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# \[Draft Declaration of Principles  {#draft-declaration-of-principles .unnumbered}

> **(WSIS/PC-2/DT/2 refined through the intersessional mechanism)**

***\[**NOTE: the whole text of this Draft Declaration is in square
brackets**\]***

# Section I {#section-i .unnumbered}

A.  **Building the Information Society: a new global challenge in the
    new Millennium**

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1.  **We the representatives of the peoples of the world**, assembled at
    Geneva from 10-12 December 2003 for the first phase of the World
    Summit on the Information Society, declare our common desire and
    commitment to build a new kind of society, the Information Society,
    premised on the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
    Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this
    society, new technologies, in particular information and
    communications technologies (ICTs) become an essential tool,
    accessible to all, for the attainment of a more peaceful, prosperous
    and just world based upon our common humanity in all its diversity.

2.  **We recognize** that knowledge, information and communication are
    at the core of human progress, endeavour, and well-being and that,
    although the dramatic increase in the volume, speed and ubiquity of
    information flows, which has been made possible through new
    information and communication technologies, have already brought
    about profound changes in peoples lives, and are creating enormous
    new opportunities, they have yet to benefit the vast majority of the
    peoples of the world.

3.  **We recall** our common resolve as reflected in the Millennium
    Declaration to promote democracy and respect for all internationally
    recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the
    right to development and re-iterate our commitment to sustainable
    development.

4.  **We are convinced** that the information and communication
    revolution is still in its infancy, and the untapped potential of
    ICTs to improve productivity and quality of life is a serious issue
    for all of us, particularly for the majority of the peoples of the
    world who live in developing countries and countries with economies
    in transition who risk being left behind and further marginalized.

5.  **We are fully aware** that our individual and collective ability to
    create and share knowledge has become a driving force in shaping our
    future, and that concrete action and global commitment are now
    required; to ensure that these new technologies accelerate the
    attainment of the Millennium Development Goals that we set for
    ourselves at the Millennium Summit.

6.  **Faced** with complex and ever-evolving challenges, all of us
    \-\--governments, the private sector and civil society\-\-- commit
    ourselves to develop new forms of solidarity and cooperation and to
    take upon-new or increased roles and responsibilities

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B.  **Our Common Vision of the Information Society**

    **We declare:**

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7.  The Information Society that we seek to build is one which is
    inclusive, where all persons, without distinction of any kind, are
    empowered freely to create, receive, share and utilize information
    and knowledge, in any media and regardless of frontiers.

8.  The Information Society should be people-centered, with citizens and
    communities at its core, and be at the service of humankind. It
    should be an environment where information and knowledge are
    disseminated and utilized by all sectors of the population, for
    their economic, social, cultural and political development.

9.  The Information Society is a new and higher form of social
    organization, where highly-developed ICT networks, equitable and
    ubiquitous access to information, appropriate content in accessible
    formats and effective communication must enable all the people to
    achieve their full potential, promote sustainable economic and
    social development, improve quality of life and alleviate poverty
    and hunger.

10. The essential requirements for the development of an equitable
    Information Society include:

-   The respect for all internationally recognized human rights and
    fundamental freedoms. Notably the right to freedom of opinion and
    expression, including the right to hold opinions without
    interference and seek to, receive and impart information and ideas
    through any media and regardless of frontiers in accordance with
    article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to
    unhindered access by individuals to communication media and
    information sources,

-   The commitment to democracy and good governance as well as the
    existence, in accordance with the legal system of each country, of
    independent, pluralistic and free mass and other communication media
    in their various forms, as an important means of fostering public
    information, societal development and social cohesion.

-   The adherence to international undertakings with respect to peace
    and security, sustainable development, equality, solidarity,
    tolerance, human dignity, economic progress, and the protection of
    the environment and building of new values, trust and norms with
    respect to the use of ICTs.

-   The building of an environment that inspires confidence and trust in
    using ICTs, and ensures security of networks and information, in
    particular the protection of privacy.

