Challenges and Partnerships A contribution of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force to the World Summit on the Information Society Opening up ICT to the world Contents “Information technology... is a 5 Foreword powerful force that can and must be Mr José Maria Figueres-Olsen, Chairman, UN ICT Task Force harnessed to our global mission of peace and development. This is a matter of 7 Welcome message Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary General, International both ethics and economics; over the Telecommunication Union long term, the new economy can only be productive and sustainable if it spreads 9 Publisher’s welcome worldwide and responds to the needs 10 Digital diaspora networks and the series on and demands of all people. I urge Policy Awareness and Training in Information Technology (PATIT) everyone in a position to make a United Nations Information and Communication difference to add his or her energies Technologies Task Force to this effort.” 12 Global digital divide initiative Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations World Economic Forum 14 Digital opportunities for all Digital Opportunity Task Force 16 The dialogue of civilisations UN ICT Task Force Regional Network for Europe and Central Asia 18 eEurope: An information society for all European Commission 20 Creating digital opportunity for developing countries Markle Foundation 24 Global focus on youth and education Nokia Welcome to Challenges and Partnerships, a contribution of the United Nations Information and Communication Technology Task Force to the World 26 ICT – Transforming the world by transforming universities Summit on the Information Society. Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency 28 Closing the digital divide through education and training STMicroelectronics 29 The Abu-Ghazaleh Cambridge IT Skills Centre Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International Contents 31 The World Bank Group: Fostering digital 53-55 The First Latin American and Caribbean opportunities Video Art Competition and Exhibition World Bank Group DIGITALYART, an exhibition on technology in art The Cultural Center of the Inter American 32 Metapolicy for ICTs: The Digital Nations Development Bank Consortium United Nations Information & Communication 56-60 The Inter-American Development Bank Technology Task Force, Working Group 1 steps in to support ICT applications for small businesses 34 National & regional e-development strategies: The ALDEA Program: Digital strategies for the A blueprint for action Latin America and Caribbean Governments United Nations Information & Communication Italian Trust Fund for Information and Technology Task Force, Working Group 2 Communication Technology for Development Inter-American Development Bank Information and 36 A road to universal broadband connectivity Communication Technology for Development Division United Nations Information & Communication Technology Task Force, Working Group 5 61 The vital role of e-government and e-governance 38 Technology solutions advance Ministry for Innovation and Technologies, entrepreneurship in developing countries Government of Italy United Nations Information & Communication Technology Task Force, Working Group 6 62 Challenges and partnerships International Telecommunication Union 41 ICT Policy Development and Implementation seminar for Afghanistan 64 Media Lab Asia: The Asia-Pacific Information Development Programme Innovating for the next Five Billion MIT and the World Bank Group 42 APC: Internet and ICTs for social justice and development 66 UNCTAD and e-commerce strategies for Association for Progressive Communications development United Nations Conference on Trade and 44 Bridging the digital divide through the Cisco Development Networking Academy Program Cisco Systems Inc. 68 The Information Society in Europe and North America: 46 AME and the Cl@se initiative United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Fundación Cisneros 71 UNITeS: In partnership with universities 48 Promoting ICT for development alongside United Nations Information Technology Service gender equality issues WSIS-Gender Caucus 73 UNESCO’s international initiative for community multimedia centres 50 German initiatives UNESCO Federal Foreign Office, Government of Germany 75 UNFIP: Facilitating the Millennium 52 e-Inclusion: Dikahotole Digital Village, Development Goals South Africa – rising out of a cycle of poverty UNFIP Hewlett-Packard Foreword Mr José Maria Figueres-Olsen Chairman, UN ICT Task Force espite real progress on some good. They can help devise ICT solutions fronts, there remain dramatic that are built to last. Secondly, they can Ddisparities in levels of human participate in public-private initiatives that development: the digital divide is are driven by user demands, identified threatening to exacerbate the existing and realised through direct participation social and economic inequalities between and ownership. Thirdly, such initiatives countries and communities. should be sensitive to local conditions The principal objective of the Summit and limitations. And finally, initiatives should be identification of strategies and should be explicit about their actions that would mainstream ICT into development goals and how they will the work aimed at achieving the directly impact the target population. Millennium Development Goals, which provide the wider social, All these aspects suggest that ICT interventions focusing on economic and political context. development goals must address a variety of interrelated One third of the world’s population has never made a telephone dimensions to secure an enduring impact. The potential impact of call. Seventy percent of the world’s poorest live in rural and remote ICT interventions would be far greater if they are conceived in areas, where access to information and communications technologies, conjunction with private sector economies. There is no doubt that even to a telephone, is often scarce. Most of the information the private sector could be a great asset to ICT initiatives in exchanged over global networks such as the internet is in English, the developing countries. language of less than 10 percent of the world’s population. Governments, on the other hand, can play a role in providing a In response to these growing concerns, in March 2001, the favourable policy and pro-competitive environments to ensure United Nations Economic and Social Council requested the Secretary market fairness and flexibility as well as exercising leadership General to establish an Information and Communication Technologies through strategic investments in ICT applications and content. (ICT) Task Force. The Council recognised the tremendous potential of If public-private partnerships are built on complementarities the digital revolution for economic growth, poverty eradication and between the profit motive of the private sector and human sustainable development. Countries in which most people do not development goals, we can achieve sustainable results and the have access to the new technologies cannot play a full part in the harmonious development of a global networked society. new global economy at a time when knowledge acquisition and The United Nations ICT Task Force is helping to build information are becoming pre-requisites for human development and partnerships in key areas such as low-cost connectivity access, progress. And the longer they remain outside the global economy, human resources development and capacity building, and business the harder and costlier it will be to catch up. The digital divide must enterprise and entrepreneurship. It also provides a platform to then be bridged before it is too late. analyse how programmes for promoting education, combating In order to spread information and communications technologies diseases, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of and their benefits to the developing world, intensified cooperation women, and those targeting youth, the disabled and people living in and strong commitment among the private and non-profit sectors poverty in general can be leveraged and enhanced with ICT. will be required. Our objective is to work towards an ambitious but achievable The private sector – through innovation, risk taking and agenda, in which progress would offer all human beings a chance of investment – can help develop a country’s ICT infrastructure. The achieving lifelong prosperity. We have begun to transform our private sector can contribute to achieving development goals with societies and together we can and must find our way towards a investments that can produce a positive impact on social and universal and inclusive information society in which wealth creation economic development outcomes. Companies can do well by doing and social well being go hand-in-hand. I CHALLENGES AND PARTNERSHIPS 5 Welcome message Mr Yoshio Utsumi Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union While the basic needs of humankind have long been food, clothing and shelter, the time “ has come to add ‘information’ to that list nformation has the power to dispel ignorance and to empower ” those who are oppressed. It has the power to bind the global Icommunity and to spread the common ideals of peace and tolerance, growth and development. While the basic needs of humankind have long been food, clothing and shelter, the time has come to add ‘information’ to that list. We stand on the brink of a new era in which we must make fundamental choices about what life in the information society will be like. We may not be entirely able to predict how