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Building peace in the minds of men and women

Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace

The Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace was adopted by the UNESCO General Conference at its 32nd session in Paris on 15 October 2003. The recommendation invites UNESCO and its Member States to focus its interventions on four areas:

  • Development of multilingual content and systems
  • Facilitation of access to networks and systems
  • Development of public domain content
  • Reaffirmation of equitable balance between the interests of rights-holders and the public interest.

The General Conference of UNESCO recommends that

  • Member States apply the recommendation by taking appropriate legislative or other steps to give effect to the norms and principles set forth in this recommendation within their respective territories and jurisdictions.
  • Member States bring this recommendation to the attention of the authorities and services responsible for public and private works on ICT policies, strategies and infrastructure, including for the application of multilingualism on the Internet, the development of networks and services, the expansion of public domain information on the Internet, and to clarify issues of intellectual property rights.
  • Member States should report to UNESCO on the measures taken at the country level to implement this recommendation every four years.

UNESCO prepares a consolidated report for its governing bodies (the Executive Board and the General Conference), of UNESCO based on Member States’ reports.

First consolidated report

The first consolidated report on the measures taken by Member States for the implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace was examined by the Executive Board at its 176th session in 2007 (Ref.: 176 EX/22) and the 34th session of the General Conference in 2007 (Ref.: 34 C/23).

The Member States reports submitted to UNESCO Secretariat for the preparation of the first consolidated report:

Second consolidated report

The second consolidated report on the measures taken by UNESCO Member States for the implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace was examined by the Executive Board at its 186th session in Spring 2011 (Ref.: 186 EX/19 Part IV) and at the 36th session of the General Conference in Autumn 2011 (Ref.: 36 C/26).

Member States’ reports submitted to UNESCO’s Secretariat for the preparation of the second consolidated report:

Third consolidated report

The third consolidated report on the measures taken by Member States for the implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace will be examined by the Executive Board at its 196th session in 2015 (Ref.: 196 EX/19 Part IV).

The Member States reports submitted to UNESCO Secretariat for the preparation of the third consolidated report:

Fourth consolidated report

The fourth consolidated report on the measures taken by Member States for the implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace will be examined by the Executive Board at its 206th session in 2019 (Ref.: 206EX/25.VII).

The Member States reports submitted to UNESCO Secretariat for the preparation of the fourth consolidated report:

Training of decision-makers in policy measures advised by the Recommendation

In 2011, UNESCO provided assistance to Member States to train decision-makers in implementing the policy measures put forward by the recommendation. UNESCO carried out several training activities in the field of universal access to information and the promotion and use of multilingualism in partnership with the Organization of American States (OAS).