Internet Governance and Social Development: Is this the Forgotten Key? The Impact on Cultural Diversity in the Caribbean

Abstract

Internet governance (IG) has been an important issue even before being officially given priority during the first World Summit on the Information Society in 2003. To date, the Working Group on Internet Governance’s definition of IG remains the standard when one begins to examine what constitutes as IG and what does not. There is no doubt about the link between IG and social and economic development but it is the extent of this relationship and the impact of one upon the other that has been debated. One of the definitions of social development is that it can be described as the process of organizing human energies and activities at higher levels to achieve greater results. Development increases the utilization of human potential. (Jacobs and Cleveland, 1999) Based on this process of organizing human energies it might be fair to say that the development and impact of the Internet has also influenced social development and, by extension, culture. Increasingly it is not just that culture is being acknowledged but that there are rights associated with a group’s culture. The English-speaking Caribbean does not face the barrier of language as it pertains to the Internet and so one can argue that the influence of external forces on the region’s people and culture is easier. The region is historically rich in culture, as a result of, among other things, the various ethnicities that have made the region home over the past decades and internal migration, which has resulted in a blending of indigenous cultures. The influence of reggae music, which originated in Jamaica, is one such example. Diversity has been discussed in the context of IG. However, cultural diversity is one aspect which has not been explored in depth. Perhaps this is due to the role culture plays in all countries and the varying norms and values which are associated with a nation’s culture. With the proliferation of the Internet there have been various warnings about the erosion of cultural values and norms as aspects of one’s culture can be easily shared. In discussions related to IG and diversity in general the primary focus has been on multilingualism but it is this author’s argument that cultural diversity should also be examined in its totality. Some of the current issues include the sharing/mingling of culture via the Internet and the possible creation of “hybrid” cultures and/or the legal infringement on one’s cultural rights. It is these arguments that have led to initiatives such as the United Nations Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which has as its objectives, among other things to “protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions, to create the conditions for cultures to flourish and to freely interact in a mutually beneficial manner and to give recognition to the distinctive nature of cultural activities, goods and services as vehicles of identity, values and meaning”. Cultural diversity in the context of global trade is intended to secure special treatment for cultural goods and services through domestic and international measures. This view speaks to the economics of the situation which has implications on the interrelation between the Internet and cultural diversity and the approach taken by policymakers.