Information revolution and, as a consequence, formation of information society and its following phase - society based on knowledge - initiated cardinal changes not only in economy on global and national levels, but also in people's life and in system of the modern world. Therefore this problem became very important for the most of international organizations, scientific and educational communities, business circles and practically for all well-educated people.

The world summits and conferences were organized with purpose of elaboration the new economic and public paradigm for information society and knowledge-based society. Major of them have already worked out the conceptual fundamentals and development programs for the new information environment in the world context and on the national level. In particular, the defined contribution to the comprehensive approach was made by world summit in Geneva (Switzerland, December 2003), by UNESCO conferences in Mainz (Germany, June 2002) and Paris (France, March 2003), by UNIDO summit in Budapest (Hungary, April 2003) and by three conferences on this matter in Ukraine. Next world summit on formation of information society and knowledge-based society will take place in Tunisia in 2005, where all developed countries will represent their own national segments of the global information society and knowledge-based society. It is expected that unified world policy of their further coordination and development will be worked out at this summit.

The problem becomes more actual since the information revolution began to influence essentially on structure and character of world economy development. The knowledge has turned into the key factor for economic and social development. For group of developed countries (members of OECD - Ogranization for Economic Co-operation and Development), the rates of long-term economic growth depend on support and extension of the global knowledge base, what became possible under conditions of information society. Today these countries develop their knowledge-based economies and create millions of jobs related with implementation of the newest knowledge in groups of unexpectedly opened directions and disciplines. As per World Bank data, the added value growth in branches based on knowledge in majority of OECD-countries made 3% during last fifteen years in average, what exceeded the general economic growth (which was below 2,3%). The share of such branches in cumulative added value has been increased in Germany from 51% to 60%, in Great Britain - from 45% to 51%, in Finland - from 34% to 42%.

Globalization process accelerates these trends. The comparative advantages of national economies are already less determined by natural resources or cheap labour forces, and more determined by competitive application of knowledges and scientific innovations. The social progress is determined today in the first place by process of knowledge accumulation, what ensures the capital accumulation. In OECD-countries the investments into intangible assets, which form the national knowledge bases, particularly into professional education of personnel, research activities, patenting and licensing, software for computing systems and marketing are equal and sometimes even higher than investments into basic production assets.

Unfortunately, the developing countries and countries with transition economy, including Ukraine, do not use in full volume the advantages and potential benefits provided by information society. Generation and use of knowledges, investments into science and education for ensuring the continued development and increase of living standards vary considerably in different countries. As per World Bank data, 85% of the cumulative global investments in science are effected by OECD-countries, 11% - by India, China, Brasil and new industrially developed countries of East Asia, and only 4% - by other countries, including Ukraine. Therefore countries with highly developed economies have created for themselves the favourable closed circle, when the results of research activity along with qualified personnel education ensure the creation of new profits - a basis for further social development.

In connection with stated above, the countries with intention for continued development have to strongly develop their national segments of information society and society based on knowledge, being integrated with own achievements into global information environment.

Ukraine with its 48-million population holds one of the highest rates for education (98%) in the world and significant potential, but remains the country with low technological industry and underdeveloped information infrastructure. At the same time Ukraine has very good prerequisites for rapid development of national segment of information society. It is well-known, that Ukraine created the third computer in the world in 1952 after USA and Great Britain; Ukraine established the internationally known school in the field of cybernetics and computer technique led by academicians S.Lebedev and V.Glushkov. In 1970s-1980s academician Glushkov has formulated a number of very important ideas concerning society informatization, particularly with implementation of electronic money, development of state automatic control system, etc., which taken together enable to talk about formation of information society.

The next generation of scientists has raised these ideas to high level and Ukrainian cybernetics school bacame famous in the world. The peculiarity of Ukrainian approach lay in presence of considerable intellectualization part of information society. Directions, developed by Ukrainian school, such as artificial intelligence, new approaches to development of computer engineering, etc., were characterized as a new frontier in qualitative sense in world's cybernetics. They were the most perspective and based on reproduction of functioning mechanism of a human brain. These concepts provided a basis for the National Program of Informatization, which was approved by Parliament of Ukraine in 1998.

