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<DIV>FYI... Below are excerpts from the Declaration and Plan of Action of
the World Summit on the Information Society that specifically mention languages
or linguistic diversity (in the context of ICT and the "information
society"). The entire documents can be read at <A
href="http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/doc_multi-en-1161|1160.asp">http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/doc_multi-en-1161|1160.asp</A><BR><BR>Don
Osborn<BR>Bisharat.net<BR><BR>========================<BR>Document
WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/4-E12<BR>December 2003<BR>Original:
English<BR><BR>Declaration of Principles<BR><BR>Building the Information
Society: a global challenge in the new Millennium<BR><BR>...<BR>7) ICT
applications: benefits in all aspects of life<BR>51. ... Applications should be
user-friendly, accessible to all, affordable,<BR>adapted to local needs in
languages and cultures, and support sustainable<BR>development. To this effect,
local authorities should play a major role in<BR>the provision of ICT services
for the benefit of their populations.<BR><BR>8) Cultural diversity and identity,
linguistic diversity and local content<BR>52. Cultural diversity is the common
heritage of humankind. The Information<BR>Society should be founded on and
stimulate respect for cultural identity,<BR>cultural and linguistic diversity,
traditions and religions, and foster<BR>dialogue among cultures and
civilizations. The promotion, affirmation and<BR>preservation of diverse
cultural identities and languages as reflected in<BR>relevant agreed United
Nations documents including UNESCO's Universal<BR>Declaration on Cultural
Diversity, will further enrich the Information<BR>Society.<BR><BR>53. The
creation, dissemination and preservation of content in diverse<BR>languages and
formats must be accorded high priority in building an<BR>inclusive Information
Society, paying particular attention to the diversity<BR>of supply of creative
work and due recognition of the rights of authors and<BR>artists. It is
essential to promote the production of and accessibility to<BR>all content -
educational, scientific, cultural or recreational - in diverse<BR>languages and
formats. The development of local content suited to domestic<BR>or regional
needs will encourage social and economic development and will<BR>stimulate
participation of all stakeholders, including people living in<BR>rural, remote
and marginal areas.<BR>...<BR>========================<BR><BR>Document
WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/5-E<BR>12 December 2003<BR>Original: English<BR><BR>Plan of
Action<BR><BR>...<BR>B. Objectives, goals and targets<BR>...<BR>6. Based
on internationally agreed development goals, including those in
the<BR>Millennium Declaration, which are premised on international
cooperation,<BR>indicative targets may serve as global references for improving
connectivity<BR>and access in the use of ICTs in promoting the objectives of the
Plan of<BR>Action, to be achieved by 2015. These targets may be taken into
account in<BR>the establishment of the national targets, considering the
different<BR>national circumstances:<BR>...<BR>i) to encourage the development
of content and to put in place technical<BR>conditions in order to facilitate
the presence and use of all world<BR>languages on the Internet;<BR>...<BR><BR>C.
Action Lines<BR>...<BR>C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity
and local content<BR>23. Cultural and linguistic diversity, while stimulating
respect for<BR>cultural identity, traditions and religions, is essential to the
development<BR>of an Information Society based on the dialogue among cultures
and regional<BR>and international cooperation. It is an important factor for
sustainable<BR>development.<BR>a) Create policies that support the respect,
preservation, promotion and<BR>enhancement of cultural and linguistic diversity
and cultural heritage<BR>within the Information Society, as reflected in
relevant agreed United<BR>Nations documents, including UNESCO's Universal
Declaration on Cultural<BR>Diversity. This includes encouraging governments to
design cultural policies<BR>to promote the production of cultural, educational
and scientific content<BR>and the development of local cultural industries
suited to the linguistic<BR>and cultural context of the users.<BR>...<BR>f)
Provide content that is relevant to the cultures and languages of<BR>individuals
in the Information Society, through access to traditional and<BR>digital media
services.<BR>g) Through public/private partnerships, foster the creation of
varied local<BR>and national content, including that available in the language
of users, and<BR>give recognition and support to ICT-based work in all artistic
fields.<BR>...<BR>i) Nurture the local capacity for the creation and
distribution of software<BR>in local languages, as well as content that is
relevant to different<BR>segments of population, including non-literate, persons
with disabilities,<BR>disadvantaged and vulnerable groups especially in
developing countries and<BR>countries with economies in transition.<BR>j) Give
support to media based in local communities and support projects<BR>combining
the use of traditional media and new technologies for their role<BR>in
facilitating the use of local languages, for documenting and preserving<BR>local
heritage, including landscape and biological diversity, and as a means<BR>to
reach rural and isolated and nomadic communities.<BR>k) Enhance the capacity of
indigenous peoples to develop content in their<BR>own languages.<BR>...<BR>m)
Exchange knowledge, experiences and best practices on policies and
tools<BR>designed to promote cultural and linguistic diversity at regional
and<BR>sub-regional levels. This can be achieved by establishing regional,
and<BR>sub-regional working groups on specific issues of this Plan of Action
to<BR>foster integration efforts.<BR>...<BR>o) Governments, through
public/private partnerships, should promote<BR>technologies and R&D
programmes in such areas as translation, iconographies,<BR>voice-assisted
services and the development of necessary hardware and a<BR>variety of software
models, including proprietary, open source software and<BR>free software, such
as standard character sets, language codes, electronic<BR>dictionaries,
terminology and thesauri, multilingual search engines, machine<BR>translation
tools, internationalized domain names, content referencing as<BR>well as general
and application
software.<BR><BR>...<BR>========================<BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>