[11655] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
FYIFrance: new Prime Min-> Internet a priority of France, pt.1/2
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jack Kessler)
Tue Sep 16 20:04:35 1997
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 16:34:03 -0500
From: Jack Kessler <kessler@well.com>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
(A new FYI France Online Service subscription rate for students -- US
$10 for one year -- goes into effect from today through December! Check it
out, at http://www.fyifrance.com .)
In a speech remarkable both for libraries and for the Internet, France's
new prime minister, Lionel Jospin, just has outlined his Government's plan
to put his nation "en ligne". He specifically mentions new support for the
Bibliothe`que Nationale de France's online access and digitization
projects. The speech is translated in what follows.
France is more typical of the "non - Anglo - Saxon" world in all of this
than we might think. Notice the Prime Minister's concerns for equality of
access, for controls and regulation, for competition with American culture
and English - language domination, and his support for the very idea of
government participation. At the ITU's "Telecom Interactive 97" in Geneva,
last week, the same ideas were expressed.
These have not been leading American concerns in the Internet's
development. This is the "rest of the world" talking. But now we in the US
should listen: at least because increasingly these are the new patrons,
clients and customers, now that so much of digital information is "going
international" --
XXX
Speech of the Prime Minister, given at The Universite' de la Communication
at Hourtin, Monday August 25 1997 (tr. JK):
Preparing the Entry of France into the Information Society
"I am pleased to be able to address you today in the special setting of
the Universite' de la Communication at Hourtin, on a subject which is of
particular concern to the communications sector: I would like to speak
about the revolution in the technologies of information.
This year you have chosen "Politics" as the theme of your reflections.
Beyond its technical dimension, the emergence of an Information Society in
fact represents a political challenge, and it constitutes, in this
respect, an essential preoccupation of my Government.
1) The entry of France into an Information Society is a decisive event of
our future.
We can speak today of the emergence of an Information Society due to three
great transformations, which are part of a fundamental change in our
society.
First: the generalization of the use of the technologies and networks of
information. The "informatization" of society, which has come upon us
since the end of the 1960's, today is a concrete reality which translates
into this concept of an Information Society. The digitization of
information, the "informatization" of modes of production and exchange,
the increase of the "knowledge" component of wealth, and the development
of new networks like the Internet all have strong repercussions which are
economic but also social and cultural.
Second: the evolution of technology is more and more rapid, and is
accompanied by an exponential development of its commercial market. Where
it once took 10 years for the emergence of 25,000 Minitel servers, now
nearly 100,000 Internet sites are created every month throughout the
world.
Third: the globalization of information flows. Whether one speaks of
satellites or of the Internet, the new multimedia networks no longer know
any frontiers. This poses a considerable challenge for nation - states,
which are accustomed to governing their own national affairs.
The emergence of an Information Society opens vast perspectives. The
economic perspective is obvious. The multimedia industry, where one finds
the computer, telecommunications, and audiovisual industries, today
constitutes one of the significant motors of national growth and is an
important source for jobs. Today the part played by the information
technologies in the global economy has become more important than that of
the automobile industry.
Information is becoming strategic wealth, one of the conditions of our
competitive position. The products of intellectual activity already form,
and will form even more in the future, a determining part of our
collective wealth. To a great extent, we know, international competition
in the coming century will be a battle of intelligence.
But the upheavals introduced by the technologies of information concern
much more than just economics: the wealth of the new networks of
information and communication offers promises which are social, cultural
and, to be sure, political. The transformation of relationships of space
and of time which are induced by information networks allow many new
democratic hopes, whether one thinks of access to knowledge and culture,
of regional development, or of the participation of citizens in local
life. Still, this evolution must be controlled: I will return to this in a
moment.
The Government is fully aware of these changes. What is our country's
situation?
