[WSIS CS-Plenary] [WSIS THETHA] CHAKULA Issue No. 7, October 2003: WSIS PrepCom 3 - Overview and Issues for Civil Society Organizations

Thu Oct 23 06:38:30 BST 2003

FYI - apologies for cross posts

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CHAKULA
Africa ICT Policy Monitor Newsletter from the APC
Issue No. 7, October 2003
WSIS PrepCom 3 – Overview and Issues for Civil Society Organizations

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In this issues of Chakula:

* Editorial
* Overview of PrepCom 3
	- Opening
	- Working through documents
	- Participation
* Africa Civil Society Participation
* Main Issues of Discussion/Contentious Issues
	- Free and Open Source Technologies
	- Intellectual Property
	- Internet Governance
	- Financing Mechanisms
	- Other Stories
* Way Forward and Strategies for Intervention Including Summit Plans
	- Recommendations
* Links to other Web Resources

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EDITORIAL

In this month's issue of the APC Africa Internet Rights Newsletter 'Chakula'
we focus on the recently held PrepCom 3 (preparatory committee) of the World
Summit on Information (WSIS), highlighting key issues under discussion and
outcomes. We also make some recommendations for civil society organizations
(CSOs) on how to move forward with regard to upcoming and related meetings.

PrepCom 3 did not come to a conclusive closure and fell short of its own
objective: to agree on and finalise the draft summit declaration and the
draft action plan to be adopted at the WSIS in December. Many issues were
debated and negotiated with many differences in opinions between the various
stakeholders (governments, private sector and civil society entities). The
meeting is now scheduled to continue at the ‘Resumed Session of PrepCom 3’
later in November.

We hope this issue of Chakula will provide a useful overview and be used as
a resource by CSOs in Africa, especially those preparing to participate in
the upcoming meetings and the Summit in December (Geneva, December 10-12).

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OVERVIEW OF PREPCOM 3 AND AFRICA PARTICIPATION

THE OPENING:

The third preparatory meeting of the WSIS took place from the 15-26th
September in Geneva with the sole objective of refining draft documents that
came out of the intersessional meeting held in Paris, in July. The PrepCom
intended to specifically address issues where there were differences amongst
stakeholders and, through negotiations, arrive at an agreed upon Declaration
and Action Plan to be approved and accepted during the Summit.

The opening of the conference went well and was widely covered by
journalists. See stories below and read more by clicking on to the website
link.

* PrepCom III - Opening Session
09/15/2003, Ngathie Diop, CATIA
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14217

*  Prepcom3 Has Started: Samassekou Emphazises Cooperation and Solidarity
09/15/2003, Heinrich-Böll-Foundation
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/441.htm

WORKING THROUGH DOCUMENTS

During the two-week conference, negotiations took place between the many
delegates who included governments, private sector and civil society
entities on the different thematic issues of the draft documents.  All
negotiations follow specific rules and procedures established for the
PrepCom. Following the first week of the conference, progress had been made
in as far as agreeing on some parts of the draft declaration of principles
after a number of small working groups worked on certain thematic areas,
such as infrastructure, internet governance and enabling environments.  The
deliberations of these working groups were presented to the main plenary to
finalise text on the acceptable areas while unresolved issues or text would
be left in square brackets for future negotiations as circumstances would
allow.

This process continued during the second week of the conference as delegates
continued to revise the draft declaration of principles and the draft plan
of action. Civil society participation in this process was hampered by our
limited access to working groups which in many cases were comprised
primarily of government delegates.

PARTICIPATION

The methodology of using small working groups to further refine the text
proved effective in terms of allowing ongoing work on different sections of
the draft documents to take place at the same time, but it was also
ineffective in that it limited many stakeholders’ participation. Many
countries, as well as civil society organizations, only had a few delegates
present at the meeting and so it was impossible for these few people to
physically participate in the nine working groups that were running
simultaneously. For example, Kenya had only two representatives who were
also chairing two working groups, and were therefore unable to contribute to
other groups.  For observers (including civil society organizations) the
situation was even worse, since observers were not allowed to participate in
working group negotiations. Observers were given five minutes at the
beginning of each working group session to present their views and were not
allowed to participate in or observe government delegates’ negotiations over
the final agreed texts.

The upcoming ‘resumed session of PrepCom 3’ is aimed
at reaching an agreement between the different stakeholders who have
dissenting views on some of the contentious issues, such as internet
governance and security, as well as on a financial mechanism for
implementation of the plan of action.  However, it is uncertain whether the
session will be able to finalise text for the draft documents, with some
speculation that final negotiations might actually take place just days
before the summit on December. The issue of civil society participation in
the ‘resumed’ session has not yet been resolved.