-   Ensuring the adequate development of human capacity in order to be
    able to fully exploit the benefits that ICTs and building public
    awareness on the capabilities of ICTs to improve the lives of people
    by circumventing traditional obstacles like distance and time.

-   The nurturing of creativity and support for the flourishing of free
    flow of a multiplicity of ideas from a diversity of sources,
    recognizing cultural identity in all its variety, linguistic
    diversity, and multilingualism as well as the creating favorable
    conditions for the production, processing, dissemination and
    protection of local content.

11. The Information Society must respond to the additional development
    challenges posed by the digital divide and help to achieve the
    Millennium Development Goals of combating poverty and hunger,
    eliminating illiteracy, reducing infant mortality, improving the
    status of women, improving maternal health, combating disease and
    promoting environmental sustainability.

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C.  **An information Society for all: key principles**

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12. The Information Society must serve the interests of all nations, in
    a manner that secures the fair, balanced and harmonious development
    of all the people of the world. Most particularly, the interests of
    the developing and least developed countries (LDCs), Smaller Islands
    Developing States (SIDS), economies in transitions and post-conflict
    countries, should be addressed, taking into account the unique
    geographic features and demographic diversity of nations and
    regions.

13. The Information Society must be oriented towards eliminating
    existing socio-economic differences in our societies, averting the
    emergence of new forms of exclusion and becoming a positive force
    for all of the world's people by helping to reduce the disparities
    between and within countries.

14. Empowerment and inclusion are fundamental characteristics and
    objectives of the Information Society. Accordingly, special
    attention must be paid to:

-   The marginalized, including migrants and refugees, unemployed,
    underprivileged and disenfranchised peoples.

-   The vulnerable, including children and the elderly, the disabled,
    and those with special needs.

-   Indigenous peoples and communities.

15. Unequal power relations and other social and cultural aspects have
    contributed to differential access, participation and status for men
    and women. These constraints must be overcome and women should
    equally benefit from the increased use of ICTs for empowering
    themselves by full participation in shaping political, economic and
    social development and improving their lives.

16. Young people constitute the majority of the world's population, and
    are leading creators and adopters of ICTs. Yet too many of them,
    especially those in developing countries, remain disadvantaged and
    disconnected. More and special attention must be given to empower
    young people as learners, the future workforce, and citizens with
    special needs.

### 1) Information and communication infrastructure {#information-and-communication-infrastructure .Heading_b}

17. Universal, ubiquitous and affordable access to ICTs must be an
    objective of all stakeholders involved in building the Information
    Society.

18. **Building the infrastructure**: A well-developed and
    easily-accessed and affordable information and communication network
    infrastructure is essential for the social and economic progress of
    countries, and the well-being of all citizens and communities. The
    improvement of connectivity is of special importance in this
    respect.

19. **Community access points**: Public community access points such as
    post offices, libraries, and schools, provides an effective means
    for promoting universal access in particular in rural, remote and
    poor urban areas.

20. **Measuring and mapping the Information Society:** Indicators are
    essential to measure the evolution of the Information Society, more
    particularly the needs and performance of developing countries and
    their particular conditions. Targets should also be set to benchmark
    the penetration of ICTs services within communities in urban and
    rural areas.

### 2) Access to information and knowledge {#access-to-information-and-knowledge .Heading_b}

21. The right to communicate and the right for citizens to access
    information are fundamental to the Information Society.

22. **Access to knowledge**: All individuals and organisations should
    benefit from unhindered access to information, knowledge and ideas.
    The sharing and strengthening of global knowledge for development
    can be enhanced by ensuring equitable access to information for
    educational, scientific, economic, social, political and cultural
    activities.

23. **Access to public domain information**: A vibrant and rich public
    domain is an essential element for the growth of the Information
    Society. Information in the public domain must be easily accessible.

24. **Open standards and open source**: Open standards and open source
    software are basic elements in the development of a more affordable
    access to ICTs.

