FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

a) Information Society
Why is there a need to convene a World Summit on the Information Society?
A fundamental change from an industrial to information-based society is taking place. This information revolution affects the way people live, learn and work and how governments interact with civil society. Information is a powerful tool for economic and social development and this Summit will provide a unique opportunity for all key players to contribute actively to bridge the digital and knowledge divides.

The first phase of the Summit in Geneva will adopt a Declaration of principles and a Plan of Action for implementation by governments, institutions and all sectors of civil society to deal with the new challenges of the ever-evolving information society, specifically identifying ways to help close the gap between the "haves" and "have nots" of access to the global information and communication network. Development themes will be a key focus in the second phase in Tunisia and it will assess progress that has been made and adopt any further Action Plan to be taken.”

What exactly are the digital and knowledge divides?
These two terms refer to the gap between the technology-empowered and the technology-excluded communities on our planet as well as to the lack of information transfers in and between these communities. The developing world and transition economies comprise the largest portion of the digital and knowledge divides. While global teledensity shows signs of improving - the number of telephone lines per 100 hundred people surpassed 1 in 2001 - on the other hand, the gap between those with and without access to the Internet continues to increase throughout the world.

Is the Information Society changing our lives?
A new-networked economy and a knowledge-based information society have emerged in our midst. The way people live, learn, work and relate to each other is being unalterably changed.

What is the relationship between the information and the knowledge societies?
Free flow of information and ideas has sparked an explosive growth of knowledge and its myriad new applications. As a result, economic and social structures and relations are being transformed.

Yet the vast majority of people in the world remain untouched by this revolution. This ‘digital divide’ threatens to widen the already existing development gap between the rich and the poor among and within countries.

The majority of the world’s people will not be able to benefit from this revolution unless they are enabled to participate fully in the emerging knowledge-based information society.

How is the Information Society driving economies?
The digital revolution is leading to the development of entirely new forms of social and economic interaction and new communities in a borderless cyberspace.

Unlike the industrial revolution of the last century, the information and communications technology (ICT) revolution has the potential to spread rapidly and touch every life.

At the heart of this revolution is the power of information and communication technologies that allows people to access information and knowledge instantaneously, anywhere in the world.

What role can information and communication technologies (ICTs) play in economic and social development?
The 'digital divide' has created a knowledge gap between information rich and information poor peoples, which has the potential to give rise to a new form of 'illiteracy.' The 'digital divide' promotes information and knowledge poverty and limits the opportunities for economic growth and wealth distribution.

ICTs spur the creation of economic and social 'networks' of individuals and communities. The power of these networks is their ability to connect diverse groups by allowing them to access and exchange information and knowledge that is crucial for their socio-economic development. Traders and entrepreneurs benefit from ICTs through the opportunities created by promoting their businesses nationally, regionally and globally. As well, ICT offers the possibility of delivering basic health and education services more efficiently because people can have access to them from their own communities.

What is the promise of the Information Society?
Increasing our ability to communicate and share information and knowledge increases the possibility for a more peaceful and prosperous world for all of its inhabitants. However, the majority of the world’s people will not be able to benefit from this information revolution unless they are enabled to participate fully in the emerging knowledge-based society.

Who should have access?
Knowledge and information should be easily accessible to all, including those living in rural areas and the disabled. Special attention must be paid to the marginalized, unemployed, underprivileged, disenfranchised peoples, children, the elderly, the disabled, indigenous peoples and those with special needs.

What values should underlie the foundations of the Information Society?
The universal human values of equality, and justice, democracy, solidarity, mutual tolerance, human dignity, economic progress, protection of the environment, and respect for diversity are the foundations for a truly inclusive global information society.

Will the WSIS adopt a text that will provide a universal vision for the Information Society?
The World Summit will provide a unique opportunity for all key stakeholders to develop a common vision and understanding of the information society and to create a strategic plan of action to realize this vision for the benefit of all humanity.

b) Summit Objectives

How can the Summit make the Information Society even more of an economic imperative?
The United Nations believes the timing and structure of the WSIS will allow the leaders of the world to accelerate the digital revolution in there critical areas: development; policy and content.

To this end, the WSIS should help develop a vision of an inclusive global information society where all people without distinction are empowered to freely create, share, and utilize information and knowledge for their economic, social, cultural and political development.

Is this going to be just talk and no action?
The Summit has been designed in two phases to ensure that the actions decided on in the first phase are carried out before the second phase.

What is the expected outcome of Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005)?
The Summit (2003) will adopt a Declaration and a Plan of Action, encompassing a broad range of themes, clearly defined so as to allow for focused discussion and planning.

PrepCom-2, which was held in Geneva from 17 to 28 February 2003 developed working documents on the Declaration and the Plan of Action that will be developed further and discussed at PrepCom-3 (15-25 September 2003).

