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World Summit on the Information Society
Geneva 2003 - Tunis 2005

Document WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/5-E
12 December 2003
Original: English

Plan of Action

A. Introduction

1. The common vision and guiding principles of the Declaration are
translated in this Plan of Action into concrete action lines to
advance the achievement of the internationally-agreed development
goals, including those in the Millennium Declaration, the
Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of
Implementation, by promoting the use of ICT-based products,
networks, services and applications, and to help countries
overcome the digital divide. The Information Society envisaged in
the Declaration of Principles will be realized in cooperation and
solidarity by governments and all other stakeholders.

2. The Information Society is an evolving concept that has reached
different levels across the world, reflecting the different stages
of development. Technological and other change is rapidly
transforming the environment in which the Information Society is
developed. The Plan of Action is thus an evolving platform to
promote the Information Society at the national, regional and
international levels. The unique two-phase structure of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) provides an opportunity
to take this evolution into account.

3. All stakeholders have an important role to play in the
Information Society, especially through partnerships:

a) Governments have a leading role in developing and implementing
comprehensive, forward looking and sustainable national e-
strategies. The private sector and civil society, in dialogue with
governments, have an important consultative role to play in
devising national e-strategies.

b) The commitment of the private sector is important in developing
and diffusing information and communication technologies (ICTs),
for infrastructure, content and applications. The private sector
is not only a market player but also plays a role in a wider
sustainable development context.

c) The commitment and involvement of civil society is equally
important in creating an equitable Information Society, and in
implementing ICT-related initiatives for development.

d) International and regional institutions, including
international financial institutions, have a key role in
integrating the use of ICTs in the development process and making
available necessary resources for building the Information Society
and for the evaluation of the progress made.

B. Objectives, goals and targets

4. The objectives of the Plan of Action are to build an inclusive
Information Society; to put the potential of knowledge and ICTs at
the service of development; to promote the use of information and
knowledge for the achievement of internationally agreed
development goals, including those contained in the Millennium
Declaration; and to address new challenges of the Information
Society, at the national, regional and international levels.
Opportunity shall be taken in phase two of the WSIS to evaluate
and assess progress made towards bridging the digital divide.

5. Specific targets for the Information Society will be established
as appropriate, at the national level in the framework of national
e-strategies and in accordance with national development policies,
taking into account the different national circumstances. Such
targets can serve as useful benchmarks for actions and for the
evaluation of the progress made towards the attainment of the
overall objectives of the Information Society.

6. Based on internationally agreed development goals, including
those in the Millennium Declaration, which are premised on
international cooperation, indicative targets may serve as global
references for improving connectivity and access in the use of
ICTs in promoting the objectives of the Plan of Action, to be
achieved by 2015. These targets may be taken into account in the
establishment of the national targets, considering the different
national circumstances:

a) to connect villages with ICTs and establish community
access points;

b) to connect universities, colleges, secondary schools and
primary schools with ICTs;

c) to connect scientific and research centres with ICTs;

d) to connect public libraries, cultural centres, museums,
post offices and archives with ICTs;

e) to connect health centres and hospitals with ICTs;

f) to connect all local and central government departments
and establish websites and email addresses;

g) to adapt all primary and secondary school curricula to
meet the challenges of the Information Society, taking
into account national circumstances;

h) to ensure that all of the world's population have access
to television and radio services;

i) to encourage the development of content and to put in
place technical conditions in order to facilitate the
presence and use of all world languages on the Internet;

j) to ensure that more than half the world's inhabitants have
access to ICTs within their reach.

7. In giving effect to these objectives, goals and targets, special
attention will be paid to the needs of developing countries, and
in particular to countries, peoples and groups cited in paragraphs
11-16 of the Declaration of Principles.

C. Action Lines

C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion
of ICTs for development

8. The effective participation of governments and all stakeholders
is vital in developing the Information Society requiring
cooperation and partnerships among all of them.

a) Development of national e-strategies, including the necessary
human capacity building, should be encouraged by all countries by
2005, taking into account different national circumstances.

b) Initiate at the national level a structured dialogue involving
all relevant stakeholders, including through public/private
partnerships, in devising e-strategies for the Information Society
and for the exchange of best practices.

c) In developing and implementing national e-strategies,
stakeholders should take into consideration local, regional and
national needs and concerns. To maximize the benefits of
initiatives undertaken, these should include the concept of
sustainability. The private sector should be engaged in concrete
projects to develop the Information Society at local, regional and
national levels.

d) Each country is encouraged to establish at least one
functioning Public/Private Partnership (PPP) or Multi-Sector
Partnership (MSP), by 2005 as a showcase for future action.

