Economic and Social Council
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERALE/CN.16/2007/2 3 April 2007
Original: ENGLISH
Commission on Science and Technology for Development
Tenth session
Geneva, 21-25 May 2007
Item 2 of the provisional agenda
Promoting the building of a people-centred, development-oriented and
inclusive information society: Progress made in the implementation of and
follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society outcomes
Report of the Secretary-General1
The Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 2006/46, requested the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on Science and Technology for Development on the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) as a part of his annual reporting to the Commission.
The present report seeks to review and assess progress at the international and regional levels in the implementation of the outcome of WSIS. It summarizes information provided by entities in the United Nations system and elsewhere on their efforts in 2006 to implement the outcome of WSIS, with a view to sharing best and effective practices and lessons learned. It also seeks to identify obstacles and constraints, and makes a number of recommendations for action in the light of experience gained to date.
1 This document was submitted on the above-mentioned date as a result of deferment of consideration by ECOSOC of the report of the CSTD on its 9th session (E/2006/31).
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION 3
I.1. THE WSIS COMMITMENT 4
I. 2. CHARTING PROGRESS 5
II. IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP AT THE REGIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
11.1. IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL 8
11.2. IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 13
11.3. PROGRESS MADE AND LESSONS LEARNED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION LINES
AND MAIN THEMES 17
III. MEASURES FOR FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION 23
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS 25
REFERENCES 26
I. Introduction
1. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), organized by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) on behalf of the United Nations system, took place in two
phases, in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis. In the Geneva Declaration of Principles, the
first Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)2 adopted a common vision
and commitment to building a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information
Society,
“where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life, premised on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and respecting fully and upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
2. The Geneva Phase of the Summit also adopted a Plan of Action, which seeks to translate this vision into concrete objectives, goals and targets, to be met by 2015, along a series of eleven Action Lines and main themes. The second Phase of the Summit at Tunis endorsed the outcomes of the first Phase and adopted a Commitment and an Agenda for the Information Society, which addressed, inter alia, the themes of financial mechanisms, Internet governance and WSIS implementation. In recognition of the multi-stakeholder efforts needed at all levels to achieve the objectives of the Summit, the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society established clear mechanisms for implementation and follow-up at the national, regional and international levels.
3. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was requested by the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society to oversee the UN system-wide follow-up of the outcomes of the Geneva and Tunis Phases of the Summit. To this end, ECOSOC was requested to review the mandate of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), including its strengthening, taking into account the multi-stakeholder approach.
4. At its substantive session in July 2006, ECOSOC adopted a resolution5 entitled "Follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society and Review of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development", by which it decided that the CSTD should effectively assist the Council as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up to the outcomes of WSIS and advise the Council thereon, including through recommendations to the Council aimed at furthering the implementation of the Summit outcomes. To this end, the Commission should:
“• Review and assess progress at the international and regional levels in the implementation of Action Lines, recommendations and commitments contained in the outcome documents of WSIS;
2 The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) took place in two phases: in Geneva during December
2003 and in Tunis during November 2005. The outcome documents are available at: http://www.itu.int/wsis/.
3 A1, "Our Common Vision of the Information Society", Geneva Declaration of Principles.
4 Paragraph 105, Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.
5 E/2006/46.
• Share best and effective practices and lessons learned, and identify obstacles and constraints encountered, actions and initiatives to overcome them and important measures for further implementation of WSIS outcomes;
• Promote dialogue and foster partnerships in coordination with other appropriate UN funds, programmes and specialized agencies to contribute to the attainment of the WSIS objectives and implementation of its outcomes, to use ICT for development and the achievement of internationally-agreed development goals, with the participation of governments, private sector, civil society and the UN and other international organizations according to their different roles and responsibilities.”
5. Against this background, and in anticipation of the ECOSOC resolution, the Commission decided at its ninth session to select “Promoting the building of a people-centred, development-oriented and inclusive information society with a view to enhancing digital opportunities for all people" as the substantive theme for its 2006-2008 work programme. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the issues and to assist the CSTD in its deliberations at its tenth session, the UNCTAD Secretariat convened a CSTD panel6 meeting, in collaboration with UNESCO in Paris, from 6 to 8 November 2006.
6. This report aims to provide an overview of progress made in the implementation of WSIS outcomes at the regional and international levels, highlighting examples of good and effective practices, with a view to sharing best and effective practices and lessons learned.7 In order to prepare the present report, the CSTD Secretariat sought information on implementation from relevant United Nations system entities tasked with WSIS implementation. By mid-February 2007, the Secretariat had received responses from 16 entities.8 The present report also draws on the findings of the CSTD Panel, on national reports contributed by members of the CSTD, and on other relevant literature. Given that the actual period of implementation has been about 14 months, most of the activities related to WSIS follow-up are still in the early stages of implementation. The report highlights as much as possible implementation activities that involve multi-stakeholders at all levels. Recommendations from the Panel meeting and studies from relevant expert bodies are set out in the report.
