| Promoting the Free Flow of Information and the Development of Communication | |
139. Although the word 'communication' is not reflected as such in UNESCO's initials, the importance of communication was nevertheless recognized from the very inception of the Organization. Under its Constitution, UNESCO is expressly required to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image and to collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of all peoples, through all means of mass communication. Closely related to human rights and, in particular, to freedom of expression, communication is a factor for development and for the social welfare of humankind and also an essential component in the building of a world at peace. The importance of communication - above all the media - and information in all areas of human activity is beyond dispute, whether it be for spreading news or ideas, transmitting scientific or technological data, making people aware of matters essential to democratic life, or providing a medium for individual or collective cultural expression.
140. The new communication strategy adopted by the General Conference at its twenty-fifth session in 1989 will continue to serve as a reference for the Organization's action during the period from 1996 to 2001. It aims, on the one hand, to encourage the free flow of information, at international as well as national level, and its wider and better balanced dissemination, without any obstacle to freedom of expression, and, on the other hand, to strengthen communication capacities, particularly in the developing countries.
141. In line with the first aim of this strategy, UNESCO will continue to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press, by encouraging the action of non-governmental and professional organizations working to defend these fundamental freedoms. It will help to establish conditions, nationally and regionally, conducive to the development of pluralist and independent media, whether public or private. In this connection, the Organization will assist with the preparation of national legislation and administrative, fiscal or other provisions, designed to ensure the freedom and pluralism of information. Member States which so wish will be helped to transform their government radio and television networks and news agencies into public services with editorial independence. Lastly, UNESCO will organize the exchange of experience by making comparative studies of national legislation guaranteeing press freedom.
142. At a time when the hitherto separate concerns of communication, i.e. the media, and specialized information are tending to move closer together because the technologies through which they are conveyed are now much the same, the principle of the 'free flow' of information should no doubt be widened to cover all forms of information that contribute to the progress of societies and their democratic functioning. The linking of telecommunications with information technology and the audio-visual media is opening up novel prospects for the progress of knowledge and the development of intellectual co-operation. However, although these technologies hold out great promise for the exchange of knowledge and know-how, for education and training - particularly distance education and continuous training - and for encouraging creativity and intercultural dialogue, there is a considerable danger that they will be of benefit to only a minority of nations and to only a minority of the people in those nations. UNESCO will therefore have to be very aware of the risks of exclusion and of the new disparities, particularly between industrialized and developing countries, which these technologies could engender, now that the spread of messages and programmes across frontiers is increasing. It will be important to see that services of general and public interest, particularly data banks, remain, or become, accessible to as many people as possible.
143. Over and above its economic and social impact, the coming technological revolution will have major repercussions on all aspects of the life of societies. The relationship to information, and hence the organization of knowledge and thought, and ways of taking action and taking decisions, of working and relaxing, of perceiving time and space and even of creating language will be changed by it. Under the combined effect of technological advances and the globalization of communication, the maintenance of linguistic and cultural diversity might well become a major issue. A very large number of both industrialized and developing countries run the risk of becoming mere 'consumers' of imported products and services (whether television programmes broadcast by satellite, audio-visual productions, data banks or electronic games) as their financial and technological capabilities or the size of their internal markets are inadequate to support a national production able to satisfy, even partly, the needs of their people.
144. In this very serious situation UNESCO's mandate, both intellectual and moral, urges it to promote reflection on the impact of these technologies, and to foster access to the possibilities they offer for educational, scientific and cultural development. The Organization therefore intends to offer the international community a forum for interdisciplinary debate on the new applications of the information and communication technologies so as to observe their development, consider their likely effects - both beneficial and harmful - on societies and individuals, and gauge their impact in the Organization's fields of competence. Young people, enthusiastic consumers of the products generated by these new technologies, particularly the games, will be closely involved in this general debate, which will call on the broad spread of disciplines and areas covered by the Organization.
145. UNESCO will also help its Member States to frame integrated policies and strategies, taking account of the convergence of telecommunications, information technology and the electronic media, which will enable them to adapt themselves to this new technological environment and take advantage of the opportunities it offers. In establishing a dialogue between States and a process of consultation with the main industrial entities concerned, representatives of civil society and professional organizations, UNESCO will above all be setting itself the aim of helping to adapt technological innovations to the priority needs of the most disadvantaged and to encourage the production, distribution and circulation of a wide range of high-quality cultural programmes and products.