You can read more about the frustrations of CSOs on the WSIS process from
stories written on the issue below.

* Working Groups on Conflictive Areas, Observers are Locked Out
Geneva, 17 September 2003. After the observers from business and civil
society had initially been allowed to participate in the ad-hoc working
groups, they were essentially locked out today. The industrialized countries
declared their intention not to give additional money for implementing the
proposed action plan. They even want to delete any reference to funding in
the documents - a huge disappointment for the developing countries and a
clear backdrop for the original WSIS goal to bridge the digital divide. --
Heinrich-Böll-Foundation
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/de/web/446.htm

* Not Again! Governments Exclude Civil Society from Meetings
Geneva, 18 September 2003. As the need to make progress on the negotiations
of the WSIS documents becomes increasingly urgent, the never-ending story of
civil society participation once more dominates the agenda of the
preparatory process. Despite repeated claims of the openness and
"inclusivity" of this "new" type of summit, limits have again been imposed
on civil society participation. -- Heinrich-Böll-Foundation
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/450.htm

* Divisions Between Government And Civil Society Positions
The civil society plenary this morning agreed to start drafting work on an
own declaration, separate from and in addition to the official government
declaration. This is the latest move in an increasingly critical view by
civil society of summit processes and particularly of summit outcomes, as
reflected in widespread frustration with the latest versions of the
Declaration of Principles. Governments, the WSIS secretariat, and the
PrepCom president have responded with new offers for increased
participation. -- Heinrich-Böll-Foundation
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/468.htm

For other reports related to the proceedings of the PrepCom 3, please visit
the links below.

* PrepCom-3 Highlights
ITU Newsroom: ITU
View daily highlights of PrepCom 3 from the ITU newsroom, the highlights
cover the period from the 15th Sept to 24th September.
http://www.itu.int/wsis/newsroom/highlights/pc3/index.html

* Link to Official Documents as of 26th September 2003
The outcome of this process forms the official documents as made available
from the ITU website: http://www.wsis.org.

You can download the latest copies of these documents on the Africa Civil
Society Caucus website using the link below.
http://www.wsis-cs.org/africa/documents.shtml

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AFRICA CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION

Africa civil society organizations, alongside other civil society entities,
were actively involved in making contributions to the draft documents in
many forums. PrepCom 3 was different from previous meetings, because many
sub-groups or working groups spent time deliberating on many important
aspects of the documents simultaneously.

Africa civil society made significant input in the working mechanisms of the
Bamako Bureau, where African positions on different issues were drafted and
deliberated for input into the process. Through this mechanism, Africa civil
society issues and concerns were included as part of government’s input to
the main plenary, as a number of African government representatives were
open to receiving input from civil society organizations. This was a key
opportunity to present issues of concern for African civil society
organizations.

African civil society delegates also achieved significant progress during
the PrepCom by lobbying individual African government delegations on certain
issues and concerns throughout the conference. The process was quite ad-hoc
and happened while both draft declaration and action plan were being
produced and issues were being raised. CSOs took every opportunity they
could to make interventions wherever possible.

Overall civil society caucuses worked collectively and utilized any
available speaking slots at the main plenary hall. The speaking slots were
allocated and used to make interventions on several issues discussed during
the PrepCom. Africa civil society took two of these speaking slots to
contribute with statements on the issues of capacity building and financing
mechanisms.

While the efforts by CSOs during the conference were commendable, there is
still plenty to be done by Africa civil society organizations. Ideally, CSOs
should ensure they are well informed and equipped with specific positions on
relevant issues as well as strategies to attract attention to those issues.
One case in point was the NGO Gender Strategies Working Group, which
successfully grabbed the attention of government delegates with its t-shirt
campaign to highlight the omission of a crucial paragraph on gender
differences and inequalities in the access to and use of ICT.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=14125

Follow the links below for additional information and stories on civil
society contributions and issues related to content during PrepCom 3.

* Statement of Civil Society In Response To The Draft Declaration Of
Principles:
Presentation to Sub-Committee 2, September 22nd 2003
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14804

* "Vision Impossible" Civil Society Criticises Draft Declaration
Geneva, 22 September 2003
The civil society plenary on Monday morning heavily criticised the new draft
Declaration of Principles which had been distributed on Friday evening. A
statement drafted by several civil society caucuses expressed “frustration
and disappointment” that key concerns of civil society have been removed or
are not adequately addressed. The plenary made clear that the Declaration in
its current version will not be supported by civil society. --
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/454.htm

* Civil Society Ponders Alternative Declaration
25 September 2003
When the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) opens this December
in Geneva, there could be two declarations on the table for delegates’
consideration – the official one made by government representatives and an
alternative by civil society organisations. -- Wairagala Wakabi, CATIA
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14238

