UNESCO contributes to preparing the World Summit on the Information Society

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Item 8 Policy Guidelines for the Development
and Promotion of Governmental Public Domain
Information

Intergovernmental Council for the Information for
All ProgrammeThird SessionParis, 4-6 May
2004 Elizabeth Longworth Director, Information
Society DivisionCommunication and Information
SectorUNESCOe.longworth_at_unesco.org
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Definitions
Public domain informationPublicly accessible
information, the use of which does not infringe
any legal right, or any obligation of
confidentiality

Public data and official information produced
and voluntarily made available by
All works or objects of related rights, which
can be exploited by everybody without any
authorization
Governments Governmental public domain
information
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Structure of the Guidelines

• Why Governmental Public Domain Information is
  important
• How to develop and promote Governmental Public
  Domain Information
• Access to and use of Governmental Information
  that is protected by intellectual property laws

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Why Governmental Public Domain Information is
important

• Contribution to economic and social development,
  e.g.
• Greater transparency for good governance
• Promotion of democratic ideals
• For the general social welfare, e.g. public
  health and safety
• Fulfillment of essential educational and cultural
  functions
• Help to bridge the digital divide

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How to develop and promote governmental public
domain information Key elements

• Governments to fulfill their critical leadership
  role
• Define the scope of available Governmental Public
  Domain Information according to the nations
  needs
• Adopt a national Freedom of Information law
• Develop and implement a comprehensive
  Governmental Public Information Policy Framework,
  comprising
• Creation of a public information management
  structure
• Definition of the public information management
  policy requirements
• Adoption of strategies on information systems and
  information technology management

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Access to and use of governmental information
protected by intellectual property laws

• Broad range of options for public entities on how
  to organise access to information for the public
  good, e.g.
• Government entities can provide open access to
  their information resources
• Government entities can use permissive licenses
• Public-private partnerships can be highly
  beneficial in producing or distributing
  information on behalf of a government entity
• Careful consideration of the balance between
  legitimate IP restrictions and the citizens
  rights and the broader interests of the nation

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Role of the Guidelines

• The Guidelines respond to requests in
• The Recommendation concerning the Promotion and
  Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to
  Cyberspace
• The WSIS Declaration of Principles (A rich
  public domain is an essential element for the
  growth of the Information Society, Art. 26)
• The WSIS Action Plan (Develop policy guidelines
  for the development and promotion of public
  domain information, Par. 10a)

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Proposals for follow-up

• Invitation to UNESCO National Commissions and
  IFAP National Committees to advocate the
  Guidelines in national policy environments and to
  submit national case studies
• Organization of a discussion group on the
  Guidelines and their application, using the
  UNESCO Information Society Observatory
• Promote discussion in professional journals and
  conferences
• Assistance in implementation for developing
  countries and countries in transition
• Official proposal to see the Guidelines as
  contribution to Paragraph 10a of the Action Plan
  and to update and refine them for presentation
  at WSIS Tunis 2005