Urges governments to expand quality education for all, increase community access to information and communication technology, and improve cross-border scientific knowledge-sharing, in an effort to narrow the digital and "knowledge" divides between the North and South and move towards a "smart" form of sustainable human development.

This report analyses all aspects of cultural diversity, which has emerged as a key concern of the international community in recent decades, and maps out new approaches to monitoring and shaping the changes that are taking place. It highlights, in particular, the interrelated challenges of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue and the way in which strong homogenizing forces are matched by persistent diversifying trends. The report proposes a series of ten policy-oriented recommendations, to the attention of States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, international and regional bodies, national institutions and the private sector on how to invest in cultural diversity. Emphasizing the importance of cultural diversity in different areas (languages, education, communication and new media development, and creativity and the marketplace) based on data and examples collected from around the world, the report is also intended for the general public. It proposes a coherent vision of cultural diversity and clarifies how, far from being a threat, it can become beneficial to the action of the international community.

Revolutionary information and communication technologies are contributing to dramatic changes in the competitiveness of global and local markets and in the way people conduct their business and everyday lives. The potential benefits and risks these changes present for developing countries and the economies in transition are enormous. This comprehensive, authoritative reference book examines the ways in which these powerful technologies are being harnessed to development goals, helping to reduce the risk of exclusion and create new opportunities for developing countries. The report emphasizes the urgency of developing new social and technological infrastructures to help ensure that new technologies are used effectively. It also also offers guidelines and practical steps that can be taken by stakeholders to shape their future innovative knowledge societies.

In a world that is essentially digitizing, some have argued that the idea of the knowledge society holds the greatest promise for Africa’s rapid socio-economic transformation. Impacts of the Knowledge Society on Economic and Social Growth in Africa aims to catalyze thinking and provide relevant information on the complex ways in which the information age is shaping Africa and the implications that this will have for the continent and the world. This premier reference volume will provide policy analysts, policymakers, academics, and researchers with fresh insights into the key empirical and theoretical matters framing Africa's ongoing digitization.

Engineering the Knowledge Society (EKS) - Event of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) This book is the result of a joint event of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) and the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) held during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland, December 11 - 12, 2003. The organisation was in the hands of Mr. Raymond Morel of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). Information Technology (or Information and Communication Technology) cannot be seen as a separate entity. Its application should support human development and this application has to be engineered. Education plays a central role in the engineering of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for human support. The conference addressed the following aspects: Lifelong Learning and education,- inclusion, ethics and social impact, engineering profession, developing- society, economy and e-Society. The contributions in this World Summit event reflected an active stance towards human development supported by ICT. A Round Table session provided concrete proposals for action.