The information society and sustainable development

To benefit the world community, the successful and continued growth of this new dynamic requires global discussion and harmonization in appropriate areas.” Unfortunately, until recently, few discussions have focused on harmonizing the visions of the emerging information society with the principles and priorities articulated by the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World S [...] The need for information arises at all levels, from that of senior decision-makers at the national and international levels to the grass-roots and individual levels.” Recommended activities included bridging the data gap and improving the availability of information for decision-making. [...] In their proposal, the coalition outlined four themes: Sustainability Implications of the Knowledge Society; International Cooperation; Opening the Gates and Overcoming the Digital Divide; and Services and Applications.15 One of the foundation documents for this coalition has been the WWF publication Sustainability at the Speed of Light, launched prior to the WSSD in 2002, which states, “It is in [...] It is important to understand that the network system changes as each new element is connected, and each new connection enhances the whole, with the total sum being greater than the sum of the parts.”23 To adequately understand the potential for ICTs to enable the achievement of more sustainable development, we must look beyond the direct impacts of the tools themselves to indirect impacts of the [...] This Working Group, building its positions and interventions based upon the work of the UNEP coalition as well as from the literature arising from the SASKIA (Strategic Action for a Sustainable Knowledge and Information Age) project45 of the European Commission IST program and the Global Society Dialogue,46 has suggested that the rebound effects of the information society may undercut many of the