POSITIVE, DEMOCRATIZING USES URGED FOR INTERNET

A high-level panel explored potential roles for the public and private sectors in initiating and directing the digital revolution and making information and knowledge accessible to all as a series of meetings on the Global Electronic Trade UN Partnership (GET UP) continued this afternoon. The session was entitled "Internet Development Content".

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of Organisation Internationale de la "Francophonie", and Ira Magaziner, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States delivered keynote addresses.

Dr. Boutros-Ghali said he hoped that electronic commerce and information technology as epitomized by the Internet could be used for the most hopeful objectives of globalization: civilization and democratization. Clear rules must be established that respected the different needs, expectations and social, cultural and linguistic differences of all communities in the world as they adopted this technology, he said.

Mr. Magazinier said US President Bill Clinton would be announcing on November 30 a new initiative to ensure the Internet was made accessible to all around the globe. He described the Internet as a force for development, democracy and greater understanding.

Panelists from the public and private sector went on to offer ideas on the content, design and technology of electronic commerce, emphasizing the role to be played by the private sector in assisting developing countries. The panel then launched a discussion on Electronic Trade Initiatives for Arab countries.

Statements

BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, Secretary-General of Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, who chaired the meeting, said new Internet technology amounted to a revolution, representing in virtual form the most powerful tool for democratization and of access to information and knowledge the world had yet known. It should therefore serve the most hopeful objectives of globalization: civilization and democratization. Clear rules must be established that respected the different needs, expectations and social, cultural and linguistic differences of all communities on the Internet.

Some problems needed a world-wide approach to be solved, he continued, specifying that this was not an erosion of the nation State. It was no longer enough for democratic intervention to be limited within States. The democratization of international relations required the establishment of new political organizations and the reform of international organizations, for democracy as an international concept remained to be invented. It should be the result of a new specific architecture, inasmuch as it would not touch upon individual citizens but deal with organizations and peoples as a whole.

It was the duty of all to contribute to democratization in the family of Nations. It would not be easy, but development and democracy were indivisible. Unfortunately, some 50 per cent of States were non-democratic, and there were many conflicts across the globe.

IRA MAGAZINER, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States of America, said the information technology (IT) industry had accounted for over one-third of US economic growth during the 1990s. Ultimately the Internet could have the same effect on the global economy as the industrial revolution had had -- provided the right infrastructure was put into place. In the next decade it was estimated that 1 billion people would be "connected". In 2002, electronic commerce would account for $300 billion dollars of business in the USA alone. Companies employing the Internet were the most productive in all sectors of the economy.

To encourage the growth of electronic commerce, Mr. Magazine said, it was necessary to establish a policy environment that supported the Internet’s potential. The private sector should lead the way, even where collective action was necessary. Governments had to limit their role to the setting of goals and to making sure laws and regulations were followed. The Internet was the first marketplace that was "global’ from the beginning, and therefore it needed a global set of agreements and rules. Over the past year, the United States had been working to this end in conjunction with international organizations; it had succeeded in the World Trade Organization in keeping electronic commerce free of customs duties, for example. The US was not trying to regulate the marketplace or dictate rules but simply to ensure future progress in partnership with other countries. US President Bill Clinton would be announcing on November 30 a new initiative to ensure the Internet was made accessible to all around the globe, including citizens of developing countries. A group would be formed to create partnerships and spur investment; to extend the use of Internet to remote areas; to connect universities; to carry out training; and to put businesses in contact, Mr. Magazine said.

MART W. VAN DE GUTCHTE, Managing Director of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), pointed out that the Information Revolution mainly had taken place in developed countries. However, developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with its role as a cheap collector, processor, and disseminator of information, could change this. Communication generated knowledge, and knowledge, when applied properly, created the conditions necessary for sustainable development. He highlighted the two majors challenges of the emerging information gap: partnering, between private and public, as well as national and international organizations; and the dissemination of information. He spoke of the role of the Global Knowledge Partnership as a response to latter issue, and described its aim of promoting broad access to and effective use of knowledge as tools for cost-effective development. Education, the collection of resources to promote information-sharing and joint-planning, and partnerships were needed, but there was no universal solution to closing the information gap.

RAY WALKER, Chairman of the Steering Group of CEFACT, United Kingdom, said the objective of CEFACT was to contribute to the growth of global commerce through the development of simple, transparent and effective processes. CEFACT worked with private and public industries and tried to give small- and medium-sized enterprises the same opportunities as larger groups. A number of issues had to be addressed for successful global commerce to take place. Some of these, such as security and legal issues, had been discussed in previous sessions. One area that was not beeing addressed was multi-linguism and multi-culturalism. The accelerating growth of global trade should not be to the detriment of local languages and cultures. Mr. Walker proposed carefully monitoring a feasibility project based on a community and web and information technology that would encourage linguistic diversity.

MICHAEL FISHER, Internet Business Consultant for Vision, Canada, said the private sector was the driving force for the development of technology. The design of the Internet offered a whole new area of work which provided important opportunities to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Content should focus on local products and services, but these should be driven by financial benefits. The Government's role, he said was to facilitate electronic commerce by encouraging private initiatives. Electronic commerce would be driven by consumers, so it was important to pay attention to their needs.

HANS D’ORVILLE, Director of Information Technology for Development, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said problems related to language lay mostly in the necessary expansion of electronic commerce. Businesses, consumers, civil society, policy makers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Governments should all contribute by recognizing that the fact that the main language of the Internet was English was causing global difficulties. Understanding what was on the Internet for those who didn’t read English made access costly, and translation technologies had not helped. For successful electronic commerce, multi-lingual and multi-cultural content had to be made available. In order not to discriminate against the illiterate, there was also a need for iconographic content to help societiess leapfrog into the information age. 

DERRICK COGBURN, Director of the Centre for Information Society Development in Africa (CISDA), of South Africa, said a new, higher level of knowledge had become required across the globe. The information infrastructure, despite being a critical element for the development of the Internet in Africa, was insufficient for developing a knowledgeable society. New means must be developed; human capacity development must be encouraged in the less-developed countries, and the export of brainpower from these countries to more developed nations must be curbed. Content development on the Internet was a high priority and ought to concentrate on knowledge, education, learning, electronic commerce, community empowerment, and cultural heritage promotion, he said.

At the end of the meeting Dr. Boutros-Ghali expressed concern that the ethical issues of the impact of new technology on cultures had not been discussed.

Questions asked earler of the delegates focused on the integration of children into development of the Internet, since it was vital for the next generation to be able to use the Internet easily and with skill, and whether this would be encouraged in developing countries as well as developed countries; and on initiatives encouraging education via the Internet across the globe.