The Final Plan of Action will be adopted at the first phase of the Summit in December in Geneva, so that it can be put into practice before the second phase of the Summit, which will take place in Tunisia. Development themes will be a key focus in the second phase in Tunisia and it will assess progress that has been made and adopt any further Action Plan to be taken.

What kinds of actions are expected to be taken?
Specific proposals from the draft Plan of Action include concrete and comprehensive actions such as developing national e-strategies for all countries, the launching of a “Global Digital Compact” and an ICT Development Index that will provide a benchmark against which actions can be measured.

Other activities suggested include equipping and training content workers in LDCs; revising the curricula of primary and secondary schools; the creation of technical software and hardware to enable the use of all world languages.

How can these actions be measured?
The following benchmarks have been proposed in the working document for the draft Action Plan:

All villages to be connected by 2010, with a community access point by 2015
All universities to be connected by 2005 and all secondary schools by 2010 and all primary schools by 2015
All hospitals to be connected by 2005 and health centres by 2010
90 per cent of the world’s population to be within wireless coverage by 2010 and 100 per cent by 2015
All central government departments to have a website and e-mail address by 2005 and all local governments departments by 2010.

c) Summit Stakeholders

Who is involved in organizing the World Summit?
The Summit began as an initiative of the 1998 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference when it was recognized that the gap between information 'haves' and 'have nots' was increasing while at the same time telecommunications were playing an increasingly important role at the political, social and cultural level. The United Nations recognized a need to create cooperation among the various national and global initiatives fostering Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development and adopted a resolution instructing ITU to take the lead role in the preparation of the Summit.

The Summit has been endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly as an effective means to assist the United Nations in fulfilling the goals of the Millennium declaration. The Millennium Summit recognized the key role of partnerships involving governments, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders in making ICTs an important component for sustainable development.

ITU is the UN agency organizing the Summit and is responsible for bringing together all of the stakeholders with the scientific, technical, economic and policy expertise capable of helping world leaders, the private sector, and the NGO community to formulate and implement a shared vision for utilizing ICTs to connect marginalized communities to the Information Age.

What is the relationship of the WSIS Summit to other highly visible initiatives already in existence, such as the UN ICT Task Force and the Digital Opportunity Initiative?
The World Summit on the Information Society places ITU in an historic and privileged position by establishing a unique platform and a central focus for the multitude of initiatives and work in the field of ICT and economic and human development.

The work of ITU, coupled with projects sponsored by the United Nations ICT Task Force, UNDP, UNESCO, the Global Digital Opportunity Initiative and other international stakeholders will be brought together for the first time with the objective of obtaining a real commitment from those at the highest political level of the developed and developing world to work cooperatively to ensure all of humanity reaps the benefits of the information society.

Is it just a Summit for Governments?
The Summit is designed to actively involve the global community. It represents the opportunity to obtain political commitment at the highest levels globally to shape the future of the information society and bridge the digital and knowledge divides. It will include representation and participation at the highest levels from representatives of governments, private sector, civil society and international organizations, including the media.

What is the role of the Private sector in the Summit?
Private sector involvement is crucial in the Summit process in order to ensure sound and sustainable development of infrastructures, content and affordable applications for the information society. The private sector can be involved in practical partnerships for innovative applications such as e-Government initiatives. The role of the private sector goes beyond that of the market. It can play a role in a wider political and social context, for example, by helping countries develop ICTs, ICT markets and the human resource capacity necessary to bridge the digital divide.

What is the role of the Civil Society in the Summit?
Civil Society involvement is crucial for creating an equitable information society, based on sustainable economic and social development. Civil society involvement is vital for the social acceptance of the information society. It can help to strengthen the value component of the ‘regulation, markets and values’ triangle, which has spurred the creation and growth of the information society.

Why is the role of ICT and mass media so important to the creation of an Information Society for all?
ICT and mass media can and will provide a powerful tool to leapfrog the existing development divide and accelerate efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environment degradation and gender inequality. Without the widespread and innovative use of ICTs, the MDGs may prove impossible to attain.

ICT and mass media can also provide a global economic stimulus in a time of technology downturn where the appropriate measures and incentives are applied. The digital divide is one of the greatest non-tariff barriers to world trade among developed and developing countries alike.

ICT and mass media will serve development goals, provided that access to information and communication is universal, and affordable, and freedom of expression is protected as a fundamental right. It also requires a policy framework is in place that is transparent, predictable and encourages competition.

What role do multilateral organizations have in the Summit?
Multilateral organizations have a key role in providing guidance, facilitating peer dialogue, sharing experiences and best practice case studies. They can offer technical assistance in the design of e-Strategies and in some cases, complementing the role of governments and other stakeholders.

How important is the issue of “gender” in the Information Society?
It is of extreme importance in building the Global Information Society. Women are usually disproportionately disadvantaged in the ICT field. Governments, business entities, international organizations, NGOs and civil society should promote gender awareness at all levels when addressing ICT policy issues to encourage greater participation of women, including participation in the decision-making process and access to leadership.

