Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Evora, 26 June 1998
N° 2

ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND CULTURAL EXCHANGES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Representatives of national parliaments of Mediterranean countries ended two days of talks today in Evora concluding that "we are entering the information age and we must make the greatest possible efforts to be actors rather than passive subjects. We must reduce as best we can the disparities between the info-rich and the info-poor, both between countries and within our countries themselves."

Presenting his summary of the discussions at the end of the meeting, the Rapporteur, Mr. Khelil noted that the broad scope of the subject, its ramifications and its strong political connotations, were such that the meeting adopted a general approach so as to define better the issues at stake.

The debate had clearly shown that "the free flow of ideas by word and by image is a key element of democracy and an indicator of the degree which it has reached in society." The point was made "that the free movement of individuals was also important". "Nobody denies the existence of wide disparities in the Mediterranean, particularly as regards access to information and to the means of communication." The debates indicated however, "that there is a difference between the current perception of these disparities and the real situation.

While there are certainly obvious disparities between one shore and the other, these disparities exist as well between the countries of the same sub-region and even within countries."

Moreover, stated the Rapporteur, "while it is true that the North is more technologically advanced than the South and has superior means at its disposal, it is handicapped in the field of communication by linguistic and cultural plurality whereas the Arab world enjoys linguistic unity and cultural homogeneity."

The meeting also addressed the question of the content of information, particularly as regards television production and the internet. The discussion showed that this issue is crucial in a world where information transcends national borders and where peoples are showing an increased need to slake their thirst for information. It is also crucial at a time when the phenomena of integration and globalisation are bringing forward more forcefully than ever before peoples aspiration for recognition and respect of their own identity.

The participants noted that "the free flow of information is at the very heart of cultural co-operation and that it is important for national production not to be sterilised or controlled. The freedom of creation in fact ensures that our citizens give credence to the information provided to them and do not feel that they have to turn to foreign programmes for the information they are seeking. This freedom of creation is moreover indispensable if we wish to ensure that our production is to flourish beyond our national borders."

The meeting was organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the invitation of the Parliament of Portugal and took place on the premises of Evora University on 25 and 26 June 1998. Some 50 members of parliament from 19 Mediterranean countries, Palestine and several international parliamentary assemblies took part in the meeting which was also attended by several parliamentary observer delegations from other regions.

The Evora meeting was the second of three meetings to prepare IPU's IIIrd Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Security and Co-operation in the Mediterranean that is planned for late 1999. The first preparatory meeting took place in Monaco in July 1997 and addressed employment - key to stability in the Mediterranean - whereas the third meeting is scheduled for March next year in Ljubljana where parliamentarians will discuss political and security related co-operation issues in the Mediterranean.