More and more voices are raised now speaking of a French backwardness in
the use of the technologies of information. Some statistics, such as the
weak figures for households with computers, or the still limited number of
French Internet users, bear effective witness to a backwardness which has
several causes:
* a computer industry which still is too weak;
* an insufficient offering of information and quality services in the
French language on the new networks;
* a lack of support to PME [Petites et Moyennes Entreprises -- formal
equivalent of the "Small Business Administration's" concerns in the US.
JK.] and to new and innovative firms.
Our nation does have resources at its disposal, however, of which we must
take advantage: sophisticated telecommunications networks, advanced
research centers such as CNET [Centre de Recherche et De'veloppement de
France Te'le'com. JK.] and INRIA [Institut National de Recherche en
Informatique et en Automatique. JK.], an information industry and
information services which are highly developed, and well - established
experience with online services, of which the Minitel was an exemplary
precursor.
The question of the future of the Minitel is important. Its simplicity of
use and the security which it provides for transactions have offered an
example of that which the users are seeking from new networks such as the
Internet. But we now understand that the Minitel, a solely French network,
is technologically limited, and that we risk its increasingly constituting
a brake upon the development of newer and promising applications in
information technology. I wish therefore for France Te'le'com to propose
incentives and solutions favoring the progressive migration to the
Internet of the vast and valuable collection of Minitel services, a
migration in which the current administration ought to set the example.
I am convinced that we find ourselves, today, at a crossroads: we possess
all of the means needed to make France a nation at the forefront of the
Information Society.
2) Enthusiastic involvement by and support from the government is a
necessity.
The Government has decided to put an ambitious action program into place.
It will depend upon an inter - ministerial committee for its coordination.
Its exact operation will be announced before the end of this Autumn. The
Government will present an assortment of proposals to the nation, which
will permit an emphasis on priorities and will put real measures into
operation. The purpose of this action program will be to provide a
reference point for administrators, but also and above all for the other
members of society who need a willing, comprehensible and long - lasting
intervention by the State.
In fact, and in spite of certain opinions on the current seemingly -
irreversible retreat of the State, one can see throughout the world -- and
particularly in the United States -- a very active presence by the State
in aiding the development of technology and new services. Technology is
only a means to an end: it ought to be put to the service of society.
The apprehensions raised by these upheavals are understandable. Fear in
the face of the emergence of a new communications tool, far from being
new, is a recurrent theme in history. But the possibilities offered by the
Information Society justify our straightforward efforts to overcome these
fears.
In saying this, I am aware of two dangers which must be avoided:
a) the stigmatization of the transformations which are under way -- the
diabolization of the technology or, the reverse, any attempt to ignore the
importance of the changes -- as well as any attitude which translates into
feelings of helplessness;
b) giving way to irenic visions which announce to us a radiant future in
an Information Society governed by consensus, pacified, and freed of all
faults.
The Information Society will be whatever we decide it will be. This is why
we must propose a project and a political vision to the French. This
political vision is that of a united Information Society, one of
solidarity.
We have decided to remedy the backwardness of France in information
technologies, a backwardness which quickly could have grave consequences
in terms of competitive position and employment. France and French culture
ought to take their proper place in the global society of information.
But we refuse to permit a widening in the gulf which separates those of
our citizens who master these new tools from the rest of the population.
To facilitate the development of the Information Society in France while
providing access for the greatest number to its new services: this is the
ambition of my Government.
The action of the Government depends upon the opening of a public debate.
I am convinced that the solutions cannot be imposed from the "top down".
Whatever might be their importance, it would be illusory to wait for
everything to arrive from public agencies. The State does not have the job
of substituting itself for the other actors in the Information Society:
individuals, companies, and organizations. This is why I intend for the
government action program for the Information Society to be the object of
a public debate in which everyone, and I think particularly here of
associations, may react to our proposals. The mechanics of this will be
given in detail at the same time as the action program is made public.
3) To be effective, our actions must be oriented around priorities.
The initiatives of the Government in preparing the entry of our nation
into the Information Society respond to fundamental principles:
* more access to knowledge and to culture,
* more jobs and economic growth,
* more public services and openness in government,
* more democracy and liberty.