25. **Barriers**: Barriers to equitable access result from a wide range
    of factors, including differences in education and literacy levels,
    gender, age, income and connectivity, lack of user training,
    cultural and linguistic constraints and particular conditions of
    access to the relevant technology. ICTs can be used to overcome
    these and other barriers in society

26. **Information flows**: A better balance of the information flows
    should be sought in building the Information Society.

### 3) The role of governments, the business sector and civil society in the promotion of ICTs for development {#the-role-of-governments-the-business-sector-and-civil-society-in-the-promotion-of-icts-for-development .Heading_b}

27. All partners---public, private sector and civil society
    organizations---have a stake in the development of information and
    communications and should be fully involved in decision making at
    the local, national, regional and international levels. Governments
    should work in close coordination with private enterprise and civil
    society.

28. **ICTs manufacturing capabilities**: As most developing countries
    are lagging behind in this respect, it is essential for governments
    to encourage technology transfer and investment, including venture
    capital, in the creation of national and regional ICT production
    facilities, research and development (R&D), incubation schemes and
    small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

29. **Demand-driven applications**: Growth in the demand for
    applications (such as e-government, e-learning, e-health and
    e-business) will create a favourable environment for the private
    sector to invest in the development of new services.

### 4) Capacity building {#capacity-building .Heading_b}

30. All people must be offered the opportunity to acquire the necessary
    skills in order to understand, participate actively in, and benefit
    fully from, the Information Society and the knowledge economy.
    Building the institutional capacities to collect, organize, store
    and share information and knowledge and training trainers deserves
    special attention.

31. **ICTs for education**: The use of ICTs for education and human
    resource development, including ICT literacy, should be promoted,
    with special reference to the requirements of people with
    disabilities.

32. **Enabling people to benefit from ICTs:** Individuals should be
    engaged in defining their own needs and in developing programmes to
    meet those needs. Technological change requires life-long learning
    and continuous training by all. Public policy should take into
    account inequalities in access to quality education and training,
    particularly in the case of vulnerable groups and underserved or
    remote areas.

33. **Training ICT specialists**: The increasing demand for a wide range
    of ICTs specialists at all levels must be addressed.

### 5) Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs {#building-confidence-and-security-in-the-use-of-icts .Heading_b}

34. An adequately developed infrastructure is a precondition for secure
    and reliable access to information by all stakeholders, and for the
    upgrading of relevant services.

35. **Secure and reliable infrastructure**: To realise the full benefits
    of ICTs, networks and information systems must be sufficiently
    robust to prevent, detect and to respond appropriately to security
    incidents. In addition to government action and law enforcement, a
    global culture of cyber-security needs to be developed for effective
    security of information systems (UNGA Resolution 57/295, of 20
    December 2002).

36. **Role of stakeholders**: Governments must promote awareness in
    their societies of cyber security risks and strengthen co-operation
    with the private sector and civil society to prevent the use of
    information resources or technologies for criminal or terrorist
    purposes, so as to build confidence and trust in the use of ICTs and
    the Information Society. The community and the family also have a
    special role to play in this regard.

37. **International cooperation**: International, regional and national
    efforts to improve ICT security, in both civil and military fields,
    must be coordinated, taking into consideration the importance of
    secure infrastructure and data flow, in concordance with
    international standards and guidelines.

### 6) Enabling environment {#enabling-environment .Heading_b}

38. The existence of a supportive and predictable policy, legal and
    regulatory framework is an important prerequisite for enhancing
    trust in the development of the Information Society.

39. **Good governance:** The Information Society must support
    participative democracy, transparency, and accountability, at all
    times upholding the principle of legality. Information is the basis
    of a well-functioning and transparent decision-making process for
    global society and local communities. ICTs can be an important and
    very effective tool for both good governance and more accessible
    government services.

40. **Market environment**: To maximise the economic and social benefits
    of the Information Society, governments need to create a
    trustworthy, transparent, and non-discriminatory legal, regulatory
    and policy environment, capable of promoting technological
    innovation and competition, thus favouring investment in the
    deployment of infrastructures and development of new services.