I.1. The WSIS commitment
6 The report of the panel is available as a background paper in one official language only (E/CN.16/2007/CRP1).
7 More exhaustive and detailed analyses are available in a number of flagship reports, which chart worldwide
progress in various dimensions of the Information Society. A number of reports were launched in 2006 to monitor
trends and policies. These include the ITU/UNCTAD “World Information Society Report”, the World Bank’s
“World Information and Communications Technology for Development” and UNESCO's “Towards Knowledge
Societies”. UNCTAD’s “Information Economy 2006” also strongly emphasizes WSIS follow-up and
implementation. A number of gateways, databases and observatories are also valuable sources for most up-to-date
information on progress in various areas. DESA’s e-Government Readiness Database, ITU’s WSIS Stocktaking
Database, Cybersecurity Gateway and ICT Success Stories portal, UNESCO’s Observatory Portal on the
Information Society and WHO’s Global Observatory for e-Health are cases in point.
8 DESA, ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, FAO, ILO, ITU, UNCTAD , UNESCO, UN-HABITAT, World Bank, WHO,
WMO, Internet Governance Forum and Digital Solidarity Fund.
7. In both phases of the World Summit on the Information Society, world leaders recognized that the benefits of the information technology revolution were unevenly distributed today between developed and developing countries and within societies. The Summit called for the digital divide to be turned into a digital opportunity for all, particularly for those who risk being left behind and further marginalized.
8. The Geneva Declaration of Principles 9 and the Tunis Commitment 10 invite all stakeholders to work together to improve access to information and communication infrastructure and technologies, as well as to information and knowledge; to build capacity; increase confidence and security in the use of ICTs; to create an enabling environment at all levels; to develop and widen ICT applications; to foster and respect cultural diversity; to recognize the role of the media; to address the ethical dimensions of the information society; and to encourage international and regional cooperation.
I. 2. Charting progress
9. Access to ICTs is increasing in developing nations, particularly rapidly in the case of
mobile telephony, and the distribution of ICT services is becoming more equitable. The gap in
ICT penetration rates between developed and developing nations is narrowing for basic ICTs
such as fixed-telephone lines, mobile phones and TV sets. At current rates of growth, it is likely
that the WSIS goal of half the world’s population having access to ICTs will be reached by 2008,
at least for mobile phones. However, wide gaps are evident in newer technologies such as
broadband or third generation (3G) mobile. As a result, the Internet is developing along two
different paths: one for the broadband-rich and another for the narrowband-poor.
I. 2. A. Significant progress in ICT access and use
10. Developing countries accounted for over 60 per cent of the world’s telephone lines (fixed and mobile) in 2005, up from less than 20 per cent in 1980.11 By the end of 2005, the worldwide number of mobile phone subscribers had reached 2.17 billion, over one-third of the world's population (ITU 2006). Growth has been particularly strong in Africa, where the number of subscribers increased from 15 million in 2000 to over 135 million in 2005. Over time, the gap in mobile phone penetration between developed and developing countries has diminished considerably.
11. Growth in Internet use has been equally impressive. The number of Internet users in the world increased exponentially during the last decade to exceed, by the end of 2005, one billion people. Global Internet use grew by 106 per cent between 2000 and 2005. Growth rates were even higher in those regions where Internet access remains low. For example, in Africa, where
9 World Summit on the Information Society, Document WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/4-E, and December 2003:http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/geneva/official/dop.html.
10 World Summit on the Information Society, Document WSIS-05/Tunis/Doc/7-E, November 2005:http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs2/tunis/off/7.html.
11 World Bank (2006).
Internet penetration stood at only 3.2 per cent at the end of 2005, Internet use grew by more than 600 per cent during the same period.
