TELEVISION TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN CHARTING COURSE AHEAD IN EMERGING DIGITAL WORLD, FIFTH UN WORLD TELEVISION FORUM TOLD

Press Release
PI/1308

TELEVISION TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN CHARTING COURSE AHEAD IN EMERGING DIGITAL WORLD, FIFTH UN WORLD TELEVISION FORUM TOLD

Post-Forum Report to Be Forwarded to Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Information and Communication Technologies

Television, as the world’s most widespread and influential means of communication, would play a very important role in charting the course ahead in the emerging digital world, Kensaku Hogen, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, said this afternoon at the conclusion of the fifth annual United Nations Television Forum.

Therefore, he said, any action plan on information technology for development could not succeed without the active involvement of the traditional media of television and radio. This year’s Forum had, for the first time, he added, tried to establish a direct link between the convergence of television and the Internet and bridging the digital divide -– one of the key priorities of the United Nations.

The theme of the two-day event, attended by over 1,100 participants representing traditional and new media, academia, civil society and governments from around the world, was “TV@Globe//adding values in the digital era”. The Forum addressed the issues of bandwidth, digital content and innovative television programming, as well as the fundamental challenges facing television in the digital - – including its role in bridging the digital divide.

In her keynote address this afternoon, Lynn Forester, Founder and Co-Chairman, FirstMark Communications Europe S.A./United Kingdom, said that the collaboration of the United Nations, governments, the World Bank and the private sector was needed in order to make the broadband world a reality for everyone. The new world had to be accessible to all people. She suggested four concrete ways to decrease the gap of the digital divide: invest, collaborate, find a champion, and hurry.

It was important not to let broadband technology pass anyone by, she added. The pace of acceptance of technology was growing faster than ever. Trying to hold back the process was like trying to hold back the wind. Broadband held the hope and promise of a better world.

William Baker, President, Thirteen/WNET/USA moderated the segment on the convergence of television, digital technology and the Internet, during which

- 1a - Press Release PI/1308 17 November 2000

presentations were made by Raymond Akwule, Director, Africa Telecommunications and Information Technology Conference/Nigeria; Richard J. Hanna, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cidera/USA; Anton Nossik, Editor-in-Chief, Lenta.ru/Russia; and Jennifer Sibanda, Executive Director, Federation of African Media Women, Southern African Development Community/Zimbabwe.

The following representatives provided an overview of the workshops and roundtables: Rory O’Connor, Mediachannel.org/USA; Patrick Cozier, Secretary- General, Caribbean Broadcasting Union/Barbados; Carlo Sartori; and Steve Barkley.

- 3 - Press Release PI/1308 17 November 2000

Forum Work Programme

The fifth annual United Nations World Television Forum met this afternoon to conclude its two-day session. Entitled “TV@Globe//adding values in the digital era”, it brought together some 1,000 industry leaders and experts from around the world to examine the challenges facing the television industry in the digital age –- especially its role in bridging the “digital divide”.

Statements on Launching a Television Strategy

RORY O’CONNOR, Mediachannel.org/USA, speaking on behalf of Danny Schechter, on the subject of the roundtable held on Innovative Programming in News, said that discussions had resulted in the view that content was not king and that other issues were just as important, if not more important, such as distribution of, and access to, programming. There had been a lot of discussion on greater inclusion of gender, as well as nationalities and cultures. Also, it was felt that resources, such as electricity, needed to be talked about before programming was addressed.

It was the general view that the news cycle had changed dramatically, he said. It was now “24/7” -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While that meant that more people were enabled as journalists, it also led to less journalism and more gossip. The key finding was that the news cycle had changed and had radically sped up due to new technology. Another view expressed was that the news was in an age of fragmentation and decentralization when it came to programming. Not only was the content fragmented, but also the audience. There was also a strong need emerging for news beyond mainstream news. Ninety-five per cent of the news on the Internet came from essentially two sources -- Reuters and the Associated Press.

