A European way for the information society

European Commission Directorate-General For The Information Society And Media

Description

Information technology and telecommunications
Information - Documentation

Sujets

• Computer network
• Computer networking
• Information technology
• Telecommunication

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-THE-INFORMATION-SOCIETY-AND-MEDIA
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 12 Mo

Extrait

FORUM
Information Society
A European way
for tue information society
European Commission FORUM
Information Society
A European way
for the information society
European Commission For further information, please contact:
Information Society Forum Secretariat
Avenue de Beaulieu 24 00/11
B-1160 Brussels
Tel. [phone]
Fax) 29-60688
Website:
http://www.ispo.cec.be/policy/isf/Welcome.html
A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2000
ISBN 92-828-5665-8
© European Communities, 2000
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Italy Foreword
growth vs. social and ecological concerns, At the threshold of the third millennium
short term advantages vs. long term stability, "Information and Communication
global economy vs. world-wide ethic values. Technologies" (ICT) are no more just a
technology, but are part of our life. The
Building a skilled workforce is essential to
tremendous achievements of the ICT sector in
meet the demands and challenges of the new
the last few years, and particularly of the
millennium. With the emerging knowledge­Internet, have practically cancelled the
base society the "human" capital represents a concept of time and distance, and the
key pillar in promoting sustained economic Information Society is ready to open the doors
growth. Actions directed towards lifelong to world-wide globalisation.
learning, continuous education, training on the
job, and skills upgrading, should continuously The emerging digital economy is radically
stress the importance of such issues, and not changing the way we live, work and
just in advanced economies, but also in communicate, and there is no doubt about the
developing countries. benefits that will lead us to a better quality of
life.
Change is a natural process of civilisation.
The Information Society is necessarily a The Information Society will imply radical
global society. Nevertheless "globalisation" is changes and at tremendous speed: a speed
not only a process of economic integration, we have never experienced before. It will
but also as affecting culture, widely contribute to the emerging globalisation
technology and governance, and a process in of economic activities and ideas, driving us to
which the traditional basis of European a "knowledge based" society. And knowledge
cultural pluralism should be guaranteed in often increases in value being shared rather
than being hoarded. order to avoid the risk of establishing a mono-
cultural world.
Our report reflects the "advisory" nature of the
Forum and we are confident that the proposed "Globalisation with a human face" is the
recommendations will be considered within the leitmotiv of our report. "A European way for
definition of EU initiatives. the Information Society" proposes a distinctive
way of responding to world-wide globalisation,
The central role of Europe is a pillar of our
in the search for a dynamic equilibrium
approach, within the framework of world-wide
between different and sometimes competing
globalisation. With this target on mind, the
concerns and goals.
Forum proposes a global society dialogue
(GSD), with the purpose of achieving a Economy is one side of the coin, and a very
consensus on a common framework for relevant one. Nevertheless ICT should not be
international governance and trade in the seen as a pure industry product, and the
emerging Information Society. "social" component of the Information Society,
or the so-called "soft" dimension, should be
adequately considered and stressed. Access
Claudio Carrelli
to public services, consumer confidence,
ISF Chairman citizen participation, networked democracy,
privacy protection, social cohesion and
sustainability, are only a few of the main
issues considered and debated in our report.
And the Forum is convinced that on all these
issues ICT as a whole could and should
considerably influence and help.
Strengthening of European competitiveness is
seen as a major goal, together with the need
of global governance to look for an optimised
balance between some of the most critical
conflicts, such as wealth and economic Executive Summary
Executive Summary
The Information Society Forum (ISF) was inculcation of information to instilling the skill
founded in 1995 to advise the Commission of of learning.
the European Communities on the
ICT offers the potential for economic growth development of the information society This is
and increased prosperity with reduced impact its third report.
on the environment and lower consumption of
Information and Communication Technologies non-renewable resources. It may thus make a
(ICT) are rapidly becoming central to major contribution to sustainable
economic, cultural and civic life in the development. This potential will, however, be
industrialised countries. Access to ICT will realised only if the information society
increasingly be essential to full participation develops within an appropriate international
and citizenship. In brief and roughly: Internet framework that explicitly deals with the
access will become a fundamental right. concerns of sustainable development.
The information society is necessarily a Sustainability is not just about the physical
global society. ICT abolishes distance and environment. The ISF introduces to the
ignores borders. Many of the possibilities it debate the cultural dimension of
opens for an improved life for all are sustainability. ICT has the potential, in
connected with the positive features of principle, to enable distinct cultures to co-
globalisation. Most of the challenges it poses evolve, enriched by truly global
demand global solutions, and these require a communication between their members.
new international framework that deals fully There is, however, a risk that economic
forces left to themselves may lead to with the economic, social, cultural and
undesirable dominant positions in popular environmental needs and concerns of the
culture and access to information. The members of the global information society.
ultimate danger in this field is of a global
The ISF proposes that there is a distinctive monoculture. Again, this is a matter for
European Way which has much to offer the international framework building, and must
world in meeting the challenges of the global be urgently addressed in the context of the
information society. This is rooted in the present World Trade Organisation (WTO)
search for dynamic equilibrium between talks.
different and sometimes competing concerns
and goals. Its principles could be summarised Europe enjoys a particular culture of
as liberty, equality, fraternity, solidarity & public service. As citizens become
sustainability. accustomed to information society services
which offer flexible, individualised interaction
Physical access is necessary but not
independent of place and time, they will place
sufficient for full participation. To avoid the
new demands on services offered by the
risk of public mistrust in new services, a firm
public sector. ICT offers the means for the
civil rights approach is necessary to
public sector to meet these challenges. But
guarantee both consumer confidence and
this will occur only if there is a change in the
fundamental matters such as privacy. This is
culture of government and of public service
central to the European conception of the
towards a "network mentality".
rights of the individual.
We need a healthy economy in order to be
Humanity has barely scratched the surface of
able to finance programmes and policies
the astounding potential of ICT to improve the
supporting sustainability in all senses. The ISF
quality of education. Universal access to stresses that open markets are the best
education and training is vital for individuals to general instrument to ensure economic
achieve the functional literacy which will efficiency. A thriving European economy is a
enable them to explore this potential. precondition for the EU to be able to influence
Educational institutions will have to face up to
the future world order system of governance
the challenge of facilitating lifelong
towards its basic values.
learning, transforming education from the Executive Summary
The development of the information society is
at the root of sustainable growth. But market
forces alone will not solve Europe's
unemployment problems. European
productivity, growth and employment will be
profoundly influenced as the information
society affects all citizens' work and daily life.
The definition of a framework of global
governance appropriate for a sustainable
global information society must be informed
by the widest possible world-wide public
debate. If such a framework is to be