12. One of the main drivers behind these significant gains is the reduction in telecom
prices.12 Also significant were schemes to make mobile telephony more affordable. For example,
in 2004, almost 88 per cent of mobile subscribers in Africa used prepaid services that were
tailored to low-income markets.1
I. 2.B. Digital divide remains wide between and within nations
13. Although the gap in terms of mobile phone penetration has diminished over time between developed and developing countries, the penetration rate in developing economies continues to run well below that of developed countries. In some developed countries, the penetration rate is over 100 per cent, while in almost half of the developing countries, it is under 10 per cent. A significant gap still exists in terms of Internet penetration; where developed economies account for more than half of Internet users worldwide, while approximately one-third of developing economies have a penetration rate of less than 5 per cent. A gap also exists in terms of gender – a gender divide continues to exist in the majority of countries, both developed and developing. Data collected by the ITU and others indicate that women's rates of Internet access do not automatically rise in tandem with national rates of Internet penetration. This imbalance may not extend to cell phones – in Southern Africa the rate of women's use and ownership of cell phones is roughly equal with men's.14
14. There is also a massive gap in international Internet bandwidth between developed and developing regions of the world. Some 80 per cent of all international bandwidth was used by Europe and North America in 2005, while Africa accounted for only 0.3 per cent of international bandwidth, despite being home to 14 per cent of the world's population. This huge gap in international bandwidth impedes the equitable distribution of the Internet and is leaving many countries and regions behind in the global information economy. In many developing nations, the lack of domestic Internet content and applications means that the majority of online access is to websites abroad, resulting in the so-called Hotmail problem whereby e-mail messages from one user in Sierra Leone to another user are routed externally, using valuable international bandwidth. The scarcity of international bandwidth not only means that prices are high but also that the Internet experience is likely to be slow and restrictive. For many developing countries, this problem is aggravated by the fact that their access to the Internet backbone networks is often subject to arrangements whereby the cost of carrying Internet traffic between the developing countries and the global Internet is borne only by the users in developing countries.
15. Recent studies 15 also concluded that many of the applications envisioned for the information society are mainly possible through broadband access. The Information Economy
ITU/UNCTAD (2006).
UNCTAD (2006b).
Huyer et al. (2005); Vodaphone, 2005.
See for example UNCTAD (2006b) and ITU/UNCTAD(2006).
Report 200616 showed that in developed economies, broadband subscribers increased by almost 15 per cent in the last half of 2005, reaching 158 million. Business broadband connectivity grew most significantly – in the European Union, for example, from 53 per cent of enterprises in 2004 to 63 per cent in 2005. However, less than 1 per cent of enterprises in 48 of 71 developing countries studied had broadband rather than dial-up Internet connections. High-speed Internet access can contribute to economic growth and is increasingly being recognized as a policy objective in both developing and developed countries.
16. Developing countries are taking steps to redress the shortage of international Internet
bandwidth by connecting to undersea fibre optic networks whenever possible. For example, the
Indian Ocean nation of Maldives recently completed two Internet backbone links to fibre
networks in Sri Lanka and India. In West Africa, a number of nations along the Atlantic Ocean
coastline connected to the undersea SAT-3/WASC cable in 2002, giving them their first
experience of high-speed fibre optic connectivity.
II. Implementation and follow-up at the regional and international level
17. The Geneva Plan of Action requested international and regional institutions to "develop by 2005, their own strategies for the use of ICTs for sustainable development…., and to publish, in their areas of competence, including on their website, reliable information submitted by relevant stakeholders on successful experiences of mainstreaming ICTs". In terms of follow-up and evaluation, it requested that international and regional organizations “assess and report regularly on universal accessibility of nations to ICTs, with the aim of creating equitable opportunities for the growth of ICT sectors of developing countries”.
18. The Tunis Agenda for the Information Society states the following:
“At the regional level:
Upon request from governments, regional intergovernmental organizations in collaboration with other stakeholders should carry out WSIS implementation activities, exchanging information and best practices at the regional level, as well as facilitating policy debate on the use of ICT for development, with a focus on attaining the internationally agreed development goals and objectives, including the MDGs.
UN Regional Commissions, based on request of Member States and within approved budgetary resources, may organize regional WSIS follow-up activities in collaboration with regional and subregional organizations, with appropriate frequency, as well as assisting Member States with technical and relevant information for the development of regional strategies and the implementation of the outcomes of regional conferences.
We consider the multi-stakeholder approach and participation in regional WSIS implementation activities by the private sector, civil society, and the United Nations and other international organizations to be essential.
UNCTAD (2006b).
At the international level, bearing in mind the importance of the enabling environment:
Implementation and follow-up of the outcomes of the Geneva and Tunis phases of the Summit should take into account the main themes and Action Lines in the Summit documents.
Each UN agency should act according to its mandate and competencies, and pursuant to decisions of its respective governing bodies, and within existing approved resources.
Implementation and follow-up should include intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder components.”
II.1. Implementation and follow-up at the regional level
19. Most United Nations Regional Commissions have adopted regional plans of action for WSIS implementation. These plans are designed as roadmaps towards the regional implementation of WSIS outcomes, as well as overall development goals, including those in the Millennium Declaration (MDGs). They set priorities, targets and timeframes based on the specific circumstances of each region. The development of these plans was largely coordinated by the Regional Commissions, through multi-stakeholder consultations. They generally have a phased approach to implementation towards 2015, with built-in follow-up mechanisms to ensure monitoring and assessment on a regular basis.
