TELEVISION'S IMPACT ON U.N. RESEMBLES 'SIXTEENTH' SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBER SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN ADDRESS OPENING WORLD TELEVISION FORUM

21 November 1996

Press Release
PI/978

TELEVISION'S IMPACT ON U.N. RESEMBLES 'SIXTEENTH' SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBER SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN ADDRESS OPENING WORLD TELEVISION FORUM

19961121 Two-day Forum Begins at Headquarters; General Assembly President, Italy's Foreign Minister, Radiotelevisione Italiana Chairman Also Speak

Addressing the United Nations World Television Forum this morning, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said that television, with its impact on public opinion and hence, influence on policymaking, affected the work of the United Nations like a sixteenth member of the Security Council.

Whether in Ethiopia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, television had and would continue to have a vital role in focusing world attention on the need for urgent action, the Secretary-General said. News coverage, however, as a series of brief images of high dramatic intensity, bore the risk of creating a culture of the moment, a series of instantaneous reactions, devoid of necessary analysis and debate. The present challenge was to harness that immediacy and emotional power in the service of greater knowledge and understanding of world events.

Jointly organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) with Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the Italian public broadcasting network, the World Television Forum brings together a diverse group of global broadcast leaders.

Nearly 150 participants will be discussing a number of issues during the two-day forum. Among the topics scheduled for discussion are: "Television and Globalization"; "Television and Diversity in the Global Village"; and "Television and International Affairs", with separate segments on "Global News: a Two-Way Street?" and "Conflict and Diplomacy". The final session, "Television and the Future", will focus on the role of public broadcasters and television's power to build world understanding based on the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Also addressing the Forum this morning the President of the General Assembly, Razali Ismail (Malaysia), said that the impact of electronic,

satellite and information technology posed one of the biggest political and ethical challenges of the time. Was the international community to enter a twentieth-first century in which every citizen in the North had a personal computer and television, while women in Africa still had to walk 30 miles to fetch potable water? he asked. The enlarged choice and freer flow of information provided by today's television environment would be only a false distortion of empowerment if it were to be restricted within the doctrine of consumerism, or pre-packaged by power elites.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, Lamberto Dini, said that to prevent a widening of the gap between North and South in the information field, less developed countries must be encouraged to expand their infrastructures for producing and broadcasting information. But, infrastructure alone was not enough. There must also be investment in the quantity and quality of the increasing mass of information that was broadcast to new corners of the world every day.

The Chairman of RAI, Enzo Siciliano, told the Forum that he had introduced working papers examining television content, the production and distribution of programmes, and an analysis of information and news. The role of public information services worldwide, meant preserving regional cultures and making them a part of the cultures that travelled the information superhighways. That also meant guaranteeing democracy. Perhaps that was the basic duty that justified the existence of public broadcasters, he said. The mission of public television went far beyond a simple presence on the market. It must be the mirror of society and its transformations. Globalization must not become an element of inequality, but must harmonize different cultural heritages and traditions.

Statement by Secretary-General

BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in addressing the first United Nations World Television Forum, said it was a most important gathering of television personalities and communications experts, and it was fitting that it should be held at the United Nations.

For the United Nations, television served as a means of outreach, he said. Though an organization of sovereign States, the United Nations derived its legitimacy from its reflection of the hopes, the aspirations and the dreams of the peoples, in whose name it was founded. As an organization belonging to its peoples, it must be open to the world and transparent to them.

He said television played a major role in opening the United Nations to the world and enhancing its transparency. Television could, and must, serve as a privileged link between the United Nations and the peoples of the world. Television images affected the work of the United Nations. Indeed, television

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was like the sixteenth member of the Security Council. The impact of its images had a considerable bearing on public opinion. And the weight of public opinion was a recognized influence in policy-making.

Decisions about which stories to cover, and for how long, had a real and lasting impact on the course of international events, he said. Whether in Ethiopia in 1984, or Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994, television had had -- and would continue to have -- a vital role in focusing world attention on the need for urgent action and a swift international response.

News coverage, however, as a series of brief images of high dramatic intensity, bore the risk of creating a culture of the moment, a series of instantaneous reactions, devoid of the analysis and debate necessary to understand the complex dimensions of the problems, he continued. Quantity of information had too often been emphasized at the expense of quality of analysis. And technological advance had outpaced the capacity of national governments and international organizations to define, recognize and protect the public interest.

