RESOLUTION(1)

on the role of information technology and capacity-building for developing countries

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Nassau (Bahamas) from 11 to 14 October 1999,

- having regard to previous resolutions concerning the information society and education,

- having regard to the Fourth Lomé Convention, with particular regard to Articles 132 and 133 in Part II, Title IX, Chapter 4, on cooperation in the field of communication and information technology,

- having regard to the communication from the Commission, "Europe's Way to the Information Society. An Action Plan"(COM(94)347), and the European Parliament's resolution on the same subject (OJ C 363 of 19 December 1994),

- having regard to the communication from the Commission, "The Information Society and Development: the Role of the European Union"(COM(97)351 final of 15 July 1997),

A. whereas a major disparity persists between the developing countries, including many ACP countries, and the industrialised countries as regards the benefits of the information society, and whereas within ACP countries there is, above all, a growing gulf between town and country,

B. whereas the rapid expansion of information and communication technology, ICT, is bringing about massive economic and social transformations worldwide and offers great opportunities as well as challenges to all countries,

C. whereas the use of new technologies opens up quite new prospects for development as regards trade, transport, the competitiveness and information procurement of small and medium-sized enterprises, research, science and medicine, education and further education,

D. whereas ICT has an as yet untapped potential to promote human development and social change,

E. whereas ICT allows access to be gained to hitherto unserviced and underserviced areas and population groups for important poverty-related activities, such as education and health,

F. noting that development cooperation agencies have been relatively slow in taking up the challenges provided by the ICT revolution,

G. whereas it is important that the spread of the so-called traditional media should nonetheless not be neglected and whereas in particular radio - the key medium for the dissemination of information - and also the print media and the programmes of independent national and regional TV channels have an important long-term role to play,

H. whereas providers of global mobile telephone services (such as Iridium, Globalstar and ICO-Global Communications) intend to create a worldwide mobile telephony infrastructure by the year 2000 on the basis of up to 100 low-orbit satellites, which will be an ideal complement to the traditional mobile radio networks which are confined to conurbations, although the cost of this is extremely high,

I. whereas global broadband data transmission system networks are being planned, which will make large bandwidths available for digital data transmission, and this will mean that they can offer immense transmission capacities,

J. whereas the constantly growing need for investment to build up an adequate telecommunications infrastructure exceeds the limits of public budgets and it is therefore essential to promote private investment,

1. Calls upon the European Union and the ACP countries to mainstream ICT aspects and components into all major cooperation programmes and to define areas where ICT could be specifically used to advance human development and alleviate poverty;

2. Considers that trained personnel are a key element in bringing about more effective use of the new information technologies, in order, for example, to enable them to be used effectively in education and health systems, transport and services, including planning and control;

3. Stresses networking with virtual universities, which can combat the brain drain by offering the educated elite in developing countries adequate means of communication and international exchange;

4. Stresses the importance of providing, as a precondition for ICT connectivity, broad access to telecommunications as well as electricity to the populations of developing countries;

5. Calls for support to content building (software development) in areas of special importance for developing countries, such as tele-medicine, distance education, democracy and participation;

6. Calls on the ACP countries to establish a legal and economic-policy framework with regard to market access, regulation, competition and freedom of establishment which makes it possible for national and international enterprises to make the necessary investment and adjust information-technology procurement prices to an internationally comparable level;

7. Stresses that the universality of services also entails the right to affordable access for all (potential) users, and considers it appropriate, therefore, that the provision of infrastructure for the rural population should be a priority for countries' own development strategies;

8. Notes that many opportunities may arise from the well-directed use of multimedia services for distance learning, that the opportunities afforded by remote medicine and other socially oriented services can fill gaps in services and constitute an important complement to mobile services;

9. Calls upon the European Union and its Member States to initiate pilot projects in areas related to human development and poverty reduction to demonstrate the suitability of new technologies in advancing the development agenda;

10. Calls for special efforts to be made to develop applications suitable for local languages as well as for illiterate people;

11. Hopes that in the informal sector too, new opportunities for training and employment will be exploited for those who have hitherto enjoyed less access to media and information sources, which particularly applies to women;

12. Calls on the ACP countries therefore especially to promote the supplying of all households with radios - where appropriate operated by clockwork - and to further and expand the use of radio to provide information about issues concerned with health education, prevention and treatment, and particularly for information campaigns to combat AIDS;

13. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council and the Commission.

(1) Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on 14 October 1999 in Nassau (Bahamas).