1 Presentation for Permanent Delegations (11 September 2002) Philippe Quéau UNESCO Director Information Society Division World Summit on the Information Society UNESCO in the preparation process

2 WSIS Themes A Compilation of STATEMENTS made at PREPCOM-1 (1-5 July 2002) on Themes and Content

3 Themes suggested by Member States -ICTs as a Tool for Development -Infrastructure Development (eg in rural and remote areas) -The Digital Divide, Inequality of Access - Imbalances in Trans-Border Data Flows -Human Resources Development, E-Education, Digital Literacy -Access to Information -Creation of multilingual and multi-cultural content -International and regional cooperation -Deployment of an enabling regulatory and policy framework -ICT applications for government, education, health, culture, poverty eradication, employment, business -Security of network infrastructures, ICT services, Privacy

4 Themes suggested by UN Agencies and other International organizations -Development objectives: UN Millenium Declaration Goals -Creation of an enabling regulatory and policy framework -Human resources and education -ICT applications: e-health, e-commerce, emergencies -Technical standards -Information security -Infrastructure development abd access -New forms of partnerships and cooperation -Promoting best practices

5 Additional themes specifically suggested by UNESCO -Human resources and education, e-learning -Linguistic and cultural diversity -Free flow of information- Freedom of Expression -Local Content development -ICT for democratisation and good governance -Public domain information and preservation of digital heritage

6 Themes suggested by Private Sector and Civil Society -Development of ICT Infrastructure -Affordable and reliable access -Gender equality issues -Development of appropriate content -Human resources and education, e-learning -Public-Private partnerships -An Enabling Regulatory and Policy Framework -Technology Transfer -E-Government

7 Informal meeting on content and themes – Geneva, September 2002 The meeting has been convened by the Chairman of Sub Committee II of the Preparatory Committee, Mr Pablo MACEDO (Mexico). It aims at continuing the discussion on content and themes started at Prepcom I.

8 Report of the Chairman of Sub-Committee 2 (Content and themes) on the Principles guiding the preparatory work and the WSIS Extending the benefits of the Information Society to all, development-orientation, overcoming the digital divide Need to find a shared understanding of the Information Society and its challenges [The Summit should consider, in a balanced manner, infrastructure and content issues] Preservation of linguistic diversity and cultural identity should be a priority [Ethical values should be considered an essential component] A spirit of international co-operation should prevail

9 Principles guiding the preparatory work and the WSIS (Continued) ICTs are a tool for achieving economic and social goals, such as those stated in the UN Millennium Declaration, and not an end in itself The importance of universal and inclusive access to the Information Society [There is a need for broad-based partnerships among stakeholders] The importance of communities and of utilising ICTs for the benefit of disadvantaged groups (e.g., women, youth, children, the disabled, indigenous people, migrants) [The importance of the issue of information network security].

10 Proposal from the Chairman of Sub-Committee 2 Themes for the WSIS Infrastructure: financing, deployment and sustainability Identifying and overcoming barriers to the achievement of the information society The role of government, the business sector and civil society in the promotion of ICTs for development Education, human resources development and training Access to information and communication technologies Information network security Development of a policy and regulatory framework ICT applications (education, health, culture, poverty eradication, government, employment, business). Plan of Action formulating operational proposals and concrete measures ensure all benefit equitably from the opportunities created by the Information Society.

11 UNESCO Themes yet to be acknowleged by Member States at the September 2002 meeting -« Education For All » in the Information Society -Linguistic diversity (Recommendation on Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace) -Cultural diversity and Local Content development (Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity) -Public domain information (Recommendation on Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace) -Free flow of information- Freedom of Expression -ICT for democratisation and good governance -Preservation of digital heritage (Charter on Digital Heritage)