41. **Policy-making and national strategies**: Strengthening the
    policy-making capacity in the area of ICTs to enhance national and
    regional ICT policy-making processes and institutions is of utmost
    importance. ICTs will advance development if related efforts and
    programmes are integrated in national development strategies.

42. **Standardization**: Standardization is one of the essential
    building blocks of the Information Society. International policy
    dialogue at global, regional and sub-regional levels should promote
    the identification and application of interoperable standards, the
    transfer of know-how and the provision of technical assistance. The
    development and use of open standards are particularly important for
    developing countries. In this regard the increased use of
    open-source software can contribute greatly to increasing access and
    to adding to the diversity of choice of software for consumers.

43. **Spectrum management**: The radio frequency spectrum must be
    managed in the public and general interest and in accordance with
    the principle of legality, with full observance of national laws and
    regulation as well as relevant international agreements.

44. **Management of Internet names and addresses:** Internet governance
    must be multilateral, democratic and transparent, taking into
    account the needs of the public and private sectors as well as those
    of the civil society, and respecting multilingualism. The
    coordination responsibility for root servers, domain names, and
    Internet Protocol (IP) address assignment should rest with a
    suitable international, inter-governmental organization. The policy
    authority for country code top-level-domain names (ccTLDs) should be
    the sovereign right of countries.

45. Access to information and communication technologies shall be
    secured in accordance with international law, bearing in mind that
    some countries are affected by unilateral measures which are not
    compatible with it and which create obstacles for international
    trade[^1].

### 7) ICT-Applications {#ict-applications .Heading_b}

46. The usage and deployment of ICTs create benefits in all aspects of
    our daily life including government, health care, education and
    business.

47. **Appropriate applications**: Cooperation and collaboration are
    enhanced through the development of applications and content suited
    to local needs will encourage social and economic development,
    particularly in serving rural and remote areas, and supporting
    projects ensuring the sharing of information.

### 8) Cultural identity and linguistic diversity, local content and media development {#cultural-identity-and-linguistic-diversity-local-content-and-media-development .Heading_b}

48. The Information Society is founded on respect for, and enjoyment of,
    cultural expression. ICTs should stimulate cultural diversity and
    multilingualism and governments should develop active policies to
    that end.

49. **Cultural and linguistic diversity**: Cultural identity, linguistic
    diversity, multilingualism and local languages are driving forces
    for the process of developing content for local and international
    use (UNESCO, Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, 2001).

50. **Content**: The creation of local content must be accorded high
    priority. Creativity as well as the creation, processing,
    dissemination and conservation of local content can best be
    stimulated through an adequate balance between intellectual property
    rights and the needs of the users of information.

51. **Media**: ICTs strengthen the role of traditional media such as
    broadcasting and print, which will continue to have an important
    role in disseminating content in the Information Society.

### 9) Ethical dimensions of the Information Society {#ethical-dimensions-of-the-information-society .Heading_b}

52. Cyberspace must be subject to universally held ethical values such
    as truth, justice, solidarity, tolerance, human dignity, shared
    responsibility and accountability. All actors in the Information
    Society must seek to promote the common good and to prevent abusive
    uses of ICTs.

### 10) International and regional co-operation {#international-and-regional-co-operation .Heading_b}

53. Due to the intrinsically global nature of the Information Society, a
    policy dialogue must take place at global, regional and sub-regional
    levels in order to facilitate or provide:

-   Technical assistance;

-   National and regional capacity-building for the maintenance and
    reinforcement of regional and international cooperation;

-   Technology transfer;

-   The sharing of experiences;

-   The sharing of knowledge; and

-   The development of compatible regulations and standards that respect
    national characteristics and concerns.