e) Identify mechanisms, at the national, regional and
international levels, for the initiation and promotion of
partnerships among stakeholders of the Information Society.

f) Explore the viability of establishing multi-stakeholder portals
for indigenous peoples at the national level.

g) By 2005, relevant international organizations and financial
institutions should develop their own strategies for the use of
ICTs for sustainable development, including sustainable production
and consumption patterns and as an effective instrument to help
achieve the goals expressed in the United Nations Millennium
Declaration.

h) International organizations should publish, in their areas of
competence, including on their website, reliable information
submitted by relevant stakeholders on successful experiences of
mainstreaming ICTs.

i) Encourage a series of related measures, including, among other
things: incubator schemes, venture capital investments (national
and international), government investment funds (including micro-
finance for Small, Medium-sized and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs),
investment promotion strategies, software export support
activities (trade counseling), support of research and development
networks and software parks.

C2. Information and communication infrastructure: an essential
foundation for the Information Society

9. Infrastructure is central in achieving the goal of digital
inclusion, enabling universal, sustainable, ubiquitous and
affordable access to ICTs by all, taking into account relevant
solutions already in place in developing countries and countries
with economies in transition, to provide sustainable connectivity
and access to remote and marginalized areas at national and
regional levels.

a) Governments should take action, in the framework of national
development policies, in order to support an enabling and
competitive environment for the necessary investment in ICT
infrastructure and for the development of new services.

b) In the context of national e-strategies, devise appropriate
universal access policies and strategies, and their means of
implementation, in line with the indicative targets, and develop
ICT connectivity indicators.

c) In the context of national e-strategies, provide and improve
ICT connectivity for all schools, universities, health
institutions, libraries, post offices, community centres, museums
and other institutions accessible to the public, in line with the
indicative targets.

d) Develop and strengthen national, regional and international
broadband network infrastructure, including delivery by satellite
and other systems, to help in providing the capacity to match the
needs of countries and their citizens and for the delivery of new
ICT-based services. Support technical, regulatory and operational
studies by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and, as
appropriate, other relevant international organizations in order
to:

i) broaden access to orbital resources, global frequency
harmonization and global systems standardization;

ii) encourage public/private partnership;

iii) promote the provision of global high-speed satellite
services for underserved areas such as remote and sparsely
populated areas;

iv) explore other systems that can provide high-speed
connectivity.

e) In the context of national e-strategies, address the special
requirements of older people, persons with disabilities, children,
especially marginalized children and other disadvantaged and
vulnerable groups, including by appropriate educational
administrative and legislative measures to ensure their full
inclusion in the Information Society.

f) Encourage the design and production of ICT equipment and
services so that everyone, has easy and affordable access to them
including older people, persons with disabilities, children,
especially marginalized children, and other disadvantaged and
vulnerable groups, and promote the development of technologies,
applications, and content suited to their needs, guided by the
Universal Design Principle and further enhanced by the use of
assistive technologies.

g) In order to alleviate the challenges of illiteracy, develop
affordable technologies and non-text based computer interfaces to
facilitate people's access to ICT,

h) Undertake international research and development efforts aimed
at making available adequate and affordable ICT equipment for end
users.

i) Encourage the use of unused wireless capacity, including
satellite, in developed countries and in particular in developing
countries, to provide access in remote areas, especially in
developing countries and countries with economies in transition,
and to improve low-cost connectivity in developing countries.
Special concern should be given to the Least Developed Countries
in their efforts in establishing telecommunication infrastructure.

j) Optimize connectivity among major information networks by
encouraging the creation and development of regional ICT backbones
and Internet exchange points, to reduce interconnection costs and
broaden network access.

k) Develop strategies for increasing affordable global
connectivity, thereby facilitating improved access. Commercially
negotiated Internet transit and interconnection costs should be
oriented towards objective, transparent and non-discriminatory
parameters, taking into account ongoing work on this subject.

l) Encourage and promote joint use of traditional media and new
technologies.