Women should be given equal opportunities to obtain training in the ICT field, and gender-sensitive curricula in formal and non-formal education should be encouraged.

What role will youth play in the Summit process?
Youth active participation is of vital importance for the WSIS process. Youth constitute the majority of the world’s population and the future workforce. More and special attention must be given to empower young people as learners. Special attention should be paid to those in developing countries, which remain disadvantaged and disconnected. They should be equipped with knowledge and skills in ICTs in order to prepare them for full participation in the Information Society.

d) Summit Issues

What issues will be considered?
The Action Plan working document provides a list of issues to be used as a reference framework. These issues include:

1) Information and communication infrastructure: financing and investment, affordability, development, and sustainability.

2) Access to information and knowledge.

3) The role of governments, the business sector and civil society in the promotion of ICTs for development.

4) Capacity building: human resources development, education, and training.

5) Security.

6) Enabling environment.

7) Promotion of development-oriented ICT applications for all.

8) Cultural identity and linguistic diversity, local content and media development.

9) Identifying and overcoming barriers to the achievement of the information society with a human perspective.

Why is infrastructure and financing important?
ICTs can contribute in a powerful way to economic and social development and sustainable growth in all countries. However, in most developing countries, the lack of infrastructure and connectivity continue to be a challenge in the development of the information society. In order to benefit from the opportunities ICTs offer for development and prosperity it is essential that all of humanity has access to them. For that reason, the establishment of public access points in each community and the provision of low-cost access equipment and interconnection are fundamental.

Why are partnerships between public sector, private sector and civil society important in the promotion of ICTs for development?
Partnerships need to be developed to achieve common goals and deal with ICT-related issues. The public sector should explore ways to correct market failures and encourage competition to bring the information society to all, particularly in developing countries. The private sector has an important role to play in the investment in ICTs and governments should encourage their participation. Civil Society should work closely with communities to strengthen ICT initiatives. International organizations should assist in integrating ICTs in the development process as well as supporting the implementation of WSIS Action Plan goals.

Why are human resources development, education, and training relevant to the creation of an all-inclusive Information Society?
To take full advantage of the information society, it is important that ICT skills be improved. For that reason relevant education and training should be accessible at all levels, particularly to youth. E-learning strategies are needed to reach those without access to the formal educational system because of geography or personal circumstances.

Why is security an issue for the Information Society?
The issue of security is fundamental to the development of the information society as cyber-crimes such as hacking, the spreading of computer viruses, and the misuse of personal information pose serious threats to information-based economies. With the increase of e-business and online transactions, protecting privacy and ensuring a secure ICT infrastructure are important factors for a stable information society.

What do we mean by an “Enabling environment”?
The emergence of legal challenges associated with the use and misuse of ICT data, has led to the need for appropriate legal, regulatory and policy frameworks at global, regional and national levels. These frameworks should consider the rights and obligations of all to freedom of expression, privacy, security, intellectual property rights, management of Internet addresses and domain names, and consumer protection.

What kind of development-oriented ICT applications are envisioned?
ICTs have allowed the creation of a global marketplace where it is possible to access a wide variety of information, goods and services. ICTs offer numerous possibilities for developing countries to speed up their social and economic development.

Development-oriented ICT applications include E-government (to improve public services), E-business, E-learning, and E-health.

Will one language or culture take over the Information Society?
The development of multi-lingual content in all ICT formats should be promoted to ensure the preservation of local and national cultural diversity, language, heritage, and indigenous knowledge and traditions.

Will freedom of expression be respected?
Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. This right will be upheld by the Summit.

What role can ICTs, as well as traditional and new media, play in developing more effective governance?
ICTs, as well as traditional and new media enable marginalized and isolated people to have a voice in the world community, regardless of their gender or where they live. They help to equalize power and decision-making relationships both domestically and internationally. They can empower individuals, communities and countries to improve their lives in ways that were not previously possible. They can also help improve the effectiveness of the basic tools of a democratic economy through access to information and transparency.

e) Summit Logistics

Who will host the Summit and when will it take place?
The World Summit on the Information Society will be held in two phases. The first phase of WSIS will take place in Geneva hosted by the Government of Switzerland from 10 to 12 December 2003. The second phase will take place in Tunis hosted by the Government of Tunisia, from 16 to 18 November 2005.

How can you participate?
The results of the second meeting of the preparatory committee for the World Summit on the Information Society are now available on the WSIS website as the working documents for the Draft declaration of principles and Draft action plan. These include input from observers and are available for comment by sending an email to wsis.ap@itu.int . All comments received by 31 May 2003 will be included in a reference document that will easily identify where these contributions may be included in the basic working documents of the Summit.

Who will fund the Summit?
Resolution 56/183 does not provide any funding for the Summit and invites the international community to make voluntary contributions to a special trust fund established by the ITU to support the Summit as well as to facilitate the effective participation of representatives of developing countries. For further information on the funding of the Summit please refer to http://www.itu.int/wsis/funding/index.html