| Statement by New York, 28 October 2003
Mr. Chairman, May I, on behalf of my delegation, extend our appreciation to you and other members of the Bureau for their outstanding work in advancing the work of public information and communications. Let me also take this opportunity to thank Mr. Shashi Tharoor, the Under-Secretary General for Communication and Public Information, for his comprehensive presentation on the work being carried out by the Department of Public Information. Before I continue, my delegation associates with the statement delivered by the Representative of Morocco, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Mr. Chairman, It is the strong view of my delegation that major reform of the Department of Public Information’s structure and operating method is important in order to improve the effective and targeted delivery of public information services. In this regard, the new mission, which states: “The Department of Public Information’s mission is to help fulfill the substantive purposes of the United Nations by strategically communicating the activities and concerns of the Organization to achieve the greatest public impact,” is very apt. It captures the essence and the challenge of the task before the United Nations and the United Nations Millennium Declaration. In order to be able to carry out a responsibility of this nature effectively, my delegation believes that the ongoing reform of the Department is essential, as well as provide a firm basis for disseminating the culture of peace and strengthening respect among cultures and civilizations. Bridging the communication and digital divide between the developing and the developed countries is of significant interest to my delegation because it is obvious that those that lack access to information cannot reap the benefits of globalization. In addition to this, Indonesia is also concerned that most of the global population lack access to knowledge and information from the Internet because 80% of the content is in the English language. Therefore, developing local content is very essential so that the advancement of information technology is of benefit to those populations to whom the English language is not the main medium of education and information. In our view, the outreach activities of the United Nations information centres will certainly be more effective and will involve all segments of the society if they use local languages. To that extent, my delegation will continue to advocate that the information centres invest in delivering content in more and more local languages. My delegation looks forward to the success of the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in December 2003 and in Tunis in 2005, the year in which the General Assembly will also be reviewing progress in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. We believe that both of these events will provide a good opportunity for narrowing the digital gap. In accordance with the spirit of the Millennium Declaration, it is our hope that the World Summit will inspire consensus in the sharing of technology, and ensure affordable access to information and communication technology in developing countries. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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