Africa
20. The African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE) was adopted in September 2005. Review of implementation and follow-up is planned to take place every five years, under the aegis of the African Union Commission, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (ADB). A steering committee has been set up to organize regional conferences every two years to assess implementation of the WSIS decisions and the ARAPKE, based on national, sectoral and subregional reports to be prepared by all the stakeholders. Multi-stakeholder committees have been set up at the national and subregional levels to monitor implementation. National committees are encouraged to meet once every year to review and assess progress, while subregional committees are encouraged to organize conferences on WSIS follow-up before the full regional conference to monitor and coordinate implementation.
21. Some of the obstacles for implementation identified include constraints on financial resources and lack of qualified human resources specialized in ICT18. At the First Ministerial Conference on Information and Communication Technologies of the African Union, held in April 2006 in Addis Ababa, it was decided that the ADB and ECA, supported by other UN
17 The framework for the African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE) was developed
upon request from the Second African Regional Preparatory Conference for the WSIS, held in Accra, Ghana, from 2
to 4 February 2005.
18 (AU 2006) Implementing the African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE).
agencies and continental as well as subregional development banks, should undertake resource mobilization activities. The need for a pool of experts to support implementation at the national, sub-regional and regional levels has been identified.
22. Two conferences took place in 2006 in Marrakech19 and Tunis,20 respectively, on policies and strategies to channel domestic and foreign investment and to bring together ICT projects and investors. Both are expected to be organized annually.
23. ECA, in partnership with other entities, has assisted over 28 African countries in developing ICT national strategies and is working with a number of these countries to begin implementation. The fifth meeting of ECA’s Committee on Development Information (CODI), to be held in May 2007, will discuss and make recommendations on implementation at the national and subregional levels.
24. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), especially its E-Commission, has been playing a key role in policy formulation as well as implementation. One of its most noteworthy projects is the “e-Schools Initiative”: a multi-country and multi-stakeholder endeavour designed to bring ICT skills to young Africans in more than half a million schools on the continent at the primary and secondary school level. These schools will be provided with infrastructure, ICT equipment, access to appropriate ICT applications and digital content and appropriately trained teachers. Its main objective is to ensure that ICTs play a meaningful role in enhancing education and health conditions on the African continent. The NEPAD e-Schools Initiative will be implemented in three phases over a period of ten years, with 15 to 20 countries in each phase. The Initiative is a partnership between Governments, regional and international organizations such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, the Commonwealth of Learning, the World Bank, ITU and the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC), as well as the private sector, including Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Oracle and Cisco.
25. During the first stage of the initiative, the "NEPAD e-Schools Demo" will establish and monitor six NEPAD e-Schools in each of the 16 countries participating in phase one: Algeria; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Egypt; Gabon; Ghana; Kenya; Lesotho; Mali; Mauritius; Mozambique; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; South Africa; and Uganda. Large-scale rollout is expected in 2007.
East Asia and Pacific
26. Asia–Pacific is home to some of the global leaders in ICT development and applications,
but a number of countries lag behind in terms of ICT access and use. ESCAP has identified
several key obstacles to bridging the digital divide.21 including a lack of coherent and integrated
ICT policies and regulatory frameworks; a lack of awareness among stakeholders, including
policymakers, concerning the benefits of ICT for socio-economic development; low skill levels or capacity among ICT stakeholders; and low levels of cooperation and coordination in policymaking and implementation, including among government entities.
19 International Forum on Information Strategies and Investment, 1-3 March 2006.
20 ICT 4ALL, Tunis+1: ICT investment in Africa, 26-27 October 2006.
21(ESCAP, 2006) Regional Action Plan towards the Information Society in Asia and the Pacific.
27. As a follow-up to WSIS, and in its efforts to help its member countries narrow the digital divide, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) adopted in 2006 a "Regional Action Plan towards the Information Society in Asia and the Pacific". The Plan was formulated through a consultative process with the participation of some 600 individuals representing 50 Governments, 35 international organizations, the private sector and non¬governmental organizations. Prior to the formulation of the regional Action Plan, regional surveys on WSIS Action Plans were conducted in subregions, to gather inputs on the special areas of concern within the region. The Plan set up a roadmap for the implementation of WSIS action lines and main themes, by prioritizing objectives into three categories, to be achieved within the short term (end of 2007), medium term (end of 2010) and long term (end of 2015).
