A/RES/62/126 Establishing ways of monitoring systems to track the effects of globalization on youth 9. Governments should assess the extent to which the benefits of globalization are accessible to youth and should design and implement programmes to enable youth to better harness the benefits of globalization. II. Information and communications technology 10. Information and communications technology (ICT) and infrastructures are growing in importance as a part of everyday business and interaction. This process can be enhanced by removing barriers to universal, ubiquitous, equitable and affordable access to information, which hinder the bridging of the digital divide, particularly those that impede the full achievement of the economic, social and cultural development of countries and the welfare of their people, especially youth, in particular in developing countries. ICT has enormous potential to expand access to quality education, to boost literacy and universal primary education and to facilitate the learning process itself, thus laying the groundwork for the establishment of a fully inclusive and development-oriented information society and knowledge economy that respects cultural and linguistic diversity. 11. Youth have a particular interest and ability with regard to modern technology. ICT can empower youth by providing them with the opportunity to overcome the barriers of distance and socio-economic disadvantage. Through the Internet, for example, young people can have access to information on a range of issues that directly affect them, including health, education and employment. This information can be used to improve the quality of life of youth and their communities. This process can be facilitated if Governments, civil society, the private sector, families, youth-led organizations and other groups work together to open up avenues for a cultural and social exchange among young people. Governments can also capitalize on the interest of the young in ICT to alleviate poverty. For example, youth can become engaged not only in the use of ICT, but also in the development and engineering of locally relevant software design and hardware. 12. ICT offers new ways to address the needs of youth with disabilities who cannot access traditional sources of information and employment. Vulnerable groups of the population can capitalize on ICT to make a better connection with society and advance their education and employment opportunities. Proposals for action Making information and communications technology available to all youth 13. Governments, supported by the international community, as appropriate, should facilitate access to ICT for all youth, including those in difficult-to-reach areas, such as rural areas, and in indigenous communities. Governments should evaluate inequalities in access that exist between urban and rural youth and between young women and men and should develop national strategies to overcome the digital divide in each country, thus decreasing the proportion of youth who have no access to ICT. 14. Governments should develop domestic policies to ensure that ICT is fully and appropriately integrated into education and training at all levels, including in the development of curricula, teacher training and institutional administration and management, as well as in support of the concept of lifelong learning. 8