Throughout the discussions in and around the High-Level Segment on Information Technology of the Economic and Social Council, it became clear that there is no single formula for a successful ICT programme. The United Nations, in its role as a global organization of the peoples, can merely try to encourage and guide countries in their approaches to information and communications technology development, but each country has to make an individual effort to overcome its own national obstacles.

Many stumbling blocks on the path to a truly equal "knowledge society" exist, and these cannot simply be identified in terms of the "digital divide" between North and South. There are gaps also between genders, between urban and rural areas, or between different ethnic groups. The elimination of these gaps cannot be treated only as part of an ICT strategy -- it has to be a prerequisite, or the "information society" may threaten to become a class society. When bringing ICT to an already divided culture, there is the danger that its benefits might be enjoyed only by a minority and that its use will reinforce the marginalization of those sections of the population that are already disadvantaged.

In this context, social pressures that limit women's access to education and training are of particular concern. In countries where women still lack power, where their rights continue to be ignored or violated, they will not be afforded the chance to use information technology in order to acquire more knowledge and, with it, power. Unless both the international community and national policy-makers are proactive in ensuring that the benefits of ICT are equally available to and shaped by women and men, they will not be tools for, but rather impediments to, democracy.

The Ministerial Declaration that came out of the High-Level Segment identifies human and institutional capacity as being critical to maintaining access to information technology and to ensuring that its benefits are enjoyed by society at large. Investment in education, including basic as well as digital literacy, remains the fundamental means to developing human capacity to its fullest and should be at the heart of any national, regional and international information technology strategies. One of the greatest barriers globally to the spread and use of information technology is the inability to read. Illiteracy rates reach as high as 90 per cent of the female population in Africa, and in almost any country of the world considerably more women cannot read and write than men.

Until and unless we are successful in providing more universal and effective education, as well as in ensuring fair and equal rights, we will not be creating a world which is ready for the benefits that modern science can bring.