Welcome
In my dual condition as President of the Government of the Basque Country and President of CIFAL BILBAO, International Centre for Training of Local Authorities, specialising in the Information Society, which we have created in cooperation with the United Nations, I would like to emphasise the importance of the II World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information Society, which is to be held in Bilbao on 9-11 November 2005.
The Information Society, although it has not yet reached the full extent of its potentialities, is already a palpable reality. Work, leisure, communications and so many other aspects of daily life are no longer understood, for an ever increasing number of persons all around the world, without the involvement of new technologies.
The same can be said at institutional level, about governments and public administrations at any of their levels. Neither the internal organisation or operation, nor relations with our citizens can be conceived today without taking into account the revolution brought about by Internet.
Starting from these premises, the accent at the Bilbao Summit is going to be placed on the role that Local Authorities y regionales can and must play in the computerised global society. I am convinced that, in our condition as the administrations closest to the citizen, we must also lead the effort of promoting and spreading the new possibilities that open up before us. Without forgetting the need for solidary commitment, in which we actively cooperate as cities and regions, to prevent the danger of the “digital divide”, the risk that collectivities, regions or even entire countries might be left outside the enormous opportunities that the new Digital Era is opening up.
We are going to have the huge satisfaction that Bilbao is to be the venue for one of the milestones within this process of global reflection on the Information Society. For this reason I would like to take advantage of these lines to invite all the players involved in this process, and very especially the political representatives of local and regional administrations, to attend this encounter. I have no doubt that the conclusions reached are going to have a considerable repercussion on the way in which we, as political authorities, are going to relate with our citizens in the future.
Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu
President of the Basque Government