Our Common Humanity in the Information Age. Principles and Values for Development

CHAPTER II 
FREEDOM AND DEVELOPMENT

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21
OVERVIEW 
Sarbuland Khan, Executive Coordinator of the Global Alliance for 
Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID), 
United Nations
Heads of States and Governments at the Millennium Summit recognized the value of 
freedom, along with other fundamental values and principles, as essential to maintaining 
international relations in the twenty-first century. They also underscored an important 
relationship between freedom and development, noting how the value of freedom could 
be translated to concrete action through the attainment of key objectives enshrined in the 
Millennium Declaration, including the Millennium Development Goals.
The Millennium Declaration embraced a broader understanding of freedom, defining it 
not only in the context of “violence, oppression or injustice”, but also as being the right 
of men and women “to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from 
hunger…” In doing so, the Millennium Declaration defined freedom, not only from a 
political perspective, but also from a development and socio-economic one. Although the 
relationship between freedom and development has been examined and studied by 
development practitioners for a long time, the acknowledgement of this relationship in 
the Declaration reflects the international community’s affirmation of the role of 
development in preserving and promoting true freedom for people around the world. 
During the Summit, governments vowed to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, 
women and children from the abject of dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to 
which more than a billion of them are currently subjected”. But enormous challenges lie 
ahead in breaking the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment.
We live in a world where more than a billion still live on less than a dollar day and suffer 
under extreme poverty and hunger. In sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, millions of 
people are chronically hungry; half of children under 5 are malnourished. The spread of 
diseases also continue to destroy the lives of millions of people worldwide. HIV/AIDS, 
malaria and other diseases kill millions of people each year and, in sub-Saharan Africa, 
AIDS has now become the leading cause of premature death. In the developing world, 
many people are subjected to poor living conditions, with millions not even having access 

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22 | Our Common Humanity in the Information Age 
to safe drinking water. It is estimated that half the developing world even lack toilets or 
other forms of basic sanitation.
The Millennium Declaration provides us with the blueprint for action in eradicating 
poverty and freeing people from dehumanizing conditions of underdevelopment. 
Governments at the Millennium Summit resolved to create an environment both at the 
national and international levels that would be conducive to the elimination of poverty 
and advancing development. They also recognized that developing countries, in 
particular, small-island developing States and landlocked developing countries, should be 
supported in mobilizing the needed resources to finance their growth and development. 
Furthermore, governments have set upon themselves the Millennium Development 
Goals, which are quantifiable targets that need to be achieved by 2015 in the areas of 
poverty eradication, universal primary education, child mortality, combating HIV/AIDS, 
malaria and other diseases, among others.
Governments also recognized that respect for the value of freedom would be incomplete 
if the rule of law is not strengthened and the fundamental human rights and freedoms of 
our citizens not recognized. To achieve this, concerted effort to promote democracy and 
participatory governance, both at the national and international levels, are needed.
Freedom, in a globalized world is the capacity to act within the international society 
according to one’s own determination, within the limits of rules set for all. International 
organizations have defined common rules that apply to all and within which freedom 
should be guaranteed. The corollary of this is the freedom of mind, namely its 
independence from fear or prejudices, which finds a practical incarnation in the 
protection and promotion of human rights. In a world dominated by high inequalities, 
freedom from want is important, namely the right to food, water and access to basic 
services which leads to the Millennium Development Goals.
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In this chapter, “A Historic Perspective on Shared Values” by Stephen Schlesinger recalls
the principles underlying the founding of the United Nations, which embodied the 
promise that humanity’s desires could be made achievable through cooperation and the 
interdependence of nations. In her anectode in “One Human Family”, Katty Kay stresses 
the importance of Freedom.
“ Youth, Information Technologies, Freedom to Access” by Armen Orujyan stresses the 
need for youth engagement in global governance through vehicles such as young 
professional advis ory boards to key organizations. “A Korean Exp erience, Promotion of 

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Chapter II – Freedom and Development | 23 
Freedom” of Jung-Dal Kwon underscores the important role non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) have to play in achieving the United Nations Millennium 
Development Goals (MDGs), describing ways in which his organization is working to 
e xtend the social safety network to those people marginalized from the benefits of 
capitalism.
“Africare and Its Role in Africa” by Julius E. Coles states that development institutions 
do listen to the desires of those people they aim to help, and that the more free individuals 
are to express their desire, the more development they can achieve. “Freedom to Teach” 
by Allan Goodman talks about the difficulties and lack of security to teach in many 
conflict situations and the role of the Institute for International Education in saving 
professors and providing them the opportunity to teach again. Uzodinma Iweala in 
“Concept of Freedom” discusses the concept in its positive and negative manifestations.