* Does Input lead to Impact? Document Analysis Shows How Little Civil
Society input is reflected in current drafts.
22 September 2003
Today, a group of volunteers from civil society compiled a comparative
analysis of three documents: The Draft Declaration of Principles that came
out of the Paris Intersessional in July, the comments by civil society
organisations as developed at the beginning of PrepCom3, and the latest
version of the Draft Declaration of Principles that came out on 19th
September. The comparison, nicely done in a paragraph-by-paragraph table,
clearly shows how little the efforts of civil society are listened to.
Roughly 60% were plainly rejected, 15% were more or less taken, and 25%
"somehow" ended up in the newest declaration draft. --
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/462.htm

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MAIN ISSUES OF DISCUSSION/CONTENTIOUS ISSUES

Many issues of contention arose during PrepCom and delegates could not agree
on final text for either the draft declaration of principles or the plan of
action. In trying to understand the background to the process and the many
differences, one has to remember the process adopted during PrepCom 2 and to
some extent the process leading up to the intersessional period, where
contributions were called for, received and accepted from *all*
stakeholders. All contributions received were then refined during the Paris
intersessional meeting and formed the working documents tabled for
negotiations during the PrepCom 3. As indicated earlier, the mandate of
PrepCom 3 was to further refine all these contributions without necessarily
accepting new inputs, thereby shortening the documents as much as possible
and creating a final text.

We highlight some of the contentious issues and arguments debated during
PrepCom 3.

* FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE VS TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY OR PRINCIPLE OF
OPEN CHOICE

The debate on open source and free software has been a contentious issue
since the beginning of the WSIS process. It was no wonder that delegates
came prepared to see how this would be resolved during PrepCom 3. The issue
can be referenced to section number 2, paragraph 21-22 of the draft
declaration of principles (version of 26th September). In a nutshell, the
main contention here is between those who advocate for the use of free and
open source technologies as a mechanism that would enable increased access
to the information and knowledge Society. One the other hand those who label
the use of free and open source technologies merely as an issue of choice
and even going to the extent of defining open source as merely a software
development model. They advocate for the principle of technology neutrality.

It is sad that the Free and Open Software Foundation of Africa (FOSSFA) were
not visibly active or heard during the PrepCom, as they could have made some
significant contributions to the debate while actively monitoring
developments, especially on the working group that dealt on this issue.

* The free software philosophy as advocated by Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman was very active at PrepCom 3 and ensured that the word
‘Free’ was inserted into the text where previously only ‘open source’ was
used: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html

* Free Software
During PrepCom3, a regular request was for a reference document on Free
Software and its role in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
This document seeks to provide such reference.
http://fsfeurope.org/projects/wsis/fs.html

* Open Source Ardor Cools at WSIS
October 9, 2003
A push at a series of international "information society" conferences to
adopt open source software as an aspect of electronic "common land" has
assumed a lower profile with the apparent entry of lobbying from proprietary
business interests. -- Computerworld
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14690

* Free Software Prominently Represented at the UN- Conference
The Patents, Copyright, Trademark (PCT) Civil Society Working Group was
actively engaged at the PrepCom. More details can be obtained from this
caucus website.
http://fsfeurope.org

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The issue of intellectual property also dominated a good part of the debates
during the PrepCom 3. The main issue here is trying to strike a balance
between the protection of intellectual property rights to encourage
innovation and creativity and on the other hand ensuring the use and sharing
of knowledge in the information society.

* ‘Letting The Cat Out of The Bag’ Debate on Intellectual Property Rights
Dublin/Geneva, 4 October 2003. The substantive issues raised by the WSIS
process include a number on which progress may be considered a 'dead zone'
i.e. powerful governments are ensuring that nothing will be done beyond
confirming the existing status quo as exercised outside of the WSIS. Thus a
number of 'inert' passages in the Declaration are intended as no more than
markers that this topic must not be touched. -- Seán Ó Siochrú, CRIS
Campaign
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/479.htm

* Promoting a Trustworthy and Non-Discriminatory Environment For
Intellectual Property.
Member states of some 30 countries attended the afternoon meeting dealing
with the “enabling environment” section (6) of the Draft Declaration of
Principles, and focused on intellectual property in the information society
(as developed at the WSIS Intersessional in Paris from 15-18 July 2003). --
Thomas Ruddy
http://www.prepcom.net/wsis/1064148871106

