d – A dynamic matrix

Enabling Framework Wealth Creation Participation

Policy Structural / top-down approach

Infr./ access

Human Capital

Appli- Grassroots / bottom-up cations approach

6) Policy frameworks : no « One size fit all solutions »

• Diversity : countries situations differ • Flexibility : various ways to reach one objective • Vision : goals come before measures • Balance : for instance, no liberalization without regulation in telecom markets • European countries and the EU have adressed the questions of balance and diversity on a regional level

The concept of « CO-REGULATION »

7) Wealth Creation

• Everybody now agrees Self-regulation is not enough, e.g. : • Privacy protection (safe harbour) • E-commerce (consumer protection, equal treatment) • Freedom of expression (Yahoo) • Government involvement is also required to provide : • Good Education • Financial and legal infrastructure for entrepreneurship (Venture capital and stock markets but also micro-finance) • Political stability (and wealth distribution is a key factor) • Associations create wealth with viable non-profit activities 8) Participation : the DOT.Force lessons

• Associate all stakeholders : • Private sector and NGO’s • Developed and developing countries • No centralized worldwide programs : • Umbrella frameworks or widely agreed Charters • Decentralized decisions by labelled partners • Look for leverage and scalability Convergence on a method

9 ) A global governance issue

• Digital Divide and related themes are a test case for global governance : transnational issues, interdependance • Multiple fora, Task Forces and Programs are involved : • Intergovernmental Agencies (UN system, regional groups or others) • Govenmental bodies and national Development agencies • Business groups (GBDE, WEF, …) • Third Sector (Communities Network Partnership, …)

Each forum must find its appropriate role

10 ) Our priorities

Enabling Framework Wealth Creation Participation

Policy Policy and Regulatory Infr./ Frameworks access Public Access Points with Human Basic Training Capital Integration of ICT In Development Appli- programs cations 10 Themes to keep

• The transition to Information Society • ICT per se, ICT for development, drawbacks compensation • Inter-country and Intra-country Digital Divides • 4 fields : Policy, Infrastructure, Education, Applications • 3 common objectives : Frameworks, Wealth creation, participation • Regulatory frameworks : no « one size fits all » but co-regulation • Wealth creation but also wealth distribution • Participation of all stakeholders • A global governance issue • Our priorities : Regulatory frameworks, Public access points, ICT for development