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Charlie Beckett

December 19th, 2010

What is an informed society? From Dubai to Davos

3 comments | 2 shares

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Charlie Beckett

December 19th, 2010

What is an informed society? From Dubai to Davos

3 comments | 2 shares

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

One of the positive things to have emerged from the whole Wikileaks story is a fresh debate about the idea of an Informed Society. The President of the World Economic Forum has said he won’t invite Julian Assange to Davos because of the criminal process facing the Wikileaks founder. But Klaus Schwab certainly recognises the significance of the whistle-blower website:

Schwab said the group has come to define a new reality that has shifted the boundaries between privacy and transparency. Governments, companies and managers should accept the fact that they are now operating in a “glass room”, he said.

I am chairman of the WEF global agenda council group looking at the idea of the Informed Society. We met in Dubai last month with Wikileaks at the heart of our debates. Now I am trying to write a memo that sums up the thinking and proposes some actions. This will go to the meeting in January, even if Assange doesn’t.

Here is a little extract from the draft in which we try to define what we mean by an Informed Society. Comments are more than welcome:

An informed society is one where citizens have the resources, education and skills to access and participate in the free flow of reliable and useful information through a diverse range of platforms and media organisations that empower them to make considered decisions about their economic, social and political lives.

An informed society in the digital age can facilitate the personal, community and international development that can improve the efficiency and creativity of human endeavours.

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Charlie Beckett

Posted In: Development | Journalism | Politics

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