Bamako 2000 Declaration

Within the framework of Bamako 2000 Conference held in the capital city of Mali from 21 to 26 February 2000, and chaired by Mr. Alpha Oumar Konaré, President of the Republic of Mali, and Mr. Guy-Olivier Segond, President of the Council of State of the Republic and Canton of Geneva,

Participants from various groups in society, namely:

· Public authorities,
· Local authorities,
· The private sector,
· Associations,
· Academic circles,
· Regional, international, bilateral and multilateral organizations,
· Women and
· Youths,

After taking note of the various declarations and resolutions on the promotion, use and ownership of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) made by various bodies in previous meetings devoted to the Information Society,

Have adopted the following text, known as "The Bamako 2000 Declaration":

ANAIS Network, set up in 1996 in the aftermath of the Geneva Meeting (Switzerland), has, within a new partnership, made an inventory of the skills of the various stakeholders of the information and development society. In particular, the ANAIS Network has made it possible to compare various analyses of ICT uses, and build on lessons drawn from field experiences.

Some major lessons can be drawn from the inventory, observation and analysis of field activities by the various stakeholders over the past four years. Information and communication technologies:

· constitute a major area of international co-operation for countries which come together at the same time, but from different contexts because of considerable differences in their financial resources and in their ability to control the technological environment which reflects imbalance in the flow of information,

· provide considerable impetus for development when the technologies and contents are adapted to different expectations and owned by those who express them as users and stakeholders,

· are accessible even to countries and social groups facing economic and social difficulties, mainly because of their relatively limited cost,

· allow for new exchange and partnership systems which contribute to better understanding and enhancement of relations between peoples,

· offer opportunities for expression, creativity and identity to all those who are socially, geographically, and culturally isolated, and who encounter difficulties in occupying their rightful position in society,

· constitute an important factor in societal change and the functioning of institutions,

In the light of the foregoing, the participants call for the adoption of ten benchmark principles as well as concrete measures to accompany them:

1. access for all citizens to information services that would enable them to use the networks as a public service, and guarantee equal access for men and women;

2. the right to freedom of expression and protection of worldwide public access domain for information, to guarantee the inalienable right of every citizen to information on all carriers, including new multimedia carriers, and to freely use the information heritage of Mankind;

3. diversification of the supply of technological systems through the lifting of regulatory obstacles to the development of infrastructure and communication tools which respond to the specific needs and situations of citizens and countries;

4. implementation of investment and funding strategies with fiscal policies to assist in the creation of contents and democratization of access;

5. promotion of linguistic and cultural diversity as impetus for the development of contents for local and international uses;

6. redefinition of the role of stakeholders in such manner as to leave more space for citizen initiatives and private enterprises which should be the driving force behind the information society, with the State pursuing policies to create conditions most conducive to the development of these initiatives;

7. consolidation of new forms of partnership based on complementarity between the various categories of stakeholders, poles of excellence and regions of the world;

8. networking of enriching experiences and lessons to build up experience and knowledge to consolidate decentralized cooperation;

9. training, as well as institutional and technical capacity building in priority areas for sustainable development;

10. introduction of democratic debate on new regulations to govern ethical issues, development of technological infrastructure, contents and uses.

In the light of these principles, the participants agree to develop a plan of action based on the Bamako 2000 workshops, known as "The Bamako 2000 Plan of Action". They call on the civil society, public authorities, enterprises and organizations concerned throughout the world to join them in this endeavour. All people are called upon to implement the Plan of Action in their various spheres of activity and levels of responsibility. On its part, the ANAIS Network, in collaboration with all its partners, undertakes to seek the human, technical and financial resources required for implementing the Plan, especially community access in 701 municipalities in Mali.

At the end of the meeting, the participants:

- call on the ambassadors present in Bamako and international organizations to transmit this Declaration to their authorities, and request the said authorities to embark on the implementation of the decisions and Plan of Action adopted by Bamako 2000;

- call on the European Union to attach more importance to the development of the information society in ACOP countries in implementation of the new Lomé Convention;

- call on local authorities to take all appropriate measures to facilitate the implementation of the proposed activities;

- call on the private sector to get involved in the implementation of the plan of action;

- specially request Presidents Alpha Oumar Konaré, Guy-Olivier Segond and Mamadou Tandja to transmit this Declaration to the other Heads of State, and bring it to the knowledge of the participants of Global Knowledge II, which will soon be held in Kuala Lumpur;

- take note of the decision to establish a permanent system to co-ordinate the ANAIS, FUNREDES and E@CN networks; the system will be open to all interested partners, and located in several continents to list the skills and proposals of the civil society for the entities concerned.

They agree to prepare a tentative schedule of meetings to be open to inputs from other partners. Meanwhile, they will respond favourably to the following official invitations:

1. October 2000: Global 2000 meeting in Barcelona (Spain) at the invitation of the European Association of Community Networks (E@CN);

2. November 2001: International Conference on the theme "Cyber-citizenship and Decentralized Co-operation" at the invitation of ANAIS Network in Senegal and the Dakar Regional Council;

3. Autumn 2003 in Geneva (Switzerland), World Information Society Conference, at the invitation of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

Finally, they thank :

- the Government of the Arabic Republic of Egypt for the commitment, as conveyed to the Bamako 2000 Conference, to allocate the resources required for cooperation with African countries in information technologies;

- the Malian authorities, and in particular President Alpha Oumar Konaré, for the warm welcome given to them on the occasion of the Bamako 2000 Conference.

Done at Bamako on 25 February 2000