28. Most of the countries in the region have established ICT departments or ministries to spearhead ICT agenda. Additionally, many Governments have set up ICT task forces, ICT councils or ICT committees for advising ICT-related policies and strategies at the national level. Several least developed countries, small Pacific island countries and countries with economies in transition are still in the process of establishing their national ICT strategies.
Western Asia
29. The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) has prepared a “Plan of Action for Building the Information Society in Western Asia”. The Plan identifies some of the following priority areas for implementation: (1) ICT for economic development; (2) Developing e-government services; (3) Empowering Arab NGOs in the information society; (4) Developing telecommunications infrastructure; (5) Developing the ICT sector; (6) Women's empowerment in the information society; (7) Information society measurements; (8) Promoting digital Arabic content; (9) ICT in education and scientific research; and (10) Increasing community access with emphasis on the marginalized and disabled.
30. In terms of implementation and follow-up mechanisms, the Plan proposes the establishment of a Steering Committee that would provide overall vision, set policy direction, articulate policies, design concrete frameworks and introduce alternative plans, if required. The ESCWA Secretariat would assist the Steering Committee in managing activities, coordinating programmes and monitoring progress periodically. Each programme will have a consultative team consisting of a programme coordinator, an expert in the field and a research assistant. The consultative team would work on creating synergy between established projects and new ideas for projects, and report periodically to the Steering Committee on progress. The Plan of Action also emphasizes national and subregional level coordination. An online partnership forum, the ICT Partnership Online (IPO), would be set up to facilitate consultation on projects and also funding opportunities. It is proposed that the IPO would evolve into a more sophisticated means of the online communication hosting online "communities of practice" representing different stakeholders.
31. ESCWA’s current work focuses on promoting digital Arabic content, e-government
policies and strategies, open source software solution for the public sector in the Arab region and
capacity-building for ICT policymaking, as well as knowledge networks through ICT access
points for disadvantaged communities.
Latin America and the Caribbean
32. The region adopted the eLAC2007 “Regional Action Plan for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean”. eLAC builds on and extends ongoing intraregional initiatives, in convergence with national policies and projects, and sets out 30 goals to be met between 2006 and 2007. These goals cover access and digital inclusion, capacity-building and knowledge creation, public transparency and efficiency, policy instruments, and enabling environment.
33. Ecuador, Brazil, El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago (coordinated by Ecuador) will serve in the Regional Follow-up Mechanism of eLAC2007 until the Ministerial Follow-up Conference, to be held in El Salvador in October 2007. Eight working groups have been set up in the areas of telework, alternative technologies, software, networks for research and education, ICT industries, e-Government, financing and legislative framework, each being coordinated by a Member State. Each country was asked to designate a national focal point to participate in the working groups. The Working Groups use the Virtual Collaborative Space (www.elac2007.info) developed by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to carry out their work. The regional follow-up mechanism is also requested to present periodic advance reports of eLAC2007 to every country in the region and to the international and regional organizations involved in the process of implementing the Plan.
34. During the second Conference on the implementation of eLAC2007, held in parallel to the Ministerial EU-LAC Information Society Forum in April 2006, ECLAC, with financial support of the "@lis" project of the European Commission22 announced that it would contribute US$ 10,000 to the initial work of each Working Group. The Working Groups were encouraged to work closely with national focal points as well as other relevant international and regional organisms. The overall evaluation will be conducted in November 2007.
35. In undertaking activities related to the implementation of the WSIS outcomes, ECLAC collaborates closely with other international bodies such as the Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC), the e-government Effectiveness Inter-Agency Task Force and the Latin American Cooperation of Research Network (CLARA).
Europe
36. The Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has made significant efforts to
mainstream ICT into its work programme in the areas of trade, e-government, environment,
22 @LIS Programme is a strategic cooperation programme of the European Commission between Europe and Latin America aiming at promoting economic development and citizens' participation in the global information society.
transportation and policy development, and ICT thus constitutes an integral part of its activities in the region.
37. One such effort is in international trade. More than 5 billion documents are processed every year, with the annual cost of processing these documents manually estimated at over US$ 250 billion. During the second phase of WSIS, the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) endorsed a roadmap to move towards “paperless trade”. The Centre has adopted a new, global United Nations electronic Trade Documents (UNeDocs) standard for digital trade documents. This standard will simplify international trade and increase security in the international supply chain through the exchange of less, but better, data that integrate with the latest Internet-based technologies. The Centre approved a new cooperation framework that encourages the participation of private-sector companies interested in supporting UN/CEFACT standards through software tools. UNECE, as the Secretariat of the Centre, has been developing, in cooperation with other UN Regional Commissions, a toolkit that makes national trade documents available through Internet repository.