Unfortunately, the today's execution of National Program of Informatization has lost the intellectual component and was reduced mainly to introduction of systems for information transportation, i.e. - telecommunication systems. Telecommunication systems introduction is very important, but not the central problem. If to reduce the National Program of Informatization only to this narrow assignment, than we will get a role of usual, in definite sense - dependent users, rather than a role of ideologists and developers of information systems.

At the same time, such important tasks as elaboration of development strategy for Ukraine, state budget, inter-branch balances and other objectives of state structuring are the components of intellectual cybernetic problems. Namely these components are absent in today's state policy for informatization, whereas the considerable intellectual potential of NASU (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)and universities of Ukraine is not used in this domain.

Therefore, National Program of Informatization, being progressive at the time of its approval, requires today the essential revision, updating and supplementation, especially in the part of transformation of information society into society based on knowledge.

Besides that, new principles of management for National Program of Informatization should be introduced, which would provide the inter-branch character, priority of this program for country's economic and social development and raise the responsibility of governmental authorities for its practical implementation.

Goals of the open project "The Strategy of Development of Information Society and Knowledge-Based Society in Ukraine" lie in formation of effective state policy, aimed at elaboration of the system for state priorities in this field, structural reorganization of economy with extension of its intellectual and informational components, as well as increase of portion with new knowledge in production of competitive products, formation of legislative field with diversity of normative and sub-normative acts, in order to effectively regulate this sphere within the country and on international scene.

Beginning and fulfillment of the open project "The Strategy of Development of Information Society and Knowledge-Based Society in Ukraine", should be grounded on the following principles:

the project should be based on public initiative, requested by society and understandable to it, supported by all branches of state authority, governmental bodies and departments, academies of sciences of Ukraine, professional non-governmental organizations and experts working in indicated field;

the project should be based on public initiative, requested by society and understandable to it, supported by all branches of state authority, governmental bodies and departments, academies of sciences of Ukraine, professional non-governmental organizations and experts working in indicated field;

results of project's fulfillment are intended for legislative and executive branches of state authority for subsequent realization the effective policy, directed to economic and social development of the state on based on wide application of the newest possibilities, which could be provided by information society and knowledge-based society;

Ukrainian society should widely be informed about project's beginning, its goals, stages of fulfillment and other peculiarities through mass communication media, regular public discussions, seminars and conferences of professionals;

the project should be open for participation of interested institutions, scientific and public societies and organizations, scientists, educational specialists, experts, professionals engaged in indicated sphere;

fulfillment of the project should be coordinated by working organ, and the members of this organ should be the leading scientists and pedagogues, representatives from business, public organizations and state authorities, who has relations to the given branch, well-known politicians and public figures;

fulfillment of the project should be carried out in all available forms, including the newest ones: internet-conferences, - forums, videoconferences and others;

the project should be oriented to development of traditional, base branches of Ukrainian economy: machine-building, metallurgy, chemistry, agriculture and others. It is essential viewpoint, as it is impossible under conditions of transitional economy to develop the weightless part of Ukrainian economy in isolation from key industries. Pure generating of knowledge, its patenting and realization in the form of licenses on the world market is not real for the time being. The new knowledge should be directed as much as possible to the rapid, high technological development of base, priority branches, and realization of products from these branches on international market can give the economic benefit for Ukraine. At next movement stages of Ukrainian economy, the further phases of development of information society and knowledge-based society should be envisaged;

as a result of project's fulfillment should become the state policy realized in the form of state priorities system, series of the laws of Ukraine, normative and sub-normative acts, new approaches to structural reorganization of national economy, carrying-out the scientific research activities and organization of education, training and development of personnel;

the project should become time-continuous with regular addendum of new possibilities provided by development of information environment and steady output of practical results for economic and social sphere in Ukraine.