The present challenge was to harness the immediacy and emotional power of television in the service of greater knowledge and understanding of world events, he said. The cultural, economic and political impact of media globalization demanded an informed and considered response from all. In that context, the question of access to information was a particularly important issue.

He said the telecommunications revolution was a global phenomenon of instant access to information undreamt of a generation ago. Enormous new opportunities now existed and valuable new tools were available for challenging ignorance and prejudice, and for enhancing international understanding. Yet, with the availability of information, the question of its direction was crucial. It was essential that that information not flow only in one direction. Only with a true globalization of information could cross- fertilization of sensitivities and understanding emerge.

Statement by President of Assembly

RAZALI ISMAIL (Malaysia), President of the General Assembly, said that the revolution in communications and information technology, as a driving force of globalization, had enormous implications for the business and deliberations of the United Nations. For more than 40 years, international issues had found their way into a few column inches of newspapers and seconds- worth of world service radio broadcasts. But today the power of the image, transmitted real time across national boundaries, was undeniable. The mere existence of such technology blurred traditional concepts of sovereignty. The current discourse on "globalization" had tended to concentrate on the immediate benefits of a so-called "global village", but glossed over the

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deeper implications, particularly as they affected the poor, the voiceless, the young and the marginalized. Central to that discourse was the powerful role of television. That power was terribly real -- there was nothing "virtual" about it.

The issues addressed at the forum were wonderfully complex, current and dynamic, the President went on. The discussion about to begin would assist the international community to determine the type of world and societies it aspired to in the Age of Information. It should be based on a firm understanding of universal values predicated on pluralism. Not only were those values inviolable, but they applied equally to the private and commercial sectors and to nations, governments and individuals.

Of course, one cannot hold a rational discussion on the role of television without being cognizant of the pattern of ownership and influence of media empires today, he said. In the United Nations, the concepts and practices of democracy, pluralism, accountability and burden-sharing were analyzed and redefined because they were the fundamental principles guiding international life and guaranteeing equity for all. But control of the global media continued to be concentrated in a handful of corporations, giving them enormous powers of influence -- for better or for worse. How would that lead to a level playing field for the many who aspired to bridge the gaps and reconcile the disparities between and within our society? he asked. In the past, television networks had proclaimed themselves "windows on the world", but preoccupations with ratings and the imperatives of commercial sponsorship had led media coverage down the path of glib explanations for complex issues, wrapped in the sweetness of consumerism.

That was a great pity, he said, more so for being avoidable. Why had the media been unable, or unwilling, to cover the major debates of the Age, such as those conducted in the United Nations, as part of mainstream political and social debate? Those issues were about the fundamental relationships between the North and the South; examining the nature of the connections between individuals in New York and formers in the Himalayas, for example. Such connections did exist, and were very real in their impacts. But those were judged hardly newsworthy, compared to immediate crises and catastrophes pregnant with human drama and tragedy.

The current situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa, he said, provided a telling example of so-called "crisis management" by the international community, impelled to act by the power of television images. The media, particularly through graphic television images, shamed the international community for failing to act quickly enough to contain the immediate catastrophe. It could be argued, however, that the media, in its choice of news content and priorities, shared some guilt for neglecting to expose the absence of long-term political solutions that would have prevented such a crisis from occurring in the first place.

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The growth and influence of electronic, satellite and information technology was astonishing, he continued. But its impact posed one of the biggest political and ethical challenges of our time. Although many sectors of society benefited from the technology, those without access to it were further marginalized. Was the international community about to enter a twenty-first century in which every citizen in the North had a personal computer and television, while women in Africa still had to walk 30 miles to fetch potable water? And perhaps one of the greatest ironies of the "global village" was the growing phenomenon of exclusion, where individuals were simultaneously connected to the world by way of fibre optic cables and via satellite transmissions, but suffered from a pervasive sense of alienation from community values, which were based on social exchange and personal relationships.

Today's television environment enlarged choice and promoted a freer flow of information -- but such an enlargement of peoples' choices would only be a false distortion of empowerment, if it were to be restricted within the doctrine of consumerism, or pre-packaged by power elites. Information technology spanning the globe could concentrate ownership, limit access, homogenize content and pit freedom of expression against certain minimum standards. Therein lay the dilemma and the challenge.

