The People's Communication Charter

Many governments and international organisations have offered utopian visions of a Global Information Infrastructure (GII), a successor to the Internet, which will enable global sharing and communication. The development of the GII rests on the capacity of all nations to have access to the requisite technology, and the currently widening gap between access to PCs and telephone lines does not bode well for the prospects of the envisioned network. The People's Communication Charter may provide a framework for critically assessing and influencing the quality and distribution of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their products. This article is freely available as a chapter in Development and Advocacy and in Development and Social Action.