World Summit on the Information Society

Minister of Transport and Communications, Mrs Torild Skogsholm
World Summit on the Information Society
Geneva, Switzerland, 10th December 2003.

Mr. President,
As history can teach us, technology has always been a driving force of change. Over the past decades, information and communication technologies have fundamentally altered the world in which we live, creating an entirely new society – the Information Society. This ICT revolution – represents both fundamental challenges and great opportunities. My government therefore welcomes the very timely initiative by the ITU to organize this Summit – the first of its kind – to address the challenges and to seize the opportunities of the Information Society. We also appreciate that this is a UN Summit, as we consider the United Nations the appropriate forum to address the most important issues of global concerns. I would congratulate us all on The Decleration of Principles and the Action Plan before us, which represent a unique global consensus for the 21st Century.

Mr. President,
One of the main objectives of the WSIS is to develop a common vision and understanding of the Information Society. We believe the information society should be firmly based on a commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the full realization of the freedom of expression, as stated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Safeguarding free and editorially independent media, including through diversity of media ownership is therefore essential.

More specifically, the Millennium Declaration should be our framework of policy objectives. This Summit should contribute to sustainable development by ensuring a positive role for ICT in reaching the Millennium Development Goals, focusing on reducing poverty and hunger, and promoting education, health gender equality, environmental sustainability and global partnerships. Bridging the Digital Divide should be our common vision.

It is important, however, to stress that information and communication technologies are not ends in themselves, but means to reach our development goals.

And Mr. President,
Here I would like to stress that while ICTs represent great opportunities, we should not lose sight of the important new challenges we are facing; Cyber-crime, spam and network security are issue of great concern to my government, all of them global in nature and therefore requiring global solutions. I therefore welcome a role for the United Nations in this regard.

Regarding the content, my government would like to stress that the information society should promote cultural and linguistic diversity, which have become recognized public policy objectives. The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2001 is a milestone in the recognition of cultural aspects in the international discussion on globalization, trade and international governance.

Globalization and ICT development have substantially changed the conditions for national policies, potentially reducing the impact of national policy actions. Cultural industries, with their economic and cultural duality, play an important role in encouraging creativity; developing democratic access to culture, facilitating knowledge exchange and cultural dialogue. States and governments therefore have a responsibility and a right to promote cultural and linguistic diversity, by facilitating non-commercial cultural products. The need to safeguard cultural diversity is thus a widely shared concern.

Production of local content and an increase in the number of languages represent an important challenge in order to realize the potential of the Information Society. Lack of infrastructure, lack of access to even the most basic telecommunication facilities, and a lack of necessary skills and expertise are all obstacles that will – if left unattended – impede the development we all strive to obtain. We need to join forces to overcome these obstacles.

In this regard, Norway will encourage the development of national ICT strategies. Such strategies should be an integral part of national development plans, including poverty reduction strategies.

Private investment should be encouraged through good governance, the rule of law and by opening markets, including through continued negotiations based on the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda. Such liberalization must, however, take account of every member state’s right to regulate in order to meet national policy objectives. Gender equality, cultural diversity and universal access to infrastructure, education and health are important examples of such policy objectives.

Although private investment is an will remain the most important source of finance, governments may need to provide additional financial resources to compensate for market failure.

Finally, Mr. President,
let me highlight some of the priority areas of development where ICTs can make a difference:

• On education; distance learning programmes and other means of teaching, together with efficient dissemination of knowledge in developing countries, should be explored and encouraged.
• On health; ICTs are powerful tools both in information campaigns as well as in the treatment of diseases. The potential of telemedicine should be explored.
• On environment; Monitoring of the environment is important. Development of technologies and the timely dissemination of information generated from environmental monitoring should therefore be encouraged.
• On Gender mainstraming; special efforts should be made through facilitating increased access to, and use of, ICT by women, to enable them to participate early and fully in the political, social and economic life of their societies.

Mr. President,
All of the above can only be achieved through genuine partnerships between developing and industrialized countries, between governments, civil society and the private sector alike. No less will do.

Thank you.