Content, he added, could not be left to information-rich societies alone. In that regard, aggregating news was important, as was filtering or selecting news. What was needed was more “global” news -- local news which was made globally available. Finally, while some believed that information-poor societies needed to be patient, others thought that immediate action was needed so that they could harness new technology.

PATRICK COZIER, Secretary-General, Caribbean Broadcasting Union/Barbados, highlighting the Innovative Programming in Sports workshop, said that the session had started with a discussion of three fundamental ideas. First, the high percentage of the world's population that lived in developing countries. Second, it was noted that perhaps the question of the digital divide was misunderstood. The digital divide extended beyond the developing world. It was necessary to start moving away from the front end of technology to the core of technology. Simple fundamentals of access also had to be addressed. A final point was that, in the creation of a new global village, the international community had to be careful not to establish new colonies.

For people that were unsure where their next meal was coming from, the issue of the digital divide was not as urgent, he said. Nonetheless, the issue of sports broadcasting had to be addressed. It was important to identify what was needed, what could work, and what could take the question forward. The broadcast infrastructure had to be digital friendly, and sports broadcasting had to be available to a greater number of constituents. Finally, the panelists agreed that the tendency of media companies to buy sports teams was threatening to democracy.

CARLO SARTORI, speaking about the panel on Digital Visionaries, said that in the wonderland of technology, visionaries were very important, if not more important than the bureaucrats. Many in his panel believed that content really was king. Content must be aimed at benefiting the people. People were at the centre of the new multimedia environment. It had also been expressed that the border between what was true and false in the new media world was very unclear. In the new multimedia environment, the passive spectator now became an active communicator.

The panel had carefully reflected on what the Secretary-General had said yesterday on how no civilization ever flourished by keeping its knowledge to itself. Since the Secretary-General had stressed the importance of the United Nations Digital Task Force, the panel had proposed that, after five years of discussing the birth of digital technology, the Television Forum could be the think tank of the Task Force. That way, the Forum could help the United Nations act to eliminate or reduce the digital divide.

STEVE BARKLEY, President and CEO, Global Vision Inc., said the panel on the Radio Model had been very interesting. It was nice to be on a radio panel at a television conference. Radio was the most pervasive medium in the world. Many more people had access to radio than those who had access to telephone lines, televisions and computers combined. The participants had agreed that, in order to bridge the digital divide, pro-poor policies had to be devised. This had to be at the heart of addressing the challenges of the digital divide.

There were three points which could summarize the discussion of the panelists, he said. First, global radio had to be locally contextualized if it was to be successful. Second, there was a need for the creation of a global communication framework at the local and national level. Finally, bridging the digital divide required resources. This was not just about money but access as well. It had also been established that communication was a human right, and a coherent policy must start from that perspective.

Segment on Shaping Convergence

The Moderator of the segment, WILLIAM BAKER, President, Thirteen/WNET/USA, said that the speakers to follow were key players from different professional fields, who were each putting their stamp on the convergence of television, digital technology and the Internet. They would talk about the models of convergence emerging in their region of the world.

RAYMOND AKWULE, Director, Africa Telecommunications and Information Technology Conference/Nigeria, said that he had started out as a broadcaster in Nigeria. Early in his professional career, he had understood the meaning of convergence. When he had come to the United States, he had specialized in telecommunications, and for the past 19 years had taught at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. A recently completed project was the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Internet Initiative for Africa, which had put Internet gateways in eight African countries. In Gambia for example, prior to that initiative, Gambians had to make an international call to the United States to access the Internet.

Today, he continued, the last country in Africa –- Eritrea –- had been connected, in terms of getting a national Internet gateway into the country. He was working to extend that access to the rural areas and bring information and communication technology to the people. The question now was how to take television, radio and the Internet to the people. First, the issue of access must be stressed. Most of Africa still did not have access to telephones. Second, partnerships were needed between the public and private sector and civil society. There was already a lot of content available waiting to be shared. It was up to those who had seen more and knew more to guide the rest.

