On the occasion of the World Information Society Day, President Wade highlights the need to hold an international conference on digital solidarity financing

Mr President, what does this award of the information society mean to you?

It is not so much a matter of receiving the award as the acknowledgement by the international community of the 17th of May as «International Information Society Day». In so doing, States accept that we are entering a new era, the era of the information society. In presenting me with this award, the United Nations testify to their demand for a new international solidarity.

This is an essential point, because it is impossible to envisage the information society unless we close the chasm that has existed between the North and the South in particular over the past decades.

Does the DSF, founded by yourself, benefit from widespread support on the part of the international community?

The decisions adopted unanimously by the United Nations demonstrate that today the Fund is recognized throughout the international community. This success is in large measure due to those responsible for the Fund, and as such I associate them with this award. Now we need to establish the Fund and its innovative financial mechanism firmly in international law (one percent digital solidarity contribution paid on transactions for ICT related products or services). This is the challenge we face in the coming months. The Fund is a new initiative and like any new idea, it will be called into question by all those who fear change.

How can we finance the fight against the digital divide?

In January 2004 in Geneva, Presidents Chirac, Lula and Lagos, with the support of the United Nations Secretary General, launched an appeal in favour of the development of new financial mechanisms to meet the Millennium Goals. On proposal by 77 States, the United Nations endorsed the appeal by Presidents Chirac, Lula and Lagos last year in New York. We can thus count on support for our initiative of one percent for digital solidarity, although of course other sources of financing are also possible.

The reduction of the digital divide that President Mandela was already demanding in the nineteen-nineties is a determining factor for the future of the developing countries. The de facto exclusion of these States from globalization, by the present refusal to permit them access to knowledge and know-how, is unacceptable. To withhold access to information technology from 80 percent of the world’s population is tantamount to denying their cultural, economic and political existence. Clearly this is not the world that we are looking towards at the start of the 21st century.

What responsibility do countries carry that have access to ICT, for example the industrialized countries?

An enormous one, insofar as at present they are the main beneficiaries of the information society’s advantages and are the best placed to appreciate those advantages. But I must stress that we are not only talking about States : all the political and economic actors of the North are concerned. By opening up to the local collectivities, enterprises and to civil society, hand in hand with the State authorities, the DSF is establishing a basis for new worldwide solidarity.

Are you supporting the idea of an international conference on digital solidarity financing?

This is an essential phase in the Fund’s development. Projects require resources equal to the matter at stake, estimated at several billions Euros. The conference needs to adopt an international agreement which among other things will establish the modalities for financing an information society conscious of the need for solidarity.

What message would you like to send to the enterprises of the digital sector?

Engagement by the private sector is vital. The Fund expects an unambiguous commitment on the part of enterprises. It is in their direct interest that the Fund should invest in markets that at present are insolvent. The one percent for digital solidarity is not a tax but an investment on the part of enterprises that opens up new markets for them. So it is good that they should participate in the Fund to achieve this objective. What is more, the enterprises called upon will be the primary beneficiaries of the Fund’s purchases. As such, the process offers them twofold gain especially as they are closely involved in the Fund's ressource management. The Fund indeed illustrates the «ppp» concept (public-private partnership) promoted by the World Economic Forum, the Global Compact and the United Nations.


Is there a place for decentralized cooperation in the development of the Fund?

The involvement of local collectivities in the DSF is one of the strong points of the process. We will never solve the problems of development without a determined commitment by local collectivities to a policy of cooperation. The Millennium Goals require such a commitment. This is particularly true in respect of new information technologies. Local collectivities have basic experience which they need to share. This is the quintessence of the information and communication society. It is thus important for all local collectivities to commit in favour of the one percent digital solidarity principle, by including it in all their calls for bids for ICT related products or services. The City of Dakar and the City of Geneva have been the first to take the step. In so doing they demonstrate that solidarity is not only a matter of words, but that it works in the best interest of all. This example needs to be followed all over the world.