Thus said Prince El Hassan bin Talal, President of the Club of Rome (CoR) in his foreword to CoR's position on the WSIS.
CoR, an NGO that brings together scientists, economists, businessmen, international high civil servants, heads of state and former heads of state from all five continents, is considered as one of the most prestigious think tanks worldwide.
In a statement published 14 August 2003, CoR is adopting a number of core priorities of the civil society groups involved in the WSIS process. These include: asking for a stronger commitment to publicly available knowledge (global commons or public domain), demanding that privacy be secured in the information society and suggesting an environment-friendly use of information technologies.
CoR also highlighted the need to develop and preserve cultural diversity by stating that "the networked knowledge society has to integrate the richness of indigenous knowledge as well as to assimilate eco-centric and anthropo-centric visions of a sustainable world society."
On top of that, the CoR states that "the greater involvement of Civil Society with its many NGOs and other organisations, which have considerable expertise in specific fields, is increasingly essential in implementation processes." The statement ends with the sentence: "NGOs and civil-society organisations should be empowered to play an increased role."
Statement of the Club of Rome to the World Summit on the Information Society, Geneva, 2003: "Towards a New Age of Information and Knowledge for All" (pdf) http://www.worldsummit2003.de/download_en/CoR-WSIS-Statement-Final-14-8-03.pdf.
For more information on Club of Rome, visit http://www.clubofrome.org/index.php
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