PRESS CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SOCIETY SUMMIT

PRESS CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SOCIETY SUMMIT

(Issued on 31 October 2005.)

The two-part World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which would conclude in Tunis in late November, was a revolutionary approach to the new “information age”, designed to give all the world’s people access to the Internet by 2015, the Chief of Coordination, External Relations and Communications of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Arthur Levin, told correspondents this afternoon at a Headquarters press conference.

Speaking on behalf of the lead United Nations agency dealing with the Summit, he said the novel approach of holding a Summit in two phases was itself indicative of the uniqueness of both the Summit and the subject under consideration.  The first phase, hosted by Switzerland, was held in Geneva in 2003.  The second phase, to be held in Tunisia from 16 to 18 November, was indicative of the inclusive nature of information and communication technology.

He noted that between the first and second phases of the Summit, the number of cell phones worldwide had doubled.  That “mobile revolution” gave an indication of how rapidly change could come about in the field, and provided hope that the goal of universal connectivity would be reached by 2015.

The 2015 goal had been determined at the Geneva phase of the Summit, which drew 175 States, at the highest levels, to consider the state of information and community technology worldwide.  The Declaration and Plan of Action agreed upon focused on important issues to consider at the national level, such as capacity and cultural diversity.  Those issues had been addressed at inter-sessional and preparatory meetings for the second phase of the Summit.  Also, a working definition of Internet governance had been agreed on, as well as certain technical matters related to e-commerce.  In Tunis, delegates would address outstanding issues.

The Summit’s outcome would focus on concrete actions to be taken for achieving the goal of universal Internet connectivity, he said.  Eleven action lines would focus on the areas of financing, Internet activity and implementation.  The ultimate goal was to determine how to help countries “leapfrog” the digital divide and bridge the information gap between the “haves” and “have nots”.  By example, he noted that, while mobile telephones had brought communication to people faster than the traditional telephone could have, more than half the world’s population had never made a telephone call and over 5 million people still had no access to a computer.

The Summit’s outcome would take connectivity planning to the next phase, he went on.  Once the groundwork was laid for communications through mobile telephones, the next step was to implement a plan for Internet connectivity, which required a more robust communications infrastructure than a cell phone.  One Summit goal was to convince Governments to make communications a development priority, and then develop capacities until there was a communications access centre within five kilometres of every person.

About 9,000 to 12,000 participants were expected to attend the Summit, he continued, including 45 Heads of State or Government, ministers, heads of global corporations and other high-level public and private sector officials.  The session would consist of a plenary and two high-level round tables and one high-level panel.

He said public policy issues, such as providing access and ensuring security, would be considered, along with financing.  The outcome would be in the form of concrete commitments to build capacities of developing countries, and to address questions of common concern to all Internet users in developing and developed countries alike, including problems of spam, viruses and spyware.

In response to questions, he said the large participation of the private sector was an important element in finding common solutions to the problems posed by the need to spread information and communication technology.  In fact, the private sector had always been an important factor in the telecommunications domain, with roots reaching back to the 1870s.  The Summit, unlike other such gatherings, was almost exclusively funded through voluntary contributions, he added.

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For information media • not an official record