\]

\[

# Section II[^2] {#section-ii .unnumbered}

# Observers' contributions to the Declaration of Principles[^3] {#observers-contributions-to-the-declaration-of-principles .unnumbered}

A.  **Preamble**

**\[2\]** The media are central to any conception of an Information
Society. For the political and cultural potential of the Information
Society to be realized, citizens require access to full information for
democratic participation at all levels, including unbiased information
and a plurality of opinions, as well as access to a wide range of
content, including material reflecting national and regional cultures
and content relevant to local communities

**\[4\]** By harnessing and developing the potential of information and
communication technologies, including the traditional mass media of
radio and television, we can now provide new and better responses to
vital and longstanding issues in all areas of human life, including
poverty reduction and wealth creation, as well as equity and social
justice.

B.  **Common Vision of the Information Society**

**\[7\]** The global Information Society represents the social and human
construction which is progressively built by all the vital forces of the
world since they have started few decades ago. Looking at the fantastic,
quick and continuous progresses made by the ICT industry and
understanding the enormous possibilities that these progresses would
allow in terms of networking infrastructures and services, it is
necessary to consider and deal with ICTs not only as a particular
economic activity among others but mainly as an economic and
technological platform to be used for all human activities, involving
stakeholders as well as individuals.

**\[8\]** By nature, the global Information Society is the society where
all peoples of the world shall appear as representing together a unique
community and where each individual shall be able, looking beyond their
particular identity, to feel that they are part of this unique
community. Building the global Information Society represents the first
opportunity given to the international community to imagine and prepare
as a whole its own future, which should help at least to narrow those
imperfections, contradictions, and divides.

**\[9\]** ICTs should therefore be regarded as a tool and not as an end
in themselves. They are useful only to the extent that they enrich and
empower individuals through the information and capabilities they offer.

**\[10\]** The essential requirements for an equitable development of
the Information Society include:

-   A secure infrastructure.

-   A sound and equitable education and health care system.

-   A recognition of the benefits of ICT applications, such as
    e-learning, e-health and e-government.

-   Adoption of national legal frameworks and regulatory policies that
    should be pro-competitive with the aim to attract investments in all
    the various segments that comprise the Information Society and
    identification and elimination of all obstacles that delay or halt
    economic growth.

-   Adoption of good-governance procedures at all levels which supposes
    transparency, accountability, sustainability, predictability and
    generalization of administrative reforms aiming to bring governments
    being e-Model Users.

-   Adoption of national ICT strategies involving at all levels the
    development partners, in particular business entities.

-   Recognition of the multi-stakeholders partnerships framework as
    being the key-framework for the launching of ICT-development
    programs and recognition of the leading role of the business sector,
    in particular local SMEs with respect to the management of these
    programmes.

**\[10\]** There is a need to build the global Information Society under
a Human Rights perspective, meaning a global Information Society that
would develop while respecting, preserving and enforcing fundamental
human rights. This would be possible only when all the stakeholders
(governments, business entities, international organisations and
entities of civil society), as well as the individuals, shall be
committed to promoting the development and use of ICTs and services:

-   In a manner that secures the fair, balanced and harmonious
    development of all the peoples of the world with particular
    attention to the needs and expectations of the developing countries
    and in each country, to those of the most disadvantaged communities
    such as: women, youth, inhabitants of remote, rural or desert areas,
    disabled, indigenous peoples.

-   While respecting, preserving and enforcing by all possible legal,
    technical and regulatory means the religious, cultural and
    linguistic identities and patrimonies of the various peoples of the
    world, accepting their diversity with a spirit of tolerance.

-   While adopting at the national level, laws, rules and regulation
    that enforce the individual freedom and that punish all kinds of
    action, activity or behaviour that would represent an attempt to
    this individual freedom.

-   While adopting a framework for international cooperation based on a
    spirit of real and sincere solidarity aiming to enable developing
    countries to benefit from adequate means to achieve an harmonious
    social integration and economic development noting that such a
    result is the most important factor that could ensure to all peoples
    of the world security, peace and stability.

-   Safe and healthy, secure and fair working conditions.

