Green Paper on living and working in the Information Society
The European Commission has adopted a Green Paper on "Living and working in the Information Society - People first." The aim of the Green Paper is to encourage debate on the social challenges raised by transition to the Information Society. The Green Paper debate will contribute to the Commission's preparations for the extension and updating of the Information Society Action Plan, which it is due to be presented at the Dublin European Council in December 1996. These preparations are also the subject of three other communications from the Commission. The Green Paper examines how information and communication technologies are reshaping production and work organization and transforming peoples' lives. In particular, it addresses peoples' concerns about social and economic upheaval and rapid changes in the following questions: - Will these technologies not destroy more jobs than they create and will people be able to adapt to the changes in the way they work? - Will the complexity and the cost of the new technologies not widen the gaps between industrialized and less-developed areas, between the young and the old, between those in the know and those who are not? The Green Paper will be launched officially by Commissioner Padraig Flynn in September at a colloquium in Dublin, organized in collaboration with the Irish Presidency. Following the official launch, comments on the issues presented in the Green Paper will be accepted by the Commission until 31 December 1996.