Article rédigé pour le compte de l'Unesco, à la suite de
la publication de son rapport mondial Towards Knowledge Societies.


Crédit photo:  IchBinEinBaum - and very busy


 


Information: A Tool Toward Knowledge


 


Our society is defined as the “Information Society,” in which low-cost information and new technologies are widespread and shape our ways of working and communicating. Through various modi operandorum such as the two phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva 2003; Tunis 2005), the Information for All Program and the recent publication of a world report (2005)[1], UNESCO wishes to raise interest in the emergence of a new paradigm: knowledge societies. Knowledge societies can be distinguished from information societies insomuch that they do not simply instruct humans to compile information as raw data (for the sake of technological progress or connectivity) but empower them to process, analyze, debate, transform and use this information to build new knowledge and to create. By promoting knowledge societies, UNESCO stresses the fact that a society’s most valuable assets are its investment in intangible, human and social capital as a key factor toward freedom and human rights.


Such a vision of society is premised on universal access to information, cultural and linguistic diversity, lifelong learning for all and, above all, freedom of expression (which includes freedom of speech, opinion and press). Indeed, a free flow of information allows each individual to have “more freedom and greater possibilities for self-realization, while respecting beliefs and ethics. Knowledge societies encourage openness and dialogue and appreciate wisdom, communication and cooperation. They must be based on the principle of freedom of expression as guaranteed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”[2] Moreover, freedom of expression is an effective political and economic means toward human and sustainable development. It is a touchstone to resolving problems such as censorship, manipulation of information or general surveillance. It also contributes to fulfilling the UN Millennium Developments Goals[3] by increasing public awareness (for instance of public health issues) or providing cognitive and strategic resources to fighting poverty and inequities. In a word, freedom of expression – in alliance with new technologies as a powerful tool to exercise it – is the groundwork on which information can grow into knowledge.


 


ICTs: shaping emerging knowledge societies


While the term “knowledge society” was first used in 1969 by the researcher Peter Drucker – and became common in the 1990s thanks to the works of, among many others, Robin Mansell and Nico Stehr – it conveys a notion that has existed since ancient times. The first knowledge societies consisted of a few privileged members (wise men, the initiated, etc.). Then “in the Age of Enlightenment, the demand for democracy, the concept of openness and the gradual emergence of a public forum for knowledge, fostered the spread of the ideas of universality, liberty and equality. The diffusion of knowledge through books and the printing press, as well as the extension of an education for all through schools and universities, accompanied this historical development.”[4] As we now enter what some call the “Third Industrial Revolution” with the spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the concept and role of knowledge societies must again be redefined. In this new technological context, the issue UNESCO is addressing concerns the vision to be endowed to our emerging knowledge societies.


Many see in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) the increased possibility of exercising our basic rights and freedoms, as well as the right to know, as defined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). Indeed, ICTs favour freedom of expression, by means of blogs for instance, and enable open commercial exchange, such as eBay and other auction sites. Moreover, by eliminating geographic distances, ITCs via e-learning facilitate the dissemination of information and the decompartmentalization of learning contexts. All of these factors contribute to the democratization of information and the emergence of a worldwide collaboration space (wiki, free or open?source programs), thereby encouraging a plurality of data and a diversity of exchange, which are the wellsprings of creativity and knowledge. In short, these opportunities provided by ICTs empower individuals to participate more fully in public life and decision-making.


Finally, ITCs impact our knowledge acquisition, by making this knowledge manageable via databases and virtual objects that are infinitely modifiable and accessible. By virtue of this, ICTs are bringing about a redefinition of the role of memory in the process of learning; it is no longer a matter of retaining a piece of information henceforth accessible at will, but rather of developing the skills needed to sort out that information and ponder it.


However, of all the prospects held out by the ITCs, the greatest is the promise of “technological leapfrogging”: the possibility for the least developed countries to by-pass earlier stages of industrialization “by adopting the most advanced technologies directly and to capitalize on their tremendous potential”[5] to boost economic and social development. This state-of-the-art technology brings about a new economy based not on industry, but on knowledge. Some countries, Malaysia for instance, have adopted such an ambitious plan, using ICTs and knowledge as a base for economic development. As well, “successes achieved by a certain number of East and Southeast Asian countries in the fight against poverty is largely explained by the massive investments they made in education and research and development (R&D) over several decades.”[6]


 


Knowledge Societies: For All, By All


While new technologies are a source of social change, they also involve issues to be addressed before they can contribute to the emergence of worldwide knowledge societies on the premises of UNESCO’s ideals of equality, justice and democracy. 


First, this presupposes an understanding of knowledge as a multiform rather than a turnkey concept: as there are various types of knowledge (local, indigenous, etc), there are various equally important vectors to disseminate them, from traditional means such as radio, television, printed media, word of mouth, to new ICTs such as the internet, to a wide-ranging public (different stages of life, background, realities, etc.).


In this regard, the plural of the expression “knowledge societies” is not fortuitous, as it also indicates that these societies should tend towards the integration of diversity, both cultural and linguistic. Moreover knowledge, as a public good, should be accessible to all and allow all to partake in society. This universal availability of knowledge must be unlimited, not withstanding the protection of intellectual property.


This is why all means should be taken to urgently look into the digital and the knowledge divides. “The term ‘digital divide’ was coined in the 1990s to describe the perceived growing gap between those who have access to and the skills to use ICTs and those who, for socio-economic and/or geographical reasons, have limited or no access.”[7] If this gap is not bridged, ICTs instead of initiating new worldwide knowledge societies, could exacerbate actual disparities.


In turn, access to information through ICTs is useless if it is not accompanied by the ability to manipulate, process, sort and digest this information. This issue is nothing but the “knowledge divide between those who have access to knowledge and participate in knowledge-sharing, and the others, those relegated to the sidelines of knowledge societies.”[8]


UNESCO’s response to these divides is not only the promotion of access to information, freedom of expression and respect of diversity but also of lifelong learning for all, focusing on disadvantaged groups (women, disabled, poor, etc.), research and higher education – a focus which in turn raises the issue of the funding and privatization of research and higher education. Only education can transform access to information into the partaking in knowledge and society. Given the political and economic power to which knowledge entitles, it must be accessible for all and inclusive so as to maintain and assist the flourishing of functioning democracies. Only through knowledge societies can globalization gain a human face.







[1] Bindé, J. (Coord.) (2005). Towards knowledge societies: UNESCO world report. UNESCO reference works series. Paris: UNESCO. Download PDF in English. 


[2] Communiqué of the Ministerial Round Table “Towards Knowledge Societies”, organized during the 32nd session of the General Conference of UNESCO, Paris, 9–10 October 2003 (document 32 C/INF. 26, para. 3).


[3] http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/


[4] World Report, p. 17


[5] Ibid, World Report, p. 18-19


[6] Ibid, p. 20


[7] The Digital Strategy website


[8] World Report, p. 160