-   Human dignity, human rights and world peace.

-   Global solidarity to redress social and geographic inequities.

-   Transparent and accountable government structures at local, national
    and international levels.

-   Respect for and enforcement of universal human rights standards.

-   Preserve and actively foster cultural development, linguistic
    diversity, cultural identity and local content.

-   The supply of a diversity of creative works and content is an
    essential engine for social, cultural, political and economic
    development. Creators, publishers and producers of content thus play
    a crucial role in promoting knowledge, creativity and science. As
    such, they are fully involved in the Information Society, which
    offers enhanced means of communication, dissemination and
    transmission of knowledge.

-   The right to participate in the communication and information
    process in conformity with article 19 of the Universal Declaration
    of Human Rights and without any obstacle to freedom of expression,
    and press freedom, as well as the right to access, create and
    disseminate information, without any kind of censorship, should be
    considered basic human right.

**\[11\]** Health should not be seen as a narrowly-defined ICT
application, but as a part of a comprehensive health system. In the same
way that education is understood as fundamental to development, health
also plays a crucial role in development. Further, health-related
investment can spur economic development, as highlighted in the 2001
report released by the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, which
specifically mentions ICTs.

**\[11 A\]** One of the priorities of the Information Society must be to
drastically diminish information poverty, drawing from all available
resources (including from volunteer resources). Volunteers, by actively
helping people to combat this dimension of poverty, are already playing
an important role in the creation and evolution of a fair and equitable
Information Society. As the Information Society spreads, their
participation as information agents and enablers will extend
proportionately. Volunteers are instrumental in creating and energizing
community and citizen networks.

C.  **Key Principles**

**\[12\]** **ICT as a tool for Development:** Being a horizontal
platform for economic development and a tool for social integration,
information and communication infrastructures and services must be,
without delay, extensively deployed and used in all developing countries
in order to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in
particular to help in promoting a sustainable development and in
eradicating poverty.

**\[12 A\]** Knowledge is the heritage of all humanity.

**\[12 B\]** In a democratic society, information and communications are
the foundation for transparency, debate and decision-making and for
informed choice of an active citizenry.

**\[12 C\]** The traditional media of radio and television will long
remain the major providers of information to the large majority of the
world\'s population, particularly in the developing world. As such, they
must be developed and exploited to the full as basic foundations of the
information society and as providers of content to newer media made
possible by ICTs.

**\[13\]** The Information Society shall be oriented towards eliminating
existing socio-economic differences in our societies, promoting job
creation, averting the emergence of new forms of exclusion and becoming
a positive force for all of the world's people by helping to reduce the
disparity between developed and developing countries, as well as within
countries.

**\[14\]** The Information Society is one where every citizen has the
opportunity not only to access information but also to produce it and
exercise their creativity.

**\[14\]** The knowledge and experience of citizens should be harnessed
as the driving force behind the Information Society.

**\[15\]** Women's empowerment and their full participation on the basis
or equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the
decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the
achievement of equality, development and peace (art. 13, Beijing
Declaration).

**\[15\]** **Gender Perspective:** Building the Global Information
Society shall not be possible if all stakeholders (governments, business
entities, NGOs and Civil Society, international organizations) fail in
incorporating a gender perspective at all levels of actions they have
the responsibility to undertake and manage.

**\[17\]** Universal access to information and communication
technologies, including radio and television, shall be an objective of
all the stakeholders involved in building the information society, in
accordance with the legal framework in force in each country.

### 1) Information and communication infrastructure {#information-and-communication-infrastructure-1 .Heading_b}

### 2) Access to information and knowledge {#access-to-information-and-knowledge-1 .Heading_b}

**\[20\]** The availability of power sources is a prerequisite in
bridging the digital divide. It is therefore essential to elaborate an
active policy in terms of renewable energy resources; this policy
defined by public authorities is to be secured by all partners involved
in ICT deployment, to warrant an adequate quality and a permanent
availability for all users, particularly those in rural and isolated
areas.