146. While maintaining this intellectual 'watchdog' function, UNESCO will look into the methodological, legal and ethical aspects of the processing and distribution of specialized information. The confidentiality of the information in data banks, the security of these banks, the pirating of information and 'computer crime' are posing problems that are increasingly difficult to solve owing to the growing interconnection of computer networks. Another awkward problem is the protection of intellectual property rights connected with the new multimedia products and services available 'on line' via computerized networks. The establishment of technical standards and unified procedures for the processing of information and access to existing international computerized research networks is another way by which the 'free flow' of information can be facilitated. UNESCO will pursue its work in this field in co-operation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), other intergovernmental organizations, and the professional and academic communities concerned in order to help meet the expectations of present and potential users in many countries.
147. In line with the second aim of the Medium-Term Strategy, UNESCO will continue to encourage the development of the communication, information and informatics capacities of Member States. UNESCO's efforts will be mainly directed towards extending infrastructure and improving vocational training in developing countries and in countries in transition to democracy. Its catalytic action will be aimed, in particular, at securing international technical co-operation through the intergovernmental programmes set up for that purpose, i.e. the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), the General Information Programme (PGI) and the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme (IIP). PGI will have to become one of the Organization's main consultative bodies in matters relating to the 'information superhighway', while at the same time proposing innovative activities to enable populations remote from information sources to have access to them.
148. The Organization will support what many higher education institutions and professional organizations are doing to include professional ethics in training and further training programmes for communication specialists. The network of UNESCO Chairs in Communication (ORBICOM) and the network of schools of journalism associated with UNESCO will be called upon to play an active role in this work. By encouraging the establishment of networks of co-operation between schools and academic institutions concerned with the training of librarians, archivists and information specialists, the Organization will seek to establish a new range of professional qualifications adapted to the processing of information for decision-making purposes. In the training of informatics specialists and users, priority will be given to training high-level instructors and young users. In all these activities, emphasis will be placed on the integrated teaching of information and communication technologies, particularly through the development of modular programmes suited to different groups of learners and different contexts.
149. For many years, and especially since the establishment in 1980 of the International Programme for the Development of Communication, UNESCO has sought to increase the means available to developing countries for the production, transmission and distribution of information and programmes, e.g. national and regional news agencies, radio and television stations, the rural press, and so forth. This will continue to be done, with high priority being given during the six years covered by the Medium-Term Strategy to improving the communication capacities of people living in the most disadvantaged rural and urban areas. Emphasis will be placed on the development of community media, such as local radio stations and the local press, and on the provision of low-cost technology and equipment using renewable energy such as solar power. The Organization will also support municipalities in setting up communication systems, especially in cities, aimed at improving intercommunal relations and at fostering participation by the public in municipal management. It will also continue to assist producers in developing countries by providing them with equipment that comes up to international professional standards and by facilitating their access to the various regional and international audio-visual markets.
150. Another of UNESCO's objectives is to improve the organization and operation of libraries, archives and information systems in developing countries. Their role of educational and cultural 'focus' will grow considerably in the years to come, so UNESCO will aim particularly to bring within their reach the benefits of new technologies so that the knowledge accumulated by them can be managed better and made more accessible. From this point of view, the 'virtual library' concept will be explored more deeply and tried out in different socio-economic contexts. Similarly, the Organization will encourage the twinning of libraries and their grouping into networks for the purpose of fostering co-operation and exchanges of publications or staff between them. The UNESCO Network of Associated Libraries (UNAL) is expected to play an important role in this respect.
151. UNESCO's Constitution assigns it the task of ensuring the conservation and protection of the world's inheritance of books [and] works of art. This is the aim of the 'Memory of the World' project, launched in 1991, which endeavours to seek out documents, manuscripts, collections and archives, including sound and visual archives, that should be safeguarded. By helping Member States to conserve such works and by mobilizing the knowledge and skills needed for their restoration, reproduction and storage and their circulation among a vast public, UNESCO is hoping to help safeguard and bring to the fore an important portion of the heritage of mankind.
152. Increased efforts will be needed to develop regional information technology networks since, for developing countries, such networks may be the first steps on the route towards the 'information superhighways' that are beginning to be set up. They should also, in the long term, make it possible to link up regions that are poorly served at present. UNESCO will thus help to ensure that they are technically compatible and linked with existing international research networks.
153. The establishment of networks, national, regional and international, the advent of multimedia products and current technological developments could be a great asset for educational, scientific and cultural development. The Organization will seek, through pilot projects, to promote the application of information and communication technologies in all its fields of competence. The aim of these projects, developed in conjunction with the professional communities concerned, will be to design information services and tools using the possibilities offered by the multimedia approach, to explore the potential afforded by the 'virtual laboratory' concept in opening up academic circles and research centres in developing countries, and to develop partnerships between users and telecommunications operators in order to obtain more favourable conditions of access to the networks.