Recognizing WSIS Impacts

WTDC RESOLUTION 39 (Istanbul, 2002)

Agenda for connectivity in the Americas and Quito Action Plan

The World Telecommunication Development Conference (Istanbul, 2002),

• recognizing
  • that the Summit of Heads of State and Governmentof the Americas, assembled in Quebec City in April 2001, recognized that an extraordinary technological revolution is taking place, one which will have profound social, cultural, political and economic repercussions, and one which has the potential to create the information society through greater ability to access knowledge and improved use of information, by means of information and communications technologies (ICT),
• considering
  • a)that, in accordance with the mandate handed down by the Heads of State and Government, CITEL has established an “Agenda for Connectivityin the Americas and Quito Action Plan”;
  • b)that the Agenda for Connectivity has beendeveloped in accordance with the following principles:
    • 1) each country should develop a national vision and an agenda for connectivity appropriate to its circumstances, initiated by the highest levels of government, and, where appropriate, under direction from the Head of State;
    • 2) national connectivity agendas must be conceived and executed withthe active and ongoing participation of society’s fundamental players – government and civil society, including the private sector;
    • 3) national connectivity agendas should be developed around three fundamental components: infrastructure or access, applications for the use of the infrastructure, and high-quality content to be delivered via the infrastructure;
    • 4) recognition of the importance of promoting the development of national and regional content to promote countries’ respective cultural identities, to encourage the use of each country’s languages, including indigenous languages, without excluding or restricting access to international content;
    • 5) ongoing monitoring and performance measurement of elements of the connectivity agenda, adapted to national realities, to ensure the success and updating of the agenda for connectivity as it develops;
  • c)that, based on those principles, “connectivity” may be defined as “a society’s internal capacity for communication with its global environment through the use of telecommunications, information technologies, and through the productsof its content industries. The purpose of connectivity is to enable each country of the hemisphere to evolve towards the information and knowledge-based society. Connectivity is the solution to the digital divide”;
  • d)that ITU has the capacity and the mandate tobring together all regional initiatives to achieve connectivity in a global context,
• resolves
  • to include among the high priorities of ITU support for initiativesunder the “Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas”, recommending the use of mechanisms to help to achieve the necessary results for each country and region, and promote the exchange of information on the development of connectivity activities globally.