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The information policy of the European Union on building an information society

Обновлено 13.03.2024 03:52

 

As stated in the documents of the European Union, the information society is becoming an important driving force of economic, social and technological change and affects the functioning of society as a whole and relations between individuals, groups and countries at the global level, providing greater opportunities for communication and information exchange, in particular at the cross-border level, due to globalization networks and services that are widely available to the public. This is important at the European level, primarily with regard to cultural and linguistic diversity. These phenomena necessitate a new approach to regulating the media sector, in particular, given that it is now possible to carry out public and private communications through the same networks. In order to ensure a better balance in access to new technologies and new communication and information services, in order for the development of the information society to be useful to all European countries, as well as to all individuals and groups who live in these countries, the European Community has considered the task of building an information society as the highest priority since 1994.

From 1994 to 1998, all scientific and technical initiatives of the European Union took place within the framework of the Fourth Framework Program, the implementation of which was carried out under 18 targeted programs. One of the most effective is the actualization of a series of successive projects aimed at the development of culture and the preservation of cultural heritage: 1) Multimedia access to European cultural heritage.

Memorandum of Understanding (1995-1998); This is a cooperation project, a voluntary agreement between organizations (museums and galleries, government and public organizations, educational and scientific centers, electronic publishing houses, companies specializing in telecommunications and hardware and software complexes), ready to actively advocate for consensus on issues important to all parties.

More than 450 representatives of various institutions signed this document, including: 297 museums, 47 state institutions (including scientific and educational ones), 76 industrial organizations, 45 non-governmental organizations.

Multimedia for education and employment through the integration of cultural initiatives (1998-2002), two main tasks can be distinguished in this project:

1) cultural, aimed at creating and implementing technological solutions for organizing information resources with European cultural heritage and access to these resources;

2) economic, aimed at creating conditions for the organization of normal marketing in the field of exploitation of electronic cultural heritage Key issues to be solved within the framework of the project:

copyright and intellectual property;

problems of interaction in the network (data structure, terminology, navigation);

marketing;

financing problems Within the framework of the project, work is carried out in four main directions: 1) inter-museum thematically oriented virtual exhibitions; 2) cultural heritage and new information technologies in education; 3) cultural heritage and new information technologies in tourism; 4) preparation of a practical handbook on the most important issues for users (legal issues, standards, financing, etc.)

A forum for discussing common problems of building an information society.

Considering the information policy of the European Union on building an information society, the work of the forum founded by the European Commission in February 1995 to discuss common problems of building an information society should be particularly noted. The Forum has become a kind of place for the exchange of ideas, opinions and recommendations on issues related to the information society. Martin Bangemann, Commissioner for Industry, Information Technology and Telecommunications, was appointed the first head of the Forum.

The Forum consists of 130 members with three-year terms of office. Half of them are appointed by the Member States and half by the European Commission. The members of the Forum are representatives of six main socio-industrial spheres of activity:

1) users of new technologies;

2) various social groups;

3) Content and service providers;

4) Network operators;

5) State and international institutions;

6) Equipment manufacturers.

Social groups: faculty, employers' organizations and trade unions, youth groups, representatives of regions and cities. Content and service providers: publishers and authors, producers of films and TV shows, employees of broadcasting services, computer software manufacturers and information service providers.

Network operators: fixed telecommunications, cable TV, mobile and satellite network operators.

Network device manufacturers, consumer electronics, computer industry, government and international institutions: members of the European Parliament, economic and social organizations.

The purpose of the first years of the Forum was to monitor the process of formation of the information society in six main areas:

1) Impact on the economy and employment;

2) basic social and democratic values in the "virtual community";

3) influence on public and public services;

4) education, retraining, training in the information society;

5) The cultural dimension and the future of the media;

6) Sustainable development, technology and infrastructure. On June 26, 1996, after a year of intensive work, the Forum adopted the first annual report "Network for People and their Communities: Maximizing the use of the Information Society in the European Union". The ideas and recommendations of the annual report covered a wide range of social, cultural, political and economic issues of the information society. It also emphasized, in particular, that if Europe cannot adapt quickly and effectively, it will face not only a loss of competitiveness compared to the United States and Asian economies, but also an increase in social exclusion in European countries themselves.

The report recommended the creation of an information society as a Lifelong Learning Society. The report noted that

new technologies will eventually create more jobs than they will destroy;

In the future, teleworking will become the main occupation for millions of people;

No one should be excluded from the information society;

The freedom of the individual must be protected from encroachments.

The report proclaimed an anthropocentric approach (people-centered approach), i.e. focused on the person and his needs, and identified the main priorities for the implementation of the information policy of the European Union, namely:

training citizens in the ability to use new information tools and applied tasks;

building a lifelong learning society;

early involvement of citizens in the development of new applications and services so that they become useful to them in everyday life;

The use of new technologies to include people in decision-making processes and enable them to know what their Government is doing, thereby guaranteeing pluralism and open access to information.

The report noted that "neither our people, nor our institutions, nor, finally, most of our companies are actually ready to accept new technologies as long as this state of unpreparedness continues, it will remain a serious obstacle to Europe receiving the benefits provided by new technologies: faster economic growth, more employment and a better quality of life."

In the further work of the Forum, attention was focused on such important issues:

1) influence on the organization and way of working in the information society;

2) individual access in the information society;

3) public and democratic life in the "virtual community";

4) more transparent and high-quality public services;

5) Cultural dimension;

6) protection of the individual;

7) Training and instruction in the information society;

8) Achieving sustainable self-sufficient global development;

9) The future of multimedia.