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Bilbao Summit reinforces role of local and regional authorities as new players in international relations
The president of the Basque government will visit Tunis next week to present the “Bilbao Declaration”, a document comprising ten principles on the Information Society, to the secretary general of the UN.
The 2nd World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information Society ended today with the ratification of the “Bilbao Declaration”, a political document in which the Summit’s participants set out ten principles and values, detail the commitments they will make and request the collaboration of states, private enterprise and financial institutions to tackle the digital divide. Marcel Boisard, the assistant secretary general of the United Nations and director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), stated that the Bilbao Summit represented “a new opportunity for local authorities to make their voice heard at a global level, something hitherto unseen in international relations.”
Boisard described the emergence of a movement uniting authorities liaising most closely with citizens as “groundbreaking” and added that this development will be reflected at the summit of world leaders on the Information Society to be held in Tunis next week. The president of the Basque government, Juan José Ibarretxe, will attend the summit in his capacity as the spokesperson of the world’s local and regional authorities to hand the “Bilbao Declaration” over to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general.
Marcel Boisard added that the Basque Country could provide the nerve centre for the campaign to promote cooperation and solidarity between local authorities, one of the central planks of the plan of action approved at the Bilbao Summit. The assistant secretary general of the UN declared that this objective could be reached “not by creating a new network but by making use of a tool that is already operating satisfactorily, such as IT4ALL.” The Network of Local Authorities for the Information Society (IT4ALL) is coordinated by the CIFAL Bilbao Centre
The mayor of the capital of Bizkaia, Iñaki Azkuna, was entrusted with the task of reading out the “Bilbao Declaration”, which among other aspects, proclaims freedom of communication and universal access to information and knowledge as fundamental rights. The document also states that the development of the Information Society must benefit the entire population without exception and combat the digital divide, promote democratic decentralisation, safeguard cultural diversity, promote dialogue between civilisations and foster freedom of expression.
Azkuna, who said he was delighted Bilbao had hosted the Summit, expressed the hope that an event such as this “help raise our awareness of what the Information Society entails.” The mayor also called for “an overwhelming expression of digital solidarity with the countries of the South to prevent the creation of a world in which the rich become richer and the poor poorer.”
For his part, the Basque junior industry minister, José Ignacio Zudaire, said that the Bilbao Summit and next week’s meeting in Tunis marked the end of a three-year process in which local and regional authorities have risen to the challenge of becoming, for the first time, players in a truly global process: “We have responded to this challenge and made the most of this opportunity thanks to the collaboration of over 4,000 local authorities in this process,” he stated.
Juan José Duque, the executive vice president of the Bilbao Summit, gave his assessment of the three-day event which attracted 2,100 delegates, including a sizeable contingent from Africa, particularly Nigeria and Senegal. As the organisation’s spokesperson he said, “The United Nations initiated the whole process, which has entailed an unprecedented commitment on the part of local and regional authorities all over the world. We have made a combined effort to join voices and have ultimately demonstrated that we are more than capable of rising to this challenge.”
The “Bilbao Declaration” The political declaration of the 2nd World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information Society, which has become known as the “Bilbao Declaration”, is a composite document drawn up as a result of three days of intense discussions in the city. It comprises a preamble, a list of ten principles and values, a chapter featuring local and global commitments, and a section detailing requests to be made to states, the private sector, technology companies, international financial institutions and the forthcoming Tunis World Summit.
The Declaration’s ten principles and values champion the universal right to issue and receive information and underline the role of new technologies in promoting human rights, democracy, decentralisation, respect for diversity, the empowerment of citizens, as well as their impact on tackling inequality and discrimination, fostering cooperation and nurturing solidarity between North and South.
The representatives of the local and regional authorities present in Bilbao also committed themselves to using information technologies as a tool for sustainable development; to implementing “e-local agendas” promoting the development of the Information Society in areas directly affecting citizens; promoting the use of free software; fostering cooperation programmes between cities and regions as a means of bridging the digital divide; and setting up a Digital Solidarity Fund among other initiatives.
Finally, the signatories of the “Bilbao Declaration” have urged states and the international community in general to recognise the role of local governments in developing the Information Society and to support them so they can improve access in areas such as schools and health facilities. The private sector has been asked to cooperate with local authorities and to invest in universal Internet access, including “non-profitable areas”. For their part, financial institutions have been asked to provide funding to ensure the new technologies are made available to all citizens. Finally, the local and regional authorities gathered together in Bilbao have urged the Tunis Summit to adopt the “Bilbao Declaration” as its official document and to also adopt the Plan of Action approved at the plenary of the Bilbao Summit.