**\[21 A\]** **Right to Information and Right to Communicate:** The
right to information and knowledge as well as the right to communicate
are recognized as being fundamental human rights and should be so added
to the list of Fundamental Human Rights (UN Charter-Human Rights
Charter). There is no global Information Society unless everyone,
everywhere is granted the opportunity and the capacity to access an
information or a communication network. This is what is meant by
universal access.

**\[22 A\]** Access to information is a fundamental human right. The
media---both new and traditional---have a major role to play in bringing
about an Information Society in which all citizens are included and can
participate.

-   For this purpose, the media need to be accessible and affordable for
    all citizens. Free-to-air broadcasting, and especially broadcasting
    with universal coverage, is an important means of achieving this
    objective; universal coverage needs to be improved, particularly in
    developing countries. The new opportunities offered by the
    information age should also be at the service of the whole range of
    communities.

-   To fulfill their role, the media must have unhindered access to
    events of interest to the public, including the right to make
    recordings and to establish contribution links without any
    interference by the public authorities.

**\[23\]** Global knowledge commons and the public domain of information
constitute resources that are cornerstones of a global public interest.
They should be protected, expanded and promoted, in particular, via
open-source and free software.

**\[26 A\]** Volunteers can be seen as the human and dynamic
"last-miles" of connectivity and access, often as part of civil society
organizations. They extend the products and benefits of access to many
more people who do not have the means for direct access - most of whom
are "information poor". In this regard, these "last-mile" volunteers can
be effective in the advancement towards the ultimate goal of
"information and communication services for all".

### 3) The role of governments, the business sector and civil society in the promotion of ICTs for development {#the-role-of-governments-the-business-sector-and-civil-society-in-the-promotion-of-icts-for-development-1 .Heading_b}

**\[27\]** Need to develop public-private partnerships to promote
capacity building and human resource development.

### 4) Capacity building {#capacity-building-1 .Heading_b}

**\[32\]** Human Resources Development: Developing countries cannot
enter the Global Information Society without strengthening their human,
institutional and organizational capacities and without increasing
awareness for production of local ICT contents and use of local
languages for ICT through:

-   Capacity-building and training programmes;

-   Knowledge and expertise transfer.

**\[32\]** Meaningful access to information via ICT channels requires
the capacity to use those technology tools. Volunteers have a natural
niche in helping people and institutions acquire the skills and capacity
to make good use of these technologies, as evidenced by initiatives like
UNITeS, NetCorps Canada, Volunteers in Technical Assistance, and many
others.

### 5) Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs {#building-confidence-and-security-in-the-use-of-icts-1 .Heading_b}

**\[35\]** Confidence, trust and robust technical reliability are
essential to the full functioning of the Information Society, and should
underpin measures taken to protect users of media, communication and
information networks against any misuse and the violation of privacy and
confidentiality.

\[35\] Efforts to achieve secure networks and information systems must
ensure that human rights and civil liberties such as privacy and legal
protection are guaranteed.

**\[36\]** Governments should promote awareness in their societies of
cyber security risks and seek to strengthen international co-operation,
including with the private sector and civil society so as to build
confidence and trust in the Information Society, by respecting privacy
and the free flow of information.

### 6) Enabling environment {#enabling-environment-1 .Heading_b}

**\[39\]** Adoption of pro-competitive, transparent and predictable
policies that promote investment in ICT infrastructure and applications.

**\[39\]** Policy action should aim at establishing a transparent and
enabling regulatory framework.

**\[40\]** Development of national ICT strategies that create an
opportunity for measurable targets to assess progress toward their
implementation.

**\[40\]** Commitment to an open policy-making process where all
stakeholders can contribute equally, recognizing their unique
contribution to policy dialogues.

**\[45 A\] Transfer of ICTs**: Building the global Information Society
shall not be possible while unilateral regulatory decisions, based on
political considerations and aiming to prevent countries from access to
ICT technologies, would prevail.