38. UNECE has made important contributions to practical e-government solutions, and, in particular, environmental governance where electronic tools are being developed to strengthen public access to environmental information and encourage digital democracy. A Task Force on Electronic Information Tools has been established to promote an enabling legislative, regulatory and policy environment throughout the region. The Task Force promotes the exchange of experiences on the use of ICT to facilitate public participation in environmental matters. Among the practices being tracked by the Task Force is electronic public consultation on planning applications and permits. Further, the Aarhus Clearinghouse for Environmental Democracy (http://aarhusclearinghouse.org) provides a forum for collecting, disseminating and exchanging information and good practices relevant to the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and to the implementation of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
39. The UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations is developing intelligent transportation systems (ITS) with the aim of improving the safety and environmental performance of vehicles. Some intelligent systems have already been incorporated into UNECE vehicle regulations.
40. In the framework of the Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) UNECE has taken the lead in establishing a Working Group on ICT. In that context, regional capacity-building activities on ICT policymaking and legal aspects of ICT policy development have been carried out.
41. In addition, UNECE contributes to raising awareness on the gender digital divide within the framework of WSIS and promotes the use of ICT by small businesses run by women. Training workshops on ICT are part of the capacity-building programme under the SPECA Working Group on Gender and Economy.
II.2. Implementation and follow-up at the international level Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
42. In its resolution 2006/46 of 28 July 2006, ECOSOC defined how it will oversee the system-wide follow-up to WSIS outcomes. The Council decided that these activities would be undertaken in the context of its annual review of the implementation of and follow-up to major UN summits in its coordination segment. The CSTD will assist the Council as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up.
43. In order to enable the CSTD to perform these additional tasks, the Council decided that the Commission should be strengthened in its substantive capacity and enhanced through effective and meaningful participation of Member States, and that membership of the CSTD should be enlarged by ten additional members to that end. The election of new members was held at the organizational session of ECOSOC in February 2007.
44. The Council also approved interim institutional arrangements for the participation of WSIS-accredited NGOs and civil society entities and WSIS-accredited private-sector entities in the work of CSTD, helping to ensure the meaningful and sustained engagement of non¬governmental stakeholders in the WSIS follow-up process.
Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD)
45. The CSTD Secretariat, in collaboration with other United Nations entities, organized a series of open-ended, multi-stakeholder consultations on modalities of WSIS follow-up, including at the 9th session of the CSTD, held on 15 to 19 May 2006.
46. In response to ECOSOC’s resolution which highlights the role of multi-stakeholder approach in WSIS follow-up, the Commission, through the UNCTAD Secretariat, invited civil society and the private sector to provide inputs to its 10th session; these submissions will be made available on the website.
47. At the CSTD panel held in Paris from 6 to 8 November 2006, participants identified a number of challenges to WSIS follow-up. These include (1) Thematic areas and the WSIS Action Lines are a "snapshot" of the key issues as of 2003. Given the fast pace of technological advance, new issues may need to be addressed; (2) No formal mechanism exists for the follow-up on the theme of financial mechanisms; and (3) WSIS implementation is decentralized at national, regional and international levels. The Commission stressed the importance of its Secretariat having access to the necessary information from UN entities involved in implementation, as well as from all other stakeholders in the information society, in order to assist the CSTD in carrying out its mandate.
UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS)
48. UNGIS was established by the United Nations Chief Executive Board (CEB) based on
recommendations of the Secretary-General. It is made up of all CEB members, working under
the rotating chairmanship of ITU, UNESCO and UNDP. The main purpose of UNGIS is to facilitate the implementation of WSIS outcomes within the United Nations system. The Group seeks to enable synergies aimed at resolving substantive and policy issues, avoiding redundancies and enhancing effectiveness of the UN system while raising public awareness about the goals and objectives of the global information society. To maximize its efficiency, the Group has agreed on a work plan in which it would concentrate its collective efforts each year on one or two cross-cutting themes and on a few selected countries.
49. UNGIS will seek to bring the efforts of the UN system to bear on expanding access to
communications, for instance through multimedia community centres, teleshops, etc. Drawing on
the respective competencies of the different members of the Group, UNGIS will also focus on
applications related to e-health and e-tourism. The Group will examine the e-readiness strategies
and policies of one or two countries, to be proposed by UNDP, to develop a comprehensive
toolkit for bringing the benefits of the information society to developing countries.
