[WSIS CS-Plenary] South African Civil Society Submission

[dbarnard at sangonet.org.za]

Dear Sally, Bill and other members of the civil society working    
group    

On 30 July 2003 SANGONeT will be hosting a meeting for South 
African civil society organisations (CSOs) on the World Summit on 
the Information Society (WSIS). 

This meeting (or Thetha: The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum) 
is organised in conjunction with various South African CSOs which 
have participated in the WSIS process during the past year, and 
which are in the forefront of ICT/CSO issues in South Africa, 
including Article 19, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), 
National Community Radio Forum (NCRF), Link Centre at Wits    
University, Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), Association for    
Progressive Communications (APC) and Women'sNet.    

Many of these organisations participated in a Thetha planning 
session this morning. In view of the Intersessional meeting of next 
week, we decided to draft an interim submission for inclusion in 
South Africa's WSIS position. 

As we hope to develop a more comprehensive response after the 
Thetha on 30 July 2003, we used the Civil Society Draft Priorities 
Document as a starting point for our submission, highlighting 
issues of specific importance to South African civil society. 

Please refer to the attached document - South African civil society 
inputs are highlighted in bold.  

This document was submitted this afternoon to the convener of the 
South African WSIS position, and we would also like to share it 
with you for consideration in finalising the Civil Society Priorities 
Document. 

The mentioned group of South African CSOs does not claim to
speak for South African civil society in general. However, we think
it is crucial that civil society views be included in the development
of the South African WSIS position, as well as the international civil
society position.

At the meeting on 30 July 2003 we will share information on WSIS
more broadly among civil society organisations, discuss positions
that reflect the interests of civil society and develop a process to 
involve a much wider section of the civil society sector in thinking 
through the issues around the WSIS process.  

We therefore look forward to receiving the updated version of the 
Civil Society Priorities document, and feedback on the outcome 
of the Intersessional meeting.     

Best wishes      

David      

-------------------        

David Barnard     
Executive Director     
Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT)     
Tel: (+27) (11) 838-6943     
Cell: (+27) (82) 870-8968     
Fax: (+27) (11) 492-1058     
E-mail: dbarnard at sangonet.org.za     
WWW: http://www.sangonet.org.za     



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