### 7) ICT-Applications {#ict-applications-1 .Heading_b}

**\[46\]** Life-long learning.

**\[47\]** Enhanced possibilities for more community-level participation
in governance issues.

**\[47\]** The vision for the Information Society is for open, equitable
and unrestricted access to reliable (or evidence based) information for
health, a global public good, by making full use of ICT in health system
development.

**\[47 A\]** Volunteers can participate in the development and spread of
ICTs application, and contribute to raising awareness among
decision-makers as well as the population in general on the
opportunities that ICT brings to development.

### 8) Cultural and linguistic diversity, local content and media development {#cultural-and-linguistic-diversity-local-content-and-media-development .Heading_b}

**\[49\]** Work on a global convention on cultural diversity.

**\[51\]** In this regard, mass media, independent and pluralistic -- in
their various forms -- are recognized as important means of fostering
public information, societal development and social cohesion.

-   Limit, through legislation, excessive media concentration that
    undermines pluralism and free expression and sees information only
    as a commodity.

-   Commit \[all participants, especially national delegations\] to a
    tripartite effort to support media both of developing countries and
    media serving vulnerable sectors in every country. Such efforts
    require professional training, respect for professional
    independence, security and protection of journalists, support to
    local content and community media, durability of materials and
    software, easier access to now technologies.

-   National and global media concentration is contrary to diversity of
    information.

-   To ensure diversity and pluralism in the Information society,
    monopolies and excessive concentration in the media, including those
    in new communication and information technologies should be subject
    to general anti-monopoly laws. Such general laws should be enacted
    where they do not already exist and strengthened where necessary.

-   The existence of independent and free communication media, including
    community media.

-   All forms of media and new ICTs should stimulate cultural diversity
    and multilingualism.

**\[51\]** ICTs can strengthen traditional media such as broadcasting
and print, which will continue to have an important role in
disseminating content in the Information Society. Digital broadcasting,
with its interactive enhancements, will be an essential tool for making
the services of the information society widely available, thus
contributing to bridging the digital divide. Transition to digital
therefore needs to be actively promoted.

### 9) Ethical dimensions of the Information Society {#ethical-dimensions-of-the-information-society-1 .Heading_b}

**\[52\]** An inclusive and sustainable society can only develop when
knowledge is clearly considered a common good and when the principle of
access *to* and the free flow *of* information can come to reality.

**\[52 A\]** Due to the heterogeneity of the interests of the different
parties involved in the development of the Information Society and due
to the diversity of the underlying cultures and values it is almost
unavoidable that conflicts, even clashes will permanently occur.
Information societies will have to live with it. These conflicts should
not be solved on the basis of political power or economic dominance but
solutions to these conflicts need to rely and should be based on an
ethical-based discourse. Any ethical discourse must respect
heterogeneous interests and cultures and must build reliable partnership
between governments, private sector, and civil society.

**\[52 B\]** Uses of health and medical information, which can preserve
as well as take away life, require application of the highest ethical
standards.

**\[52 C\]** Ethical dimensions of ICTs include the need to guarantee
the respect of personal privacy and of human dignity, particularly in
the context of growing invasive information technologies, surveillance
systems and "information awareness".

### 10) International and regional co-operation {#international-and-regional-co-operation-1 .Heading_b}

### \] {#section .Heading_b}

[^1]: Reservations that have been made to this paragraph:

    Statement of the United States: "The United States of America
    reserves on this paragraph and submits its objection to the
    language, which is inappropriate and is inconsistent with the
    purpose of the Conference."

    Statement of Canada: "Canada appreciates the efforts of the Host
    Government and other Governments to achieve a consensus text for
    this paragraph. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, Canada cannot
    associate itself with the final text of that paragraph."

[^2]: Section not refined by the intersessional mechanism

[^3]: Paragraph numbers correspond to those of the first section of this
    document. Where new issues are raised by observers' comments these
    are added with a number associated to a letter (e.g. 12 A, B, etc.)