United Nations entities
50. A wide variety of WSIS-related activities have been reported by relevant United Nations entities and programmes. 23 Many of these activities are being carried out within their existing mandate, programmes and areas of competence, in collaboration with development partners at national, regional and international levels. These include infrastructure development (ITU), capacity-building (UNESCO, UNCTAD), measures in the field of cybersecurity and confidence-building (ITU), e-government programmes (UN-DESA) e-business activities (UNCTAD), e-learning (UNESCO), enabling environment (UNDP, UNCTAD), e-health (WHO), e-employment (ILO), e-agriculture (FAO), e-science (UNESCO, UNCTAD), e-environment (WMO), cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content (UNESCO), media (UNESCO) and ethical dimensions of the information society (UNESCO). The current activities of some specialized programmes, such as InfoDev, the Information for Development Programme of the World Bank or UNDP’s work on Democratic Governance, are very closely related to WSIS-themes. Several agencies and entities are in the process of sharpening their focus and priorities in order to strategically integrate WSIS outcome documents into their work programme.
51. The lead agencies in the WSIS process, most notably ITU, UNESCO and UNDP, have continued to play leading facilitating roles in the implementation of WSIS Action Lines. These three entities, in collaboration with most United Nations agencies and entities, organized in February 2006, the first consultation meeting on overall facilitation, which adopted terms of reference for moderators/facilitators and lead agencies for the Action Lines. Most Action Line Facilitators/Moderators have held at least one facilitation meeting by February 2007. These meetings brought together relevant stakeholders from national, regional and international levels, representing inter alia Governments, NGOs and the private sector. As a result of these meetings and subsequent virtual working groups, most Action Lines have successfully identified sub-themes, or priority areas of focus for implementation. Several Action Line facilitators are creating networks to connect multi-stakeholder “communities of practice” on the implementation of their respective Action Lines. The second meeting of Action Line facilitators will take place on 25 May 2007.
Civil society and business, and multi-stakeholder partnerships
52. Civil society played a key role in WSIS, and continues to play an important role in the field of advocacy for ICT for development, poverty reduction, empowerment, social justice and human rights. At the grass-roots level, NGOs are active in the implementation of many projects and programmes. Several civil society programmes deal with community development, telecentre deployment and rural communications, including local radio, and the promotion of free and open software. Despite the fact that numerous civil society programmes and projects have been submitted to the ITU-WSIS stocktaking database, an overall reporting mechanism from civil society is yet to be identified.
53. Business is not only a key stakeholder in the deployment of infrastructure but also a key driving force in technological development. The exponential growth in the use of cellphones worldwide has made information and communication available to many people, who were previously excluded from the global economy. "Serving the World’s Poor, profitably"24 has become a business proposition for a number of multinational companies that work in collaboration with Governments, international and regional organizations and other development partners, developing low-cost mobile phones and PCs and establishing community technology learning centres. A recent initiative is "50x15",25 which seeks to develop new technology and solutions to enable more affordable Internet access and computing capability for 50 per cent of the world's population by the year 2015.
54. A number of multi-stakeholder partnerships were created during and after WSIS. One such example is the Connect the World26 project launched in June 2005 by ITU and 22 founding partners. The project aims to help expand access to ICTs to the estimated 800,000 villages and one billion people worldwide who have no access to telephones. The project presently includes more than 50 partners from Government, the private sector, international and regional organizations as well as civil society. Major partnerships have been created through Connect the World in 2006, including a new ITU-Grameen partnership to leverage the power of ICTs and micro-financing to empower the poor called “ICT Empowerment Network”. A number of early projects have been announced within this network, including, efforts to extend the Grameen Village phone model into more countries, and an initiative by a new consortium, based in Cambridge, UK, called “Enclusion” to develop low-cost rural connectivity solutions.
55. A good example of a concrete project is the partnership between the Grameen Foundation USA and Nokia, which makes available "Village Phone Business Kits" for purchase in emerging markets. Each kit includes a mobile phone, a booster antenna, and a recharging solution. Microfinance clients can purchase this kit through their microfinance institution by taking out a loan which will be repaid with proceeds from the business. The client then becomes a Village
C.K. Prahalad, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Wharton School Publishing, 2005. Launched by AMD, in partnership with Telmex, WYSE, Lenovo, Micorsoft, Samsung, and Inveneo. http://www.itu.int/partners/index.html.
Phone Operator and rents the use of the phone on a per-call basis to people in his or her community.
Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID)
56. GAID was launched in Kuala Lumpur on 19-20 June 2006, with the secretariat support of DESA.27 It is expected to be an important contributor to the coordination and implementation of many of the 11 Actions Lines of WSIS, especially by bringing multi-stakeholder input to the intergovernmental processes.