RICHARD J. HANNA, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cidera/USA, said that in the early days, everything had been communicated orally. If one took a quick look back in time, it was evident that knowledge had been transferred one to one. In the twentieth century, it was possible to transfer knowledge simultaneously to people all over the world.

The advent of Internet television could be useful worldwide, he said. What if pertinent information could be transferred to patients and doctors alike? What if students in Cambodia could write a book and then sell the rights to have it distributed through Web television worldwide? Internet television offered exciting possibilities for everyone, but in order for it to be a success it had to be ubiquitous. Although the technology did exist to bring more knowledge to the rest of the world, no company could achieve this alone. It had to be from a broad point of view and fully integrated into the Internet. This was the best way to get content out to individuals in both developing and developed countries.

ANTON NOSSIK, Editor-in-Chief, Lenta.ru/Russian Federation, said that that the Internet in the Russian Federation had only evolved over the past two years, during which time its users had increased five-fold to nearly 3 million people in a population of 150 million. Those connected had not been encouraged by the State to connect or provided with infrastructure to do so by the Government. Access to the Internet had been provided due to the high demand for access. While only 2 per cent of Russians had access to the Internet, 46 per cent were interested in having access. The demand was high, and the supply was quite innovative. Many houses in the major cities were experimenting in joint Internet connections.

Television was as widespread as radio in Russia, he said. Historically, television had been government-based. It still served the Government’s monopoly on information. The Internet and television were now becoming opposites in Russia. While the Internet contained non-partisan information, television was becoming increasingly controlled politically and economically by the Government. Those who felt constricted by television would find greater freedom of expression through the Internet.

JENNIFER SIBANDA, Executive Director, Federation of African Media Women, Southern African Development Community/Zimbabwe, said that 60 to 80 per cent of the Africa population were in rural areas. She had spent most of her time working in such areas and wanted to speak about the African woman as a result. The urban areas of Africa represented a false economy. The majority of the population in Africa lived in rural areas, which had no electricity and no telephone lines. Women had to walk up to 10 kilometers to fetch water and firewood. If they came up with a meal a day, they did pretty well.

It was true that the poorest of the poor women lived in Africa, she said. The local currencies were falling each day because of the strength of the American dollar. This was the reality of Africa. Hence, when one spoke of the digital age, it was clear what it meant to the people in these rural villages. The discussion of the digital divide tended to forget that there was this make- up in the world, but it needed to be recognized.

The radio was the most appropriate technology for Africa, she said. Televisions were mostly in the capitals while the radio was prevalent in the rural communities. For a rural woman who woke up at 4 a.m. and went to sleep at 11 p.m., there was no time to sit and watch TV, but the radio could be used while they worked. It was things like community radio stations that enabled rural communities to become a part of the communication environment. They were able to participate, because they could listen to broadcasts in their own local language. However, the Africa women also had another face. She laughed, she sang, she danced despite all of those problems.

She had listened to women’s stories repeatedly, she said. How could the least developed countries put in place infrastructure to support television and the new media in the face of struggling to alleviate poverty? she asked. There had to be interaction as opposed to segmentation. It must be recognized that, unless technology and other disparities were addressed in African and other developing countries, the countries would continue to be a liability for the rest of the world.

Commenting on the presentations made, Mr. AKWULE said that people needed help defining the problem and then crafting a solution. Indigenous people must be included in crafting solutions for their communities. Many times technology led the way in devising models for development. He believed it should be the other way around. People should lead the way in devising development plans and technology should follow. In looking at where African women lived, he noticed that their communities all had post offices, which were the centre of communication.

The way people lived did not need to be changed, he said. What if local post offices were equipped with Email centres to send letters? he asked. For about one and a half years, 18 post offices in Nigeria had been equipped with the Internet. Many people were thrilled that they could send mail and receive responses within days. Now that programme would be expanded to thousands more post offices in the country. In adopting innovative models, people did not necessarily need to be re-educated -- what they already used just needed to be enhanced.

