Bishkek Non-Governmental Conference on the
Information Society
turned into an intergovernmental event
The Bishkek Conference on the Information Society, initially
planned as a forum of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from countries
of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has been transformed into
an intergovernmental event, since the Government representatives from 11 CIS
countries, excluding Turkmenistan, and Turkey had decided to join the dialogue,
responding to the invitation of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic.1
After three-day deliberations on problems facing the sub-region in building
up an information society (9-11 September 2002), the participants of the conference,
representing the academic community, NGOs (both local and international),
Ministries of Telecommunications, international organizations (UNECE, UNDP,
UNIFEM and the World Bank), and local and foreign experts, adopted a resolution,
which was then negotiated and accepted by consensus by the Government representatives.
The Government representatives also decided to set up a new Bishkek-Moscow
negotiation framework and to continue the dialogue started in Bishkek further
in Moscow on 21-28 October, which is expected to culminate in formulating
a common position of the CIS to be presented at the Regional Pan-European
Conference and at the Global Summit on the Information Society.
The Bishkek Conference addressed the following themes: (1) The Individual
and the Information Society; (2) Development of the Infrastructure of the
Information Society; and (3) The Readiness for the Information Society.
During the discussion, the participants noted a rapid development and proliferation
of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in many CIS countries.
In their view, this was encouraged by the willingness and determination of
the societies and Governments to close the digital gap between the countries
of the sub-region and the countries-forerunners by effectively utilizing the
existing technological and human potential.
The participants identified some barriers to the development of an information
society in the countries of the sub-region, including:
- Differences in access to new technologies within the CIS countries, particularly,
between various social strata of society, including those between the rural
and urban population and between women and men;
- Lack of competition on the local ICT markets;
- Shortage of national ICT personnel;
- Inconsistencies in the normative basis of the ICT sector;
- Lack of open data sources on the ICT market, etc.
The Conference underscored that the concept of the information society does
not view the development of ICTs as a primary development goal, but rather
as a means to achieve social and economic development objectives, such as,
for example, poverty alleviation and an augmentation of the social welfare.
To ensure that the progress in the ICT development would be translated into
social returns, civil society, including representatives of the private sector,
on the one hand, and the vulnerable groups, on the other, should participate
in both the formulation and realization of policy decisions at all levels,
be that local, national, regional or international.
The importance of sub-regional and regional cooperation in developing ICTs
was underlined by many participants. However, to be successful, such a cooperation
needs common evaluation criteria and benchmarking of the progress achieved
in building up the information society.
The participants of the Conference made a number of concrete recommendations
on how to accelerate the construction of a foundation of the information society
in CIS member countries, including:
- Furthering the development of an adequate regulatory framework;
- Promotion of e-commerce by means suited to the specifics of each of the
member countries;
- Development of electronic payment systems, standards and mechanisms of
their realization, document identification and information security;
- Development of stimuli, encouraging the local authorities to set up projects
promoting the creation and application of ICTs in services provision for
all sectors of the economy, including the education and healthcare sectors;
- Creation of a conducive environment, facilitating the use of ICTs by
SMEs;
- Provision of a public support for the efforts to develop educational
web sites on the basis of the leading national universities and electronic
teaching courses, including by means of distant teaching;
- Facilitation of innovation by various means, including the development
and improvement of the IPR systems;
- Provision of a public support for research and development in the areas
relevant to the build-up and development of an information society.
Recognizing the novelty of ICTs and the lack of knowledge about possible
implications and risks associated with the Internet, the participants discussed
such issues as
- Cyber crime;
- Information security;
- The impact of the Internet on children and youth, but also
- Preservation of cultural identities;
- Protection of privacy, etc.
Remarkably, the Conference devoted more attention to the possibilities of
alleviating social problems by means of ICTs, such as poverty, than to the
physical infrastructure development. Considering that women in most of the
CIS member countries dominate the SME sector, the potential of ICTs in raising
the capacity of women's businesses and, hence, means and ways to achieve this
was discussed at length. Proposals were made to develop a sub-regional project
to improve the capabilities of women's businesses to operate on the cyber
market drawing upon best practices and experiences existing region-wide.
The whole Conference was marked by an extraordinary cooperation between the
Government representatives, NGOs and the private sector, trying jointly to
identify solutions and means to meet the challenges of the Information Era.
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1 The Commonwealth of Independent States include: Russian Federation, Ukraine,
Republic of Belarus, Moldova, Kyrgyz Republic, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia,
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
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For further information, please contact:
Mrs. Larissa Kapitsa, Director,
Coordinating Unit for Operational Activities
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, Office 436
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41(0)22 917 42 21
Fax: +41(0)22 917 01 78
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/operact/
Ref: ECE/OPA/02/15