The president of EUDEL takes part in the closing ceremony of the Tunis World Summit on the information society to inform the world authorities about the "Bilbao Declaration"
Karmelo Sainz De la Maza is taking part as the spokesman for the cities and local authorities of the five continents who took part last week in the international conference against the ‘digital divide’ held in Bilbao
The lehendakari (President of the Basque Government) personally handed over the document to the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, at their meeting in Tunis last Tuesday
The President of the Association of Basque Municipalities – Euskadiko Udalen Elkartea (EUDEL), Karmelo Sáinz de la Maza, is to speak this afternoon at the closing ceremony of the World Summit on the Information Society, which has been taking place since Wednesday in Tunis. Sainz de la Maza will be responsible for informing the authorities from all parts of the world who are meeting in this North African city about the “Bilbao Declaration”, the summary of the conclusions arising out of the international conference to fight against the ‘digital divide’, held last week in Bilbao, the capital of Bizkaia (Biscay).
The Declaration document has already been handed over personally by the Lehendakari (president of the Basque Government), Juan José Ibarretxe, to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, when the two met in the Tunisian capital last Tuesday. The “Bilbao Declaration” is a political document in which the participants who met at the II World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information Society in Bilbao establish a set of 10 principles and values, detail their commitments and request that states, private enterprise and financial institutions cooperate with them to prevent the “digital divide”.
The Declaration is a synthesis document that emerged after three days of intense work in Bilbao. It consists of a preamble, a set of 10 principles and values, a chapter of commitments al local and global scale, and a section with requests to the states, to the private sector and technology enterprises, to international financial institutions and to the Tunis World Summit which concludes today in this North African capital.
In the 10 Principles of the Declaration, the universal right to issue and to receive information is proclaimed, and the role of New Technologies is underlined in the promotion of human rights, democracy, decentralisation, respect for diversity, citizen participation, as well as its influence on the reduction of inequalities and discrimination, in the fostering of cooperation and in the development of North-South solidarity.
The local authority representatives attending the Bilbao Summit also undertake to use Information Technologies as an instrument for sustainable development; to implement “e-local agendas” (Digital Local Agendas) that promote the development of the Information Society in the environment closest to the citizen; to encourage the use of free software; to facilitate cooperation programmes between cities and regions in order to bridge the “digital divide”; and to put into operation a Digital Solidarity Fund, among other measures.
Finally, the signatories to the “Bilbao Declaration” request the states and the international community to recognise the role of local governments in the development of the Information Society, and to provide support in order to obtain batter access in places such as schools or healthcare institutions. The private sector is asked to cooperate with local authorities and to make investments to enable universal access to Internet, including in areas which are considered “unprofitable”, while financial institutions are requested to provide funds to support the extension of New Technologies to all citizens. Finally, the local and regional authorities meeting in the capital of Bizkaia request the Tunis Summit to establish the “Bilbao Declaration” as its official document, and for it also to accept the Plan of Action approved at its plenary session.