57. The Strategy Council of GAID decided that it would initially focus on the use of ICT in promoting the following four broad areas: 1. Education, 2. Health, 3. Entrepreneurship, and 4. Governance. GAID, a network of networks, is expected to work toward fulfilling its mission by providing an inclusive, multi-stakeholder global forum and platform for cross-sectoral policy dialogue and advocacy, and by catalysing multi-stakeholder, action-oriented partnerships and regional networks encouraged under the Alliance’s umbrella.
58. In 2006, GAID undertook preparatory work, with the intent of laying the foundations for its future substantive work. Among other initiatives, regional networks (in Latin America and Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, Arab States and transition countries) and stakeholder networks (composed of youth, persons with disabilities, parliamentarians, local governments and regional authorities and gender stakeholders) are being formed. The first regional network to be created was the GAID Asian–Pacific Network, which was established at the first meeting on GAID for the Asia–Pacific region that took place in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, on 19 October 2006.
59. Moreover, a call for proposals for thematic Communities of Expertise met with positive response, and several Flagship Partnership Initiatives under the umbrella of the Global Alliance have been set up to leverage joint resources and to spur visible action across the four GAID focus areas. These Initiatives are Better Connectivity with Broadband to Africa, Cyber Development Corps, and Telecentre 2.0 - Scaling up for global success.
60. It is envisaged that the Alliance will provide multi-stakeholder input to the policy dialogue to be conducted at the CSTD.
Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)
61. Founded in 1997, GKP is a multi-stakeholder network promoting innovation and
advancement in Knowledge for Development (K4D) and Information and Communication
Technologies for Development (ICT4D). It operates globally as well as in seven regions: Africa,
Central and Eastern Europe; East Asia; Latin America and the Caribbean; Middle East and North
Africa; Oceania and South Asia. The network comprises over 100 members from 40 countries,representing public sector, private sector and civil society organizations. It is governed by an elected Executive Committee and supported by a Secretariat based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
62. GKP was one of the major parallel events organizers at the Geneva and Tunis Summits.
Its Strategy 2010 focuses on access to knowledge, education, poverty reduction and resource
mobilization. Its activities include the convening of knowledge-sharing events with products and
innovative solutions; brokering multi-stakeholder partnerships for knowledge-sharing and
increasing effectiveness of ICT for development initiatives; promoting innovation in the use and
appropriation of ICT for development initiatives and knowledge-sharing; facilitating
mobilization of investments in ICT for development at the local, national, and global levels; and
influencing policy, regulatory frameworks and public opinion.
II.3. Progress made and lessons learned in the implementation of Action Lines and main themes
A. Action Lines
63. Significant progress was made during 2006 in the identification of priority areas for
implementation of WSIS Action Lines and in the creation of synergies among the different
stakeholders. The following section highlights some of them.
The role of public governance authorities and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development (C1) and e-government (C7), facilitated by UNDESA
64. Building on the findings and recommendations of the Consultations on Action Lines C1
and C7eGov, and on-line consultation facilitated by UNDESA, the following priority areas have
been identified:
C1: ICT for sustainable development; national e-strategies; ICT in parliaments; e-participation; partnerships.
C7 eGov: e-government strategies; e-government systems; measuring e-government; knowledge management.
65. DESA had built a mailing list of key stakeholders which comprises some 2,000 names.
A website dedicated to the facilitation of the implementation of Action Lines C1 and C7eGov
has been established within the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) Portal.
The website provides many relevant resources and is updated on a regular basis.
Access to information and knowledge (C3), E-learning (C7), E-science (C7), Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content (C8), Media (C9), and Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society (C10), facilitated by UNESCO
66. Through multi-stakeholder consultations facilitated by UNESCO, the following priority
areas have been identified under these Action Lines:
C3: Public domain information, access to public official information, community access, libraries and archives, diversity of software models, research and development for accessibility for all, open access to scientific information and e-government for local authorities.
C7(e-learning): Enhancing capacities for e-learning in education, communication and learning tools, e-learning policies and strategies, digital content within learning and education, legal and institutional frameworks, multi-stakeholder partnerships and research and development in e-learning.
C8: Heritage, local content and contemporary cultural expressions, linguistic diversity, traditional knowledge, and the All-Inclusive Information Society (indigenous peoples, gender, disabled persons).
C9: Freedom of expression, media education and information literacy, journalism training, community media, media regulation, media archives, content of media and the internet and research.
C10: Establishment of implementation modalities of the Geneva Plan of Action, mainstreaming of ethical dimensions of other Action Lines, design and realization of concrete activities.
C7 (e-science): UNESCO organized a consultation meeting in October 2006, which aimed at facilitating the initial contacts and sharing of information among multi-stakeholders on their priorities and expertise in the implementation. It also decided that a “core multi-stakeholder group” be set up, which would identify programme | | |