C3. Access to information and knowledge

10. ICTs allow people, anywhere in the world, to access
information and knowledge almost instantaneously. Individuals,
organizations and communities should benefit from access to
knowledge and information.

a) Develop policy guidelines for the development and promotion of
public domain information as an important international instrument
promoting public access to information.

b) Governments are encouraged to provide adequate access through
various communication resources, notably the Internet, to public
official information. Establishing legislation on access to
information and the preservation of public data, notably in the
area of the new technologies, is encouraged.

c) Promote research and development to facilitate accessibility of
ICTs for all, including disadvantaged, marginalized and vulnerable
groups.

d) Governments, and other stakeholders, should establish
sustainable multi-purpose community public access points,
providing affordable or free-of-charge access for their citizens
to the various communication resources, notably the Internet.
These access points should, to the extent possible, have
sufficient capacity to provide assistance to users, in libraries,
educational institutions, public administrations, post offices or
other public places, with special emphasis on rural and
underserved areas, while respecting intellectual property rights
(IPRs) and encouraging the use of information and sharing of
knowledge.

e) Encourage research and promote awareness among all stakeholders
of the possibilities offered by different software models, and the
means of their creation, including proprietary, open-source and
free software, in order to increase competition, freedom of choice
and affordability, and to enable all stakeholders to evaluate
which solution best meets their requirements.

f) Governments should actively promote the use of ICTs as a
fundamental working tool by their citizens and local authorities.
In this respect, the international community and other
stakeholders should support capacity building for local
authorities in the widespread use of ICTs as a means of improving
local governance.

g) Encourage research on the Information Society, including on
innovative forms of networking, adaptation of ICT infrastructure,
tools and applications that facilitate accessibility of ICTs for
all, and disadvantaged groups in particular.

h) Support the creation and development of a digital public library
and archive services, adapted to the Information Society,
including reviewing national library strategies and legislation,
developing a global understanding of the need for "hybrid
libraries", and fostering worldwide cooperation between libraries.

i) Encourage initiatives to facilitate access, including free and
affordable access to open access journals and books, and open
archives for scientific information.

j) Support research and development of the design of useful
instruments for all stakeholders to foster increased awareness,
assessment, and evaluation of different software models and
licences, so as to ensure an optimal choice of appropriate
software that will best contribute to achieving development goals
within local conditions.

C4. Capacity building

11. Everyone should have the necessary skills to benefit fully
from the Information Society. Therefore capacity building and ICT
literacy are essential. ICTs can contribute to achieving universal
education worldwide, through delivery of education and training of
teachers, and offering improved conditions for lifelong learning,
encompassing people that are outside the formal education process,
and improving professional skills.

a) Develop domestic policies to ensure that ICTs are fully
integrated in education and training at all levels, including in
curriculum development, teacher training, institutional
administration and management, and in support of the concept of
lifelong learning.

b) Develop and promote programmes to eradicate illiteracy using
ICTs at national, regional and international levels.

c) Promote e-literacy skills for all, for example by designing and
offering courses for public administration, taking advantage of
existing facilities such as libraries, multipurpose community
centres, public access points and by establishing local ICT
training centres with the cooperation of all stakeholders. Special
attention should be paid to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

d) In the context of national educational policies, and taking
into account the need to eradicate adult illiteracy, ensure that
young people are equipped with knowledge and skills to use ICTs,
including the capacity to analyse and treat information in
creative and innovative ways, share their expertise and
participate fully in the Information Society.

e) Governments, in cooperation with other stakeholders, should
create programmes for capacity building with an emphasis on
creating a critical mass of qualified and skilled ICT
professionals and experts.

f) Develop pilot projects to demonstrate the impact of ICT-based
alternative educational delivery systems, notably for achieving
Education for All targets, including basic literacy targets.

g) Work on removing the gender barriers to ICT education and
training and promoting equal training opportunities in ICT-related
fields for women and girls. Early intervention programmes in
science and technology should target young girls with the aim of
increasing the number of women in ICT careers. Promote the
exchange of best practices on the integration of gender
perspectives in ICT education.

h) Empower local communities, especially those in rural and
underserved areas, in ICT use and promote the production of useful
and socially meaningful content for the benefit of all.

i) Launch education and training programmes, where possible using
information networks of traditional nomadic and indigenous
peoples, which provide opportunities to fully participate in the
Information Society.

j) Design and implement regional and international cooperation
activities to enhance the capacity, notably, of leaders and
operational staff in developing countries and LDCs, to apply ICTs
effectively in the whole range of educational activities. This
should include delivery of education outside the educational
structure, such as the workplace and at home.

k) Design specific training programmes in the use of ICTs in order
to meet the educational needs of information professionals, such
as archivists, librarians, museum professionals, scientists,
teachers, journalists, postal workers and other relevant
professional groups. Training of information professionals should
focus not only on new methods and techniques for the development
and provision of information and communication services, but also
on relevant management skills to ensure the best use of
technologies. Training of teachers should focus on the technical
aspects of ICTs, on development of content, and on the potential
possibilities and challenges of ICTs.

l) Develop distance learning, training and other forms of
education and training as part of capacity building programmes.
Give special attention t