A balance between pre-occupation with market forces and espoused commitments to equity must be the guide in efforts to maximize the full potential of information technology. Was information infrastructure fated to develop in ways that widened the North-South divide? Or could it harness the strengths of diversity and promote cultural conviviality? He hoped that the forum could find the beginnings of an answer to the following question: "How can the largest number of people, with a plurality of values and living in such different circumstances, be offered a voice, a human face and a stake in the world of television?"

Statement by Foreign Minister of Italy

LAMBERTO DINI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, said that the meeting beginning today had been promoted and organized by the United Nations in close cooperation with Radio-televisione Italiana (RAI), the Italian public broadcasting corporation. He thanked the Secretary-General for helping to make the conference a reality.

Today, he said, the fields of telecommunications, computer science, and television were being rapidly integrated in what had come to be known as the "global information society". That phenomenon raised two basic questions. First, if the international community wished to prevent a widening of the gap between North and South in that field, less developed countries must be encouraged to expand their infrastructures for producing and broadcasting information. And second, infrastructure alone was not enough. The

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international community must also invest in the content and quality of the increasing mass of information broadcast to new corners of the world every day. A balance between infrastructure and content must be preserved. If infrastructures expanded while content lagged behind, the power of information providers would increase -- but not the education of the public. By the same token, if content was improved while infrastructures remained the privilege of a handful of countries, cultural progress worldwide would be impaired.

It was at the United Nations that economic development was proclaimed in the late 1960s as a fundamental right of all the peoples in the world, he continued. It was also at the United Nations that the concept of "sustainable development" was affirmed some 20 years later. The time had now come to expand the definition and start thinking in terms of a development that was both economically and culturally sustainable.

How could economic development held, he asked, if simultaneously there was no access to the global flow of information, no capacity to benefit from the opportunities created by television in the fields of education, labour, research, and social progress? What risks did the international community run if millions of people were completely cut off from the cultural circuits? The representatives of both public and private broadcasting companies who were present today had an essential role. The solution was already suggested by the term "global information society". It was not global government or markets. The key term was "society". Governments and markets, on their own, could not confront the full gamut of issues suggested by the circulation of mass media.

He said research and development projects for television -- a strategic sector in the information society -- required the joint participation of the private and public sectors. Ideas, concrete projects, guarantees and, above all, courage were needed -- the courage to envisage the future of the world and its inhabitants; the courage to overcome specific and contingent interests; and the courage to start an authentic and new cooperation between the parties concerned.

The purpose of the Forum was to define and suggest forms of cooperation between information providers and users, and to encourage a more harmonious development of the global information society. The ancient Romans used to say, "ubi societas ibi just" -- where there is a society, there must be law. The first task today was to draw up a set of basic principles for the new global village of information. For a field of communications opened up to free competition required the establishment of codes of conduct to which all should abide.

Italy was ready to contribute its experience and determination, and the imagination and rich heritage of its people and its public broadcasting company, he said. He hoped that he would be joined by the public broadcasting

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companies of other countries. At the same time, the contribution of the private sector was equally essential to ensuring the proper development of the information society. Indeed, the free flow of information at the national and international level was a guarantee of democracy. And the information society must be based on democracy. Today's meeting was but a first step. Technical, political and cultural problems hindered a balanced development of the information society at the world level. But every step, especially the first one, was essential to achieving the desired goal.

Statement by RAI Chairman

ENZO SICILIANO, the Chairman of Radio-televisione Italiana (RAI), said that the United Nations World Television Forum was an exceptional, unprecedented encounter. A common awareness of the enormous changes taking place almost daily in the so-called global communications village was needed.

Television was one of the leading players in that change, he continued, and it was a very different television from that which narrated much of the century about to conclude. Today, each home was a little world unto itself, interacting with the rest of the world. It was essential, therefore, to understand the role of television and the future role of national public broadcasters.

He had introduced several working papers at the Forum, which examined television content, the production and distribution of programmes, and analyzed information and news. Also, the local-global duality of all public information services worldwide needed examining. Regional cultures must be preserved and made part of those that travelled the super-information highways. In a certain sense, that meant guaranteeing democracy. Perhaps, that was the basic duty that justified the existence of public broadcasters.

The mission of public television went far beyond a simple presence on the market, he said. It must be the mirror of society and of its transformations. That was why globalization must not become an element of inequality, but must harmonize different cultural heritages and traditions. And the development of distribution networks for new technologies worldwide should be examined. The most developed countries, representing 15 per cent of world's population, had the most telephone lines, computers and internet hosts. Television appeared to be the only instrument widely distributed throughout the world, making it a common denominator with a huge responsibility.

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