File:G7 Conference on the Global Information Society (P-000516 09-12).jpg

English: Arrival of Jacques Delors, Chairman of the G7 Round-table meeting of business leaders. The G7 Ministerial Conference on the Global lnformation Society took place in Brussels from 24 to 26 February. This conference, organized for the first time by the European Commission at the request ofthe G7 leaders at their Naples Summit, brought together representatives of the seven leading industrialized nations (Canada. France, Germany, Italy. Japan, the United Kingdom and the UnitedStates) to discuss the information society. The meeting was opened by Jacques Santer, President of the EC, who stressed the global dimension of the information society, as attested by the attendance of Thabo Mbeki, Vice-President of South Africa. The G7 Ministerial Conference was divided into three main parts: the Ministerial Conference itself, the round table of industrialists and the information society showcase. The participants stressed the importance of moving into the information age, and identified eight core principles to govern the accelerated liberalization of worldwide telecommunications: promoting dynamic competition; encouraging private investment; defining an adaptable regulatory framework; providing open access to networks; while ensuring universal provision of and access to services; promoting equality of opportunity for the citizen; promoting diversity of content, including cultural and linguistic diversity; recognizing the necessity of worldwide cooperation, with particular attention to the less developed countries.