Speech by Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Mrs Lena Hjelm-Wallén

Speech by Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Mrs Lena Hjelm-Wallén at International IDEA Democracy Forum, Stockholm, Sweden 27 June 2001.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The theme for this conference is "Democracy and the Information Revolution".

For sure, we are just at the beginning of the Information Revolution and let's confess; we don't know much of were it will lead us in the future.

But we know that Information and communication technologies - ICT - are the driving force in this process.

It is changing societies all over the world.

It changes the manufacturing and service industries.

It changes the way companies do business.

It changes the way people communicate and access information.

And it changes democracy.

Today there are 400 million people around the world who have access to the Internet. By 2005 there will be more than 1 billion. We can all imagine the expectations and demands this will impose on government, but also the possibilities it will bring for improving services and revitalising democracy.

Imagine, for example, the challenges put on dictatorships around the world by ICT. It is still possible to isolate a country and to censor the information given to its citizens. We see this daily in many countries all over the world. But something is happening.

If a country wants to be part of the global economy and be competitive it has to use new technology. It needs the modern means of communication to reach out and sell its products. But when more and more people in closed authoritarian societies can reach out by mail, telephones and fax-messages and through the Internet, their isolation is broken. The benefits of democracy will be obvious to anyone. People will have the possibility to gain access to independent information about their country. Inevitably, the new openness creates a demand for political change.

But the new technology can also be used for other purposes. With the recent riots in Gothenburg during the EU-summit in fresh memory I would like to point out that the use of new technology does not automatically strengthen democracy. The groups that attended the meeting with one purpose in mind - to get attention in the media by using violence against the police and against targeted companies - obviously coordinated their work through the Internet and by mobile phones. And so do other violent and anti-democratic groups.

That the advantages of the new technology clearly outweigh the disadvantages are in my opinion anyhow evident. Free speech is a pre-condition for democracy and ICT is a very important instrument for free speech. Therefore, I think it is fair to say that information technology will strengthen democracy around the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Democracy is based upon the idea that people shape their common future together. A society where large segments of the population are locked out of the actual political process is hence a weak democracy.

And there is an obvious risk that ICT will widen the gaps between different groups in society when it comes to the possibility to gain access to knowledge and contacts. Therefore efforts are necessary to increase the ownership of computers and enhance our citizens' ability to process information.

I think the best way to avoid information gaps is to provide commonly accessible high-quality education especially for the adult population. Without skills how computers and software work and are used, not even the most sophisticated technical infrastructure can prevent a democratic deficit. Therefore I think both traditional educational institutions and civic organisations working with adult education have a very important role to play.

IT-literacy for all is a fundamental political goal of the Swedish government. We believe this goal is important not least for democratic reasons.

The Swedish government has a large number of programs to fulfil this objective. I will take the opportunity to mention the Swedish National Action Programme for ICT in Schools. The Action Programme covers all levels; the pre-school class, compulsory school, upper secondary school and municipal adult education.

The programme consists as well of in-service training for 70,000 teachers in teams, as a free computer for participating teachers, state grants to improve accessibility of schools to the Internet, e-mail addresses for all teachers and pupils, support for developing the Swedish School net and the European School net and measures for pupils with special needs. Through this programme we enhance the efforts already made at the local level of using ICT in schools. One of the guiding principles of the programme has been to secure provisions of equal standards and equal teaching quality for pupils around the country.

Sweden already has a position among the countries with the greatest frequency of personal computers and telecommunications. Over 70% of the population has their own computer at home or at work. The rapid rise in computer use has been supported by the provision of special government discounts for those who buy a computer through their employers.

The public administration in Sweden has also taken several steps to develop its use of new information technology. Over 90% of the country's public authorities can be reached via the Internet today: 94% of these have their own website and 98% can be reached via e-mail. An increasing number of authorities are developing interactive services and forms of self-service on the Internet.

The Swedish Government has also taken the initiative to promote the development of so-called 24-hour authorities - that is, ways to provide public access to authorities - and thus service - around the clock. This means that many people now have greater opportunity to secure information about public sector activities and take part in the political decision-making process.

Throughout Sweden ICT networks are now being developed within municipal and county council areas and between them, in order to connect organisations, workplaces and homes. But expanding broadband facilities is not enough to ensure that all citizens become part of the information society. All sections of the community must also be given equal or equivalent opportunity to gain access to, and make use of, this new technology.

A number of local authorities and county councils are currently developing means of supplementing traditional meeting forms with ICT-based arenas. In some areas, websites have been created that serve as a meeting-place where citizens can conduct a dialogue with elected representatives and other citizens via electronic conference facilities.

The municipality of Bollnäs in the rural areas of Sweden is a good example of this development. Bollnäs is one of the first municipalities where the meetings of the municipal council can be watched live on the Internet. The citizens have the opportunity during proceeding meetings, to address the members of the council by e-mail. Besides questions being raised by e- mail, present citizens can also forward questions directly to the council. Questions, received by e-mail, before or during the meetings, are announced and commented.

At certain occasions, Bollnäs has performed minor public opinion polls using their homepage. Before a decision has been made in the municipal executive board, the citizens have been asked about their opinion. The results from the poll have thereafter served as a complementary basis in the decision- making process. Their ambition is to develop this possibility even further.

I think this kind of dialogue undoubtedly will change the prospects for the impact of citizens on public life, but it will also change the approaches adopted by the political parties in their work.

But one has to be aware of the risk that while the ICT revolution might enhance the distribution of information, it does not necessarily attract more people and bring depth to the public discussion.

The question is whether this development will engage people who have never previously been involved in political issues to seek out the necessary information, take part in discussions and then make their own opinions count. I believe people will be interested in getting involved in processes intended to enhance democracy by electronic means only if this has an effect on the actual decision-making. Simply to provide website information about decisions already taken is not enough.

Everyone has a right to participate in the democratic processes. This right also involves responsibilities for those who participate. The individual cannot carry these responsibilities alone, however. It is important that we who have taken upon ourselves the task of leading society - politicians and officials in local authorities, county councils and public agencies - also give citizens the opportunity to participate in a way that is not only formal, but that is also feasible.

It is therefore necessary that we, who are involved in the work of broadening the public discussion and strengthening of democracy, find ways to use ICT in a truly democratic process. To succeed in that aspect, we have to involve both the performers of the new economy, scientists as well as players in the democratic arena such as political parties, governments and the NGOs and of course the citizens themselves.