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STATEMENT BY MS CASLYN OW, DELEGATE TO THE 66th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON AGENDA ITEM 55, ON QUESTIONS RELATING TO INFORMATION, FOURTH COMMITTEE, 19 OCTOBER 2011

19 October 2011

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STATEMENT BY MS CASLYN OW, DELEGATE TO THE 66th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON AGENDA ITEM 55, ON QUESTIONS RELATING TO INFORMATION, FOURTH COMMITTEE, 19 OCTOBER 2011


Madame Chair,


1 I offer my delegation's congratulations to you, Madame Chair, and members of the Bureau on your election. My delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by the distinguished representative of Thailand, on behalf of ASEAN.


Madame Chair,


2 Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says, and I quote, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers", unquote. This freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas has been greatly facilitated by the new media technologies and communications infrastructure of today, which have revolutionised the way information is disseminated to people around the world, and improved the ease with which people can have access to information.


3 However, the opportunity to take full advantage of, or to even have access to, information and communications technology (ICT), which is an enabler for economic growth and social development, is not equal to all. A digital divide exists, and persists, in different parts of the world and even within different communities within the same country.


Madame Chair,


4 In this regard, please allow me to share Singapore's digital inclusion efforts, as part of our Intelligent Nation iN2015 Masterplan to build an infocomm-savvy nation. Our aim is to bridge the digital divide for three key groups of people in our community, namely, the disabled, the elderly and students from less-privileged family backgrounds. We are doing this by establishing the Infocomm Accessibility Centre, where those with disabilities can be empowered with relevant ICT skills to enhance their integration into society; the Silver Infocomm Initiative, which offers affordable training and customised curriculum for senior citizens; and the NEU PC Plus programme, which gives assistance to students from low-income households.


5 For the general population, we have also set up CitizenConnect Centres island-wide. These Centres cater to residents who either do not have access to, or who require help with a computer or the Internet to perform online transactions with the Government.


Madame Chair,


The United Nations has a critical role to play in bridging the digital divide between the information-rich and the information-poor. Measures to improve digital inclusion ought to be considered, so that all people, regardless of their demographic profile, have a fair opportunity to benefit from the use of the Internet for better access to information.


Thank you.


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