Latvia in the WSIS process Andrejs Vasiļjevs Tilde UNESCO IFAP Bureau.lv NIC 20 Conference, Riga, April 19, 2013

WSIS Goals Goal – to facilitate creation of inclusive information (knowledge) society: o To create equal opportunities for all in access and use of information and knowledge o Focused on people not on technologies o To ensure a balanced development of society, to overcome the digital divide o To facilitate reaching of the UN development goals (Millenium Development Goals)

WSIS process Geneva phase December 2003: o Declaration and Action Plan Tunis Phase November 2005: o Tunis Commitment o Tunis Agenda for the Information Society

WSIS Tunis Phase in Figures participants 46 Heads of States and Governments, royal persons and vice-presidents, 197 ministers and deputy ministers members of delegations from174 countries representatives from 92 international organisations representatives from 606 NGOs representatives from 226 companies accredited journalists 8 plenary sessions and 308 concurrent events

Delegation of Latvia World Summit on Information Society, Tunis Phase

Main issues of the WSIS Tunis phase Internet governance Internet Governance Forum under patronage of UN Secretary General Financial support of the Action plan Digital Solidarity Fund Mechanisms for implementation of the Action plan

Latvia in the WSIS Latvia Ambassador to UN Jānis Kārkliņš was chairman of the PrepCom of the WSIS Tunis Phase Latvia delegations headed by the President of Latvia Active part in discussions on: o Multilinguality and cultural diversity in the cyberspace o e-inclusion, e-learning, e-health and e-government

The President of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and Chair of PrepCom Jānis Kārkliņš at WSIS Tunis, Nov. 2005

Internet Governance Visām valdībām jāpanāk vienlīdzīga loma Interneta pārvaldībā, vienlaicīgi saglabājot stabilitāti, drošību un nepārtrauktību Valstis nedrīkst iejaukties citu valstu augšējā līmeņa domeinu vārdu (ccTLD) noteikšanā Nepieciešama ciešāka starptautiska sadarbība vispārējo augšējā līmeņa domeinu vārdu noteikšanā (gTLD) 2006.g. 1. pusē Atēnās ANO ģenerālsekretāra vadībā tiks sasaukts Interneta pārvaldības forums

Finansiālais nodrošinājums Izveidots Digitālās solidaritātes fonds Balstās uz brīvprātīgiem ziedojumiem Nav paredzams, ka sniegs būtisku efektu

World Summit on Information Society Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content Harness and preserve cultural heritage for the future by all appropriate methods Promote e-literacy skills for all, taking advantage of existing facilities such as libraries, multipurpose community centres, public access points Technological development of world languages The creation, dissemination and preservation of content in diverse languages and formats Promote the production of and accessibility to all content — educational, scientific, cultural or recreational Each country is encouraged to establish functioning Public/Private Partnership as a showcase for future action

Implementation mechanisms Institutions assigned to for the Action plan implementation Infrastructure: ITU  Content: UNESCO  Development: UNDP Key indicators agreed upon to measure the progress Governments should develop national e-strategies for implementation of WSIS objectives Goals should be achieved and reported at the UN General Assembly on 2015 UN General Assembly declared May 17 World Information Society Day (former World Telecommunication day

The role of LIKTA Latvian Information Technology and Communication Association To bring WSIS objectives to the agenda of Latvian society and politicians To facilitate creation of the implementation mechanism for WSIS Action plan (e.g., Information Society Guidelines) To be the «watchdog» for information society issues To inform and involve industry professionals and general society

Activities of UNESCO LNC and LIKTA High level round table discussions o Before the Geneva Phase o Before the Tunis Phase Declarations on the implementation of the WSIS Action plan in Latvia Active role in development of the national IS strategy and legislation project Participation in the key projects in building inclusive IS

Particular WSIS Objectives important for Latvia Multilingualism, language diversity, language technologies Rich and diverse local content Digital preservation E-skills development

Challenges for Latvian language and culture Long-term survival challenge in an open global world Long-term survival challenge in an open global world Latvian culture and language in information society – important factors for sustainable development Latvian culture and language in information society – important factors for sustainable development Expansion of new technologies should not be a threat but opportunity for Latvian language and culture Expansion of new technologies should not be a threat but opportunity for Latvian language and culture Latvian language and culture should be widely represented in digital environment Latvian language and culture should be widely represented in digital environment Development of Latvian language and culture – our obligation for current and future generations Development of Latvian language and culture – our obligation for current and future generations

Role of UNESCO Develop a basis for informing action that is grounded in respect and observance of human rights. Identify areas where current policies are insufficient or inadequate, to elaborate these policies or create new in respect to the abovementioned rights. Assist policy-makers in anticipating the longer-term impacts of current trends as well as the inevitable fast arrival of technological innovations and breakthroughs. By raising awareness and collectively discussing possible future outcomes and responses, UNESCO empower policy-makers and society to both prepare for, and better cope with technological challenges.

UNESCO IFAP The Information for All Programme established by the Governments Enabling everybody to harness opportunities of the Internet and ICTs Creating equitable societies through better access to information Develop and implement national information policies and knowledge strategies in a world increasingly using ICTs

Latvia in the UNESCO IFAP Latvia elected in the IFAP Council Latvia is among the 6 countries elected in the IFAP Bureau In the IFAP Bureau Latvia is responsible for the ethical dimension in the information society

IFAP Priority Areas Information for Development focuses on the value of information for addressing development issues. Information Literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goal. Information Preservation strengthening the underlying principles of the Memory of the World Programme, beyond its registers, which serve as catalysts to alert decision makers and the public at large. Information Ethics cover the ethical, legal and societal aspects of the applications of ICT and derive from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Information Accessibility issues surrounding availability, accessibility and affordability of information, as well as the special needs of people with disabilities.

Legislation Technologies Conceptualization The pace of technological development

WSIS Action Line C10 Ethical dimensions of the information society The Information Society should be subject to universally held values and promote the common good and to prevent abusive uses of ICTs. o Promote respect for peace and to uphold the fundamental values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, shared responsibility [..] o All stakeholders should increase their awareness of the ethical dimension of their use of ICTs. o [..] protect privacy and personal data and take appropriate actions and preventive measures, as determined by law, against abusive uses of ICTs such as illegal and other acts motivated by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, hatred, violence, all forms of child abuse, including pedophilia and child pornography, and trafficking in, and exploitation of, human beings. o Invite relevant stakeholders, especially the academia, to continue research on ethical dimensions of ICTs.

WSIS+10 Review Process UNESCO Forum: Towards Knowledge Societies for Peace and Sustainable Development Paris, UNESCO Head office, Feb Riga Global Meeting of Experts on the Ethical Aspects of Information Society October 16-17, 2013 EU position to be formulated during Latvia presidency in H1’2015 Goals: o To assess the progress in achieving WSIS Action Plan o To set the goals and implementing instruments after 2015

Thank you Source: diplomacy.edu