This policy, to be effective and understandable, must be oriented around a
limited number of priorities:
* education,
* culture,
* electronic commerce,
* companies in the information technology and communications sectors,
* the reform of public services,
* regulation.
First priority: the intelligence battle begins at school.
The development in a school setting of the use of information technologies
meets a double objective:
a) to provide for the mastering of new communication tools which will be
indispensable to future citizens;
b) to exploit the riches of multimedia as a pedagogic tool. The computer
may not substitute in any way for the teacher. But it may become a
valuable aid.
I am convinced that information technologies constitute a path for the
learning of knowledge and for access to culture. If this new knowledge is
not provided at school, a gulf will open between young people whose
parents can afford a computer and those who do not have this chance.
Three types of action are important and inseparable: generalizing the
equipment and the access to information networks; educating the
instructors; and supporting the creation of appropriate curriculum.
It is not enough to proclaim that all schools must be equipped and
connected. This is an obvious objective, which I of course endorse. But
the important thing is to understand how, in what rhythm and at what cost
to do this equipping: without forgetting that we are speaking of a project
which will be shared by the State and by local governments -- a close
partnership with regional, de'partement, and city governments consequently
is indispensable.
Numerous organizations already benefit, thanks to the dynamism of some
university or of some capable local government, from having the necessary
means. My hope very much is to avoid the appearance of a "two - track"
school system in which certain establishments will benefit more while
others will be deprived of access to the technologies of information. This
hope will guide, I know, the proposals which the Minister of "Education
Nationale, de la Recherche et de la Technologie" will make soon in these
areas.
But our efforts largely will have been in vain -- and the problems
resulting from grand equipment plans in the past show us this -- if a
considerable training effort is not undertaken at the same time. Many
instructors have used these technologies of information already for a very
long time. Now, pooling all these various skills, we must generalize the
practice, as much at the level of initial training as at that of
continuing education.
Finally, the effort in equipment and in training must be accompanied by
support for the production of multimedia instruction programs, accessible
on the Internet and via other distribution tools.
Second Priority: the development of our cultural presence on the new
information networks must be assured.
We must have an ambitious policy of digitization for our cultural
patrimony, which must be made accessible to the public on the open
networks: written patrimony, architectural and artistic patrimony,
scientific patrimony. It is in this spirit that we have urged, along with
the Minister of "Culture et de la Communication", that the Bibliothe`que
Nationale de France from now on offer to the public free access, via the
Internet, to some of its collections.
It is equally important that all current media firms, for which
information already is their trade, should extend their activities to
these networks. I think particularly of the printed press, which for these
purposes could benefit from public support.
This cultural presence is indispensable to the international presence of
France and of French culture, in partnership with the other francophone
nations. This objective supposes the development of services offered in
the French language, services which as of now are few. Our patrimony is an
achievement of France. This is the way to show its value.
An active online presence must be accompanied, obviously, by great
vigilance in avoiding the treatment of our culture on the Internet as an
article of merchandise among many others. We must defend a cultural
exception, with the same determination which we have exercised in the past
on behalf of our audiovisual achievements. I know that the forces of
artistic creation in graphic, audiovisual, and musical domains already are
taking in these new tools.
In programs for the employment of youth [a major issue of the last
national election, and a major party platform plank of M. Jospin's
successful campaign. JK], the cultural effort must benefit from the
presence of people adept at training others in the use of the new
technologies.
Third Priority: electronic commerce must be developed, relying on private
initiatives.
For this we must have confidence in the process, and therefore assurance
that individuals and enterprises may undertake commercial exchanges on the
Internet with full security. For this reason, I have decided to promulgate
decrees liberalizing cryptography which will be announced shortly. A
particular effort will be made to favor the cryptography known as "weak",
which has been hampered until now by very restrictive regulation. I know
that the Minister of "Economie, des finances, et de l'industrie"
understands that priority is to be given to this progress in electronic
commerce."
(In Part 2, to follow: some other French and foreign concerns which do not
sound particularly American.)
XXX
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XXX
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