Innovations in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have an important effect on the development of globalization and influence all areas of economic and social life, all segments of the society and deeply affect how public services are delivered, businesses function, and citizens lead their daily lives. In other words, these innovations cause a social transformation. These technologies already put their mark on the twenty first century and laid the foundation for a new social transformation towards “information society”.

Since the early 2000s, initiatives towards transformation into an information society are observed to be increasing all around the world. New products and services as well as increased productivity stemming from the developments in the ICT have also started to change the nature of international competition which used to be defined by the quantities of production factors. The Lisbon Strategy which aims to make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010 is one of the most comprehensive examples of the efforts to adapt to this change. The eEurope 2002 Action Plan prepared within this framework has continued with the eEurope 2005 Action Plan which includes new and more refined objectives. The Lisbon Strategy which was updated in 2005 as i2010 is redirected towards new targets with information, innovation and social inclusion as its core topics.

In Turkey, endeavours on transformation into an information society have also started to gain momentum since early 2000s in parallel to these developments. Turkey has become a party to the eEurope+ Initiative, which has been designed for EU candidate countries in 2001. The “eTransformation Turkey Project” that was included in the 58th and 59th Government Urgent Action Plan was launched in 2003 and hence all individual studies being carried out in our country have been gathered under an umbrella project and accelerated. The e-Transformation Turkey Project aims to carry out the process of transformation into an information society in a harmonious and integrated structure all over the society with all citizens, enterprises and public segments. General coordination of the Project has been assigned to the State Planning Organization and the e-Transformation Turkey Executive Board with the participation of the State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Transportation, Ministry of Industry and Trade, top-level bureaucrats and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the Advisory Council with the participation of public and private sectors and NGOs have been established.

In this process, “Turkey’s Information Society Transformation Policy” which was prepared with the participation of all relevant parties, has been adopted by the e-Transformation Turkey Executive Board. The policy document states Turkey’s vision of transformation into an information society as follows: “To be a country that has become a focal point in the production of science and technology, that uses information and technology as an effective tool, that produces more value with information-based decision-making processes and that is successful in global competition, with a high level of welfare”.

Since the inception of e-Transformation Turkey Project, which was formulated with a participative approach, two action plans covering 2003- 2004 and 2005 periods were launched and implemented successfully. In conjunction with the short-term targets of the action plans, an initiative for preparation of Information Society Strategy covering 2006-2010 was also started in 2005 in an attempt to enable Turkey to benefit from ICT effectively and to identify the middle and long term strategies and targets for the realization of transformation.

In the Information Society Strategy, the current situation of main constituents of the society; citizens, public sector and businesses as well as the ICT sector and Turkey’s potential for transformation into an information society by 2010 have been evaluated, and a range of targets for 2010 together with the required steps for accomplishment of those targets have been identified within the framework of the strategic priorities determined henceforth. Furthermore, R&D and Innovation strategies have been integrated based on Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey’s (TÜBİTAK) “Vision 2023” studies and on the decisions of the Higher Council of Science and Technology; consequently, the integrity of the strategy has been ensured. On the other hand, measurement criteria and methodologies have been introduced for monitoring and evaluation of the implementation, together with new structures to support the strategy implementation.

It is expected that the Information Society Strategy and its annexed Action Plan would be the basic reference document for citizens, the public sector, private sector and the NGOs, in short for all segments of the society, within the next five-year period, and will shed light onto future schemes.

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