An equitable Information Society must be based on sustainable economic and social development and democratic principles. Information and Communication Technologies –ICTs- have great potential for developing more democratic, transparent and participative processes of governance, from the local to the international level, which should be more explicitly supported in the Action Plan. But technologies also have the potential of enabling the perpetuation and expansion of existing, undemocratic power relations and inequalities within and between peoples and nations. Democratic and sustainable development of the information society can therefore not be left solely to market forces; in order to balance commercial objectives with legitimate social interests, recognition should be given to the need for appropriate regulation and development of public services, and the principle of equitable access to services and affordable cost should be reaffirmed.
Communities must also be empowered to develop their own productive forces within the information society, in particular to participate in its development and sustenance through fully democratic processes that allow them to share control of the decision making around economic, cultural, environmental, and other issues regarding ICT-based projects.
The action plan should address proposals to support community-based communications using both traditional and new media and communication technologies and to develop and nurture the discipline of community informatics, which responds to the particular characteristics and needs of communities, in relation to design, development, deployment, and operation of ICTs, as well as local content production.
ICTs should be used as an instrument for the creation of genuine and sustainable sources of work, thus providing new labor opportunities, above all for those who have been excluded from the formal employment system, as well as those affected by labor discrimination, such as the disabled and vulnerable groups (including those infected with HIV, the elderly, former drug addicts, former prisoners, ex-servicemen).
ICTs can contribute to sustainability, but their use is also creating new environmental hazards. In view of mainstreaming ICTs into sustainable development, the action plan should include concrete proposals and policies to: develop renewable energy resources, particularly for remote communities; improve resource efficiency; dematerialize and reduce waste; increase the useful life of hardware; improve recycling conditions, ensure safe disposal of discarded ICT hardware and parts and encourage the development of alternatives to toxic ICT components.
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URL: http://www.wsis.ethz.ch/paris.htm
Update: 12 July 2003