CM/Res.1676 (LXIV)
Page 1
RESOLUTION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF AFRICA’S INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVE (AISI)
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Sixty-Fourth Ordinary Session in Yaounde, Cameroon, from 1 to 5 July, 1996,
Convinced of the need to fully exploit the potential of the information technology to effectively and equitably integrate Africa in the global economy and accelerate the socio-economic development of the Continent,
Recognizing that building Africa’s information infrastructure and decision support systems to enable African leaders, policy-makers and the civil society at large is a necessary condition to positioning Africa in the world’s rapid expanding global economic system, enhancing policy information and speeding up the process of economic integration in the Continent,
Take note of Resolution 812 (XXXI) of the African Ministers Responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning of the Economic Commission for Africa adopting the framework for the Implementation of the African Information Society Initiative,
Convinced that the African Information Society Initiative will enable the creation of new jobs and enhance the quality of life of the people,
Further convinced that the building of the African Information Society will require major commitment and cooperating of governments, the business sector and international development agencies,
Committed to building and strengthening of the African Information Society:
CALLS UPON Member States to take immediate measures to implement Africa’s Information Society Initiative and incorporate the action framework of the Initiative
to build Africa’s Information and communication infrastructure in their development plans and programmes;
FURTHER CALLS UPON Member States to utilize the capacities and experiences of national, sub-regional and regional African centers of excellence for the implementation of the Initiative;
URGES the International Community, in particular regional organizations such as the Pan-African Telecommunication Union and Regional African Satellite Communication System, Non-governmental Organizations, The Private Sector, Bilateral and Multilateral Development Partners, to realize the goals of the Initiative;
FURTHER URGES the international financial institutions, in particular the World Bank and Africa’s d evelopment partners to use Africa’s Information Society Initiative as a guiding framework for their intervention in the area of information and communication in Africa.