Brussels, 04/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - In a new World Report published on 3 November, UNESCO calls for the establishment of shared knowledge societies not solely based on the Western model. The scientific upheavals of the twentieth century gave rise to a third industrial revolution, that of new technology, which has put knowledge and cognitive resources at the centre of human activity and social dynamics, explains UNESCO, arguing that the knowledge divide, today more than ever, separates counties endowed with powerful research and development potential, highly effective education systems and a range of public learning and cultural facilities, from nations with deficient education systems and research institutions, starved of resources and suffering as a result of the brain drain. UNESCO warns that 'another gap is opening up between the most advanced knowledge societies and those rich countries failing to invest adequately in research knowledge. This leads to a brain drain along North-South lines. Building shared knowledge societies will be the key to a new and 'intelligent' form of sustainable human development in the new world currently taking shape before our eyes.' UNESCO explains that 'several issues form the subject of current global debate and call for hard choices and the norms that are to prevail in the societies of tomorrow. These issues include the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic diversity, the scope - or indeed extension - of the knowledge 'commons', digital solidarity between North and South, questions of copyright and intellectual property, and the relationship between knowledge and wisdom (which takes us into the realm of ethics).' UNESCO makes ten recommendations for governments, the private sector and civil society: 1) invest more in high quality education for all to ensure equal opportunities; 2) open more community IT and communications access centres to spread and share knowledge; 3) encourage universal access to knowledge by increasing the volume of content available; 4) work together to share scientific knowledge better (by creating collaborative scientific infrastructure accessible to researchers from more than one country); 5) share environmental knowledge for sustainable development (creating global natural catastrophe early warning systems for tsunamis, etc); 6) prioritise linguistic diversity, a vital element of cultural diversity; 7) move towards internet knowledge certificates (establishing quality labels to guarantee safe and relevant information); 8) boost the creation of digital solidarity partnerships; 9) ensure women contribute more to knowledge societies; and 10) measure knowledge with reliable statistical tools. (Info: http://www.unesco.org/fr/worldreport )