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Bilbao hosts the World Summit tackling the Digital Divide, with Cities and Regions from all over the planet taking part

Over the next few days more than 2,000 representatives from local authorities all over the world will draw up a plan of action designed to make the Internet the key tool in the fight against poverty in both the Third World and developed countries

BILBAO. Wednesday, 9 November 2005. The 2nd World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information Society, which begins today in Bilbao and closes on Friday, is a global event that aims to bridge the digital divide, a phenomenon afflicting not just the Third World but developed countries also and which prevents the most disadvantaged members of society from accessing the Internet. Every person has the right to use information technologies and everyone, without exception, must benefit from the social and economic advantages they generate.

The Bilbao Summit aims to underline the importance of local authorities in making this cultural revolution a reality. The cities and regions have an intimate understanding of the situation on the ground and understand better than anyone else the needs of their citizens. It is vital, therefore, that they become the driving forces in the struggle to bridge the digital divide.

The Bilbao Summit will show that these institutions are ready and willing to eradicate digital exclusion from the planet. Over 2,000 representatives from as many cities and regions will be taking part in the Summit, with the city’s hotels filled to capacity as delegates arrive from all five continents. Africa, in particular, is well represented, with Senegal, one of the continent’s pioneers in terms of Information Society projects, very much at the forefront. A large number of delegates representing local authorities from Nigeria have also arrived along with their counterparts from South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, Mali, Togo and several other African countries.

Iran and Afghanistan As for Asia, regional leaders from Japan, Indonesia, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal are in Bilbao, along with delegates from the current leading lights in the world economy, India and China. China’s representation comes in the form of a delegation from Shanghai City Council, one of the world’s most thriving cities and which has been registering double-digit economic growth for some years now. Latin America is amply represented by local authorities from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, to name but a few. Dignitaries from the United States will be conveying messages on behalf of North America, and regional leaders from every country in Europe are also in Bilbao.

The more than 200 accredited journalists from the four corners of the globe will be reporting on the progress made by local authorities in consolidating a truly global and fully inclusive Information Society. Digital solidarity is the key to this goal and there are already many examples of international cooperation between local authorities. One such example is IT4ALL, an Internet platform enabling 20,000 cities and regions on five continents, representing no fewer than 1.5 billion people, to exchange information. Another is the Digital Solidarity Fund, which finances investments in the new information technologies in the Third World.

The UN has given its support to these projects, which have also received the backing of the Basque government, and for many years now, Euskadi has been developing its own information Society. Over half of all Basque households are currently connected to the Internet and the technological centre CIFAL Bilbao has organised the Bilbao Summit as well as coordinating the IT4ALL Network since its inception.

The 2nd World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities comprises fifteen thematic workshops analysing issues key to the well-being of mankind, all of them Internet-related, such as e-Health, e-Learning, free software and the use of the Net to improve the quality of life of the handicapped.

The Summit will lead to a plan of action to combat world poverty through the use of IT. This project will be based on digital solidarity, on the promotion of local investment in the Internet and on support for local bodies as the genuine catalysts for action in the struggle to bridge the digital divide.

Key figures Among the leading personalities visiting Bilbao over the next few days is the president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade. President Wade is one of Africa’s cultural role models and a prime mover in a large number of NIT-related initiatives, mindful as he is of their potential for driving development in the continent as a means of stemming large-scale emigration to the developed world, often driven by the hope of finding supposed riches. Jesús Hernández Galán, the director of accessibility at the Fundación ONCE (the Spanish Organisation for the Blind) is also participating. ONCE forms part of the social economy sector and provides employment for 1.3 million people all over Spain. Among the other speakers at the Bilbao Summit are Kicki Nordström, the former president of the World Blind Union and a pioneer in adapting IT for blind people, and Hiroshi Kawamura, one of the leading authorities in the world on the use of NIT to help handicapped people. Other experts such as Line Kleinebreil, the president of the International Diabetes Network, and Ousmane Ly, a healthcare plan coordinator from Mali, will also be attending the Summit.

Joining them are a long list of dignitaries and regional leaders. Representing the world of politics are the ex-President of Colombia, Ernesto Samper, and the Mayor of Bogotá, Luis Eduardo Garzón, as well as the Mayor of Tunis, Abbés Mohsen. Beatriz Tibiriçá, the President of the NGO Coletivo Digital, and Marcelo D’Elia Branco, the head of the project, Software Libre Brasil, both of them active members of the Brazilian social movement, are also attending. Among the city leaders in Bilbao are Dae-Woong Yang (Mayor of Guro Gu, South Korea), Bertrand Delanöe (Paris, France) and Christian Ferrazio (Geneva, Switzerland). Representing the regions are the likes of John Mocho (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) and Sheila Dikshit (Delhi, India), and accompanying them are a host of experts from around the world including the eminent philosopher Bernard Stiegler, the free software expert Jonas Öberg, the Assistant Secretary General of the UN and Executive Director of UNITAR Marcel Boisard, and Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union.