-- a Commonwealth Perspective

Commonwealth Information Infrastructure (CII)

Given the importance of the Commonwealth as a microcosm of a diverse world community, comprising over 50 countries which are marked by variety in size, differing levels of development, diverse demography and cultures, the development of a Commonwealth Information Infrastructure (CII) should be a major component in the development of the wider global initiative launched in Buenos Aires in 1992. Commonwealth countries should mobilize joint efforts to map out appropriate models of development of information and communications technologies, and should promote strategic collaboration to guide such efforts, co-ordinate activities and rationalise resources.

Delegates emphasized that efforts in the development of national policies and strategies for the implementation of information and communications technologies (ICTs) would be of little value unless they were fitted into international, regional and sub-regional contexts. This could be the focus of a Commonwealth Information Infrastructure. It was foreseen that the Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development (COMNET-IT) should have a major responsibility for fostering this task, supporting the promotion of best practices in the development of national strategies which fit the developing international contexts.