Asked how many people were connected to the Internet in Africa, he replied that there were only 100,000 to 200,000 Internet subscribers in Africa, which had a population of over 700 million.

LYNN FORESTER, Founder and Co-Chair, FirstMark Communications Europe S.A./United Kingdom, said that it was an honour to talk to people from all over the globe to try to address the issue of the digital divide. She had been particularly interested by the choice of the term “convergence” for the theme of this Forum, because it implied that there were only partially shared areas in the media and telecommunications industries. In fact, the term was a bit anachronistic. The industries were now all based on digital technologies, and this was referred to as broadband. Even very smart people did not understand the term broadband. Broadband was an interactive, always on, high-speed world, where faxes could be received on a cellular phone.

It was not clear, she said, whether television or the personal computer would be the winning technology. What underlying infrastructure would be the big winner was also still to be decided. The power of the Internet would dictate the trends. Broadband access would allow simultaneous connectivity in the home and office, as well as in cars and trains while travelling. The digital age was changing lives and an unprecedented amount of investment was being made in broadband. The collaboration of the United Nations, governments, the Work Bank and the private sector was needed in order to make the broadband world a reality for everyone.

The new world had to be accessible to all people, she said. She suggested four concrete ways to decrease the gap of the digital divide: invest, collaborate, find a champion and hurry. Resources were available, and it was never too soon to start innovating and collaborating. The more remote populations had everything to gain. No person or country was an island, and that was why partnerships were so important. There was a great need for a champion to introduce new ideas and to maintain a vision when the going got tough. It was important not to let broadband technology pass anyone by. The pace of acceptance of technology was growing faster than ever. Trying to hold back the process was like trying to hold back the wind. Broadband held a hope and promise of a better world.

In his closing remarks, KENSAKU HOGEN, Under Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, said that the convergence of television and the Internet through digital technology was one of the main preoccupations of the media today. This Forum had for the first time tried to establish a direct link between that convergence and one of the key priorities of the United Nations -- bridging the digital divide. A high level of interest and commitment had been demonstrated over the course of the past two days, both in terms of the numbers -- a record 1,100 registered participants in the Forum from all regions of the world -- and in terms of the quality of the debate.

Many of the speakers, he said, had underlined how serious a problem the digital divide was. Today, only 5 per cent of humanity had access to the Internet. As the President of the General Assembly had pointed out, Finland had more Internet hosts than all of Africa. The digital revolution, the importance of which had been linked to the French Revolution, meant nothing to people who

did not even have electricity. The dispossessed faced the risk of being further marginalized, while the privileged reaped the benefits. There was not a lot of sharing taking place in the “global village”. Another side of the problem was that digital media tended to undermine the cultural pluralism that was so important in this day and age.

Everyone could agree that there were no easy recipes for closing the digital divide, he said, but a little progress today was better than none at all. New technologies that were emerging, such as wireless technologies, had the potential to enable developing countries to leapfrog the stages of development that others had gone through. The Internet and the convergence of media had the extraordinary ability to empower people and to give a voice to the voiceless. The potential to do great things was there.

He was happy to note that the Forum had lived up to its promise. It had produced a set of concrete recommendations, which would form an important part of the report. He would be presenting that report to Jose Maria Figueres, former President of Costa Rica, whom the Secretary-General appointed on 13 November as his Special Representative on Information and Communication Technologies. The Advisory Group headed by Mr. Figueres was establishing the modalities of an ICT Task Force that would report directly to the Secretary- General.

The Forum would, therefore, contribute directly to the work of the Task Force. It would be part of the process launched at the United Nations in response to the call for action on bridging the digital divide, so prominently featured in the Secretary-General’s Millennium report.

He added that, in the context of the discussion of new media, he wished to inform his listeners that a comprehensive report on the TV Forum would appear on the United Nations Web site, as well as in print, by mid-December. The Web site would also feature video and audio streaming coverage of the event, and he encouraged everyone to have a look.

* *** *