High-Level Policy Session 7: Inclusiveness, Access to Information and Knowledge for All / Bridging Digital Divides in the UN World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2022
The World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2022 represents the world’s largest annual gathering of the ICT for development community. Inclusiveness, Access to Information and Knowledge for All. The ability for all to access and contribute information, ideas and knowledge is essential in an inclusive Information Society.
The sharing and strengthening of global knowledge for development can be enhanced by removing barriers to equitable access to information for economic, social, political, health, cultural, educational, and scientific activities and by facilitating access to public domain information, including by universal design and the use of assistive technologies.
A rich public domain is an essential element for the growth of the Information Society, creating multiple benefits such as an educated public, new jobs, innovation, business opportunities, and the advancement of sciences. Information in the public domain should be easily accessible to support the Information Society, and protected from misappropriation. Public institutions such as libraries and archives, museums, cultural collections and other community-based access points should be strengthened so as to promote the preservation of documentary records and free and equitable access to information.