The International Conference on “The policymaking role of Parliaments in the development of the Information Society” was organized by the Chamber of Deputies of Italy. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) provided substantive and technical inputs to the Conference through the Global Centre for Information and Communication Technologies in Parliament.

The overall objective of the event was to gather inputs and elements for a Conference Presidency’s summary which contains a set of recommendations on how national and regional assemblies can best address and concretely contribute to the effective implementation of the Information Society, adding a key parliamentary dimension to it. The Conference did so by providing a platform for a global inter-parliamentary dialogue on a range of critical issues.
By paying special attention to north-south and south-south inter-parliamentary cooperation and partnership, the discussions mainly focused on:

1. The crucial role of Parliaments as political catalysts for the promotion of consistent strategies aimed at directing the information and communication technologies towards social and economic development goals.
2. Legislative instruments that can both enhance public and private interventions for the development of ICT and the Information Society, and ensure adequate protection of new and emerging rights.
3. The impact of new technologies on political representation and citizens’ empowerment and participation in public life.
4. National institutional mechanisms, including public and private bodies, which play a key role in promoting the use of ICT.

Throughout the conference, emphasis was given to crosscutting issues such as cultural diversity, multilingualization, local content development, vulnerable groups and indigenous people.

In total 68 Parliamentary delegations from developing and developed countries participated in this event, including Speakers and Presidents of Parliament, Members of Parliament, parliaments’ officials, high-level experts, and prominent representatives of international organizations, the civil society, businesses and academia.

• President's summary
• Conference Speeches - 3 March
• Conference Speeches - 4 March
• Keynote address by Prof. Stefano Rodotà
• Photogallery
• Agenda
• Annotated Agenda
• Aide Mémoire
• Key note interventions
• Parliamentary delegations attending the Conference

For more details please contact the secretariat at [email protected]

Location