Business calls for renewed efforts to advance the Information Society
Geneva, 10 June, 2014 – ICC BASIS (Business Action to Support the Information Society) has urged for renewed efforts to both reflect on progress, and prompt action, in advancing an Information Society based on an inclusive Internet.
Speaking today at the WSIS+10 review event, ICC-Secretary-General, Jean-Guy Carrier, stressed the importance of evaluating achievements made since global representatives assembled in Geneva 11 years ago, and again in 2005, as part of the two founding phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
“The WSIS review process provides a unique opportunity to share and evaluate local and national initiatives that advance the Information Society, putting in place actions to improve and replicate those initiatives,” he explained. “It offers a valuable forum for reviewing progress made across the past decade in implementing outcomes from those initial meetings in Geneva and Tunis.”
At his address during today’s opening ceremony, Mr Carrier noted that WSIS has become a motivator for improving connectivity and fostering global access to, and the take-up of, information and communication technologies (ICTs), but called for more multistakeholder action to achieve WSIS goals.
“The business community welcomes the continuation of WSIS, but urges the development of a new vision beyond 2015 based on collaborative, equal participation by policymakers, business, and all relevant stakeholders to identify and work towards new targets that address the changing global landscape.”
He added that key to overcoming the primary challenges in building an Information Society is an inclusive approach to all discussions pertaining to Internet and information policy, with the business community recognizing the essential participation of developing countries:
“The participation and representation of all countries is crucial for the contribution of diverse perspectives in Internet Governance debates. ICT innovations create unparalleled economic and societal opportunities for developed and developing nations alike. Greater attention, therefore, must be paid to facilitating participation and capacity-building for developing countries.”
In addition to its ongoing engagement with post-WSIS processes, ICC BASIS will make an active contribution to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2014, another WSIS output and a facilitator of multistakeholder dialogue pertaining to Internet Governance policy issues.
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For further information, please contact:
James Wood, AxiCom (on behalf of ICC)
Tel: +44 (0)7801 753 414
Email: james.wood@axicom.com
About ICC
About The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
ICC is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its global network comprises over 6 million companies, chambers of commerce and business associations in more than 130 countries, with interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.
A world network of national committees keeps the ICC International Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business priorities. More than 2,000 experts drawn from ICC’s member companies feed their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues.
The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20 and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through ICC.
For more information please visit: www.iccwbo.org
About Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS)
ICC created BASIS to raise awareness among the public, governments, civil society, intergovernmental organizations and technical community of what business requires to continue contributing to the development of the Information Society. It serves as the voice of business in the global dialogue on the Information Society, following two World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005).
To promote the environment in which business around the world will continue to thrive as an innovator of information and communication technologies, BASIS participates in UN-linked forums set up to continue the dialogue, such as the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the WSIS follow up and implementation processes, particularly through the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
To help shape the agenda and participate in these global discussions, BASIS relies on the policies developed in ICC’s Commission on the Digital Economy as the foundation for its efforts.
BASIS builds on the activities and network of the Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors (CCBI), which ICC formed to coordinate participation by world business in the processes leading up to, and at WSIS.
BASIS members include business organizations such as the Africa Information & Communication Technologies Alliance (AfICTA), the Computer Society of India, and the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) as well as several ICC national committees and companies from across sectors and geographies.
For further information regarding BASIS, the partners, members and activities, visit:
