The Highlights Archive | Building Knowledge Societies

Building Knowledge Societies

Knowledge and information have significant impact on people’s lives. The sharing of knowledge and information, particularly through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has the power to transform economies and societies. UNESCO works to create inclusive knowledge societies and empower local communities by increasing access and preservation and sharing of information and knowledge in all of UNESCO’s domains.

Knowledge societies must build on four pillars: freedom of expression; universal access to information and knowledge; respect for cultural and linguistic diversity; and quality education for all.

The Organization’s thrust to create knowledge societies is premised on the conviction that universal access to information is key to building peace, sustainable economic development, and intercultural dialogue. UNESCO promotes ‘Openness’ in content, technology, and processes through awareness raising, policy formulation and capacity building. These solutions include Open Access to Scientific Information , Open Educational Resources, Free and Open Source Software, an Open Training Platform(link is external) and Open and Distance Learning. Such resources allow researchers and innovators to more easily share and use data. They also provide students and educators from around the world with unprecedented access to knowledge and information.

Central to its mandate of promoting peace and intercultural dialogue, UNESCO supports the preservation of documentary heritage by strengthening existing preservation frameworks, and emphasizes long-term preservation of digitized and digitally-born information. UNESCO equally encourages multilingualism and respect for cultural diversity in cyberspace. It promotes local content production in different languages and contributes to international debates on internet governance, through participation in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

In order to succeed in this constantly changing environment, and to resolve problems effectively in every facet of life, individuals, communities and nations should obtain a critical set of competencies to be able to seek information, critically evaluate it and create new information and knowledge. Information Literacy creates new opportunities to improve the quality of our lives. Information Literacy is also closely linked to other types of literacies such as ICT literacy, Digital Literacy and Media and Information Literacy.

UNESCO takes a comprehensive approach to ICTs in education. It is through the Organization’s Intersectoral Platform that it focuses on the joint work of the Communication and Information, Education and Science Sectors where the issues of access, inclusion, equity and quality in education can be addressed. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play an increasingly important role in the way we communicate, learn and live. Programme ensure that teachers have the skills necessary to use ICTs in Education and all aspects of their professional practice through tools such as the ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT CFT).

19 October 2022	Archives and Public Access to Information
8 September 2022	Kazakhstan: Journalists for Media Independence and Safety of the Profession
13 June 2022	The ROAM-X Internet Universality Indicators project continues in Kazakhstan
2 June 2022	Kazakhstan National Committee of the Memory of the World Programme meets online
5 May 2022	Tajikistan and Central Asia: World Press Freedom Day 2022
29 March 2022	Kazakhstan: launching Internet Universality ROAM-X Indicators project
8 March 2022	Does AI advance gender equality? - A panel on The Effects of AI on the Working Lives of Women
17 December 2021	Workshop on the ICT Competency Framework for Teachers / Open Educational Resources
1 December 2021	Webinar on Inclusion of Learners with Disabilities in Open and Distance Learning in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
25 November 2021	Presentation of UNESCO Internet Universality Indicators
12 July 2021	Judiciary Training on Freedom of Expression
16 March 2021	Regional Consultations for the preparation of the Global Action Plan of the IDIL (2022-2032) for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia
15 February 2021	Central Asian Presentation: Steering AI and advanced ICTs for knowledge societies
7 April 2020	UNESCO launches CodeTheCurve Hackathon to develop digital solutions in response to COVID-19
28 October 2019	UNESCO Call for the National Mobile App Contest 2019 in Tajikistan

Building Knowledge Societies

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