* Intellectual Property and Why Governments Should Not Break International
Law
Geneva, 19 September 2003. Observers, which mean civil society and private
sector, got kicked out of the ad hoc working group on Enabling Environment
after 5 minutes. The strongest fighters for closed shop working environment
in this group were Egypt and Mexico in opposition to Europe, Canada and the
USA. The Brazilian Chair first tried to let non-governmental experts stay,
under the condition that they just observe and don't raise their voices, but
in the end participation and inclusiveness were not on the winning side. --
Annette Mühlberg
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/453.htm

* Georg Greve on behalf of the civil society patents, copyright and
trademarks working group to the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on
September 23.
http://www.prepcom.net/wsis/1064436410751

INTERNET GOVERNANCE

The internet governance debate was one of the most contested issues and also
one where delegates agreed to disagree, thereby leaving the issue unresolved
during the PrepCom 3. At the centre of the debate is the question of how to
enhance the current governance framework so as to enable a truly global
representation, while ensuring the inclusion of all stakeholders and
especially civil society organizations. The current process is seen to be
too US-centric leaving the rest of the world on the outside.  Nevertheless,
none of the proposed alternatives, such as an intergovernmental
organization, were agreed upon.

Many articles and stories with analysis on the issue have been written and
you can now read these as well as look at contributions made during PrepCom
3 on the issue.

* Internet Users Unsatisfied with their Role In Internet Governance
”Internet User groups are unsatisfied with the discussion on Internet
Governance within PrepCom3 of the World Summit of the Information Society
(WSIS)”, said Vittorio Bertola, Chair of the At Large Advisory Committee of
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Geneva on
September, 24, 2003 at a special meeting of the Civil Society Global ITC
Governance Caucus. -- By Rik Panganiban
http://www.prepcom.net/wsis/1064435647280

* Internet Governance Group Statement to Working Group, September 23
Statement by Wolfgang Kleinwaechter, University of Aarhus and Co-Chair of
the Civil Society ICT Global Governance Caucus to the Working Group on the
Draft Declaration of PrepCom III on September 23.
http://www.prepcom.net/wsis/1064436009215

* Internet governance, security and media freedom at the heart of
discussions.
09/23/2003. Finalizing documents is not an easy task for delegates
participating in the third preparatory meeting for the World Summit on the
Information Society. As discussions keep on going during the first week, it
is difficult for them to reach a consensus on certain issues like Internet
governance, security and media freedom that appear to be ones of the
conflicting points between delegates. The main point of contention is who
should govern Internet. While some delegations support the idea of a
governmental governance of Internet, others say the private sector should
play the key role in Internet governance. -- Ngathie Diop, CATIA
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14218

FINANCING MECHANISM

The debates around the proposed financing mechanism came to the forefront
during the second week of the PrepCom negotiations as delegates focused on
the Plan of action. The issue become more prominent and caught the attention
of many developing countries delegates when some northern countries
delegations objected to the introduction of text referring to new funding
mechanisms dubbed the ‘Digital Solidarity Fund’.

The debate continued and attracted the attention of many stakeholders
especially the CSOs who met to discuss the issue within a framework of a
‘North-South and South-South Perspectives on the Information Society’. The
civil society discussion led to a position and press statement.

* A Civil Society Statement On Information And Communication Solidarity
Funding Mechanisms
09/26/2003. Submitted by the Content and Themes Subcommittee with inputs
from those present at the South-South and Friends of the South Meeting WSIS
Prep Com 3,25 Sept.2003
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14806

* Discussion on Digital Solidarity Agenda and Finance
Geneva, 25 September 2003.
The discussions on the summit declaration and action plan still have not
been resolved today. The main conflictive issue besides internet governance
and the status of human rights has been the question of how to bridge the
digital divide. The Northern countries have made very clear from the
beginning of PrepCom3 that they do not want to pay money for building
digital bridges. The developing countries, in line with civil society, were
very frustrated about this development. New and interesting alliances and
discussions have developed around this issue in the last days. --
Heinrich-Böll-Foundation
http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/471.htm

* Digital Solidarity and the Idea of a Digital Solidarity Fund
19 September 2003.
The developed and developing worlds seem to be looking in opposite
directions concerning the issue of financing ICTs and practices in the
developing countries, as demonstrated by the recent working group on
Financing. -- Melina Skouroliakou
http://www.prepcom.net/wsis/1063970609430

OTHER STORIES:

* WSIS PrepCom III: The CRIS Verdict
After months of hard work and negotiations, the CRIS campaign can see some
light at the end of a long, dark, eighteen months long WSIS tunnel.
Paragraph 4 of the Draft Declaration reads: “Communication is a fundamental
social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social
organisation. It is central to the information society.” Sean O’Siochru,
spokesperson for the CRIS campaign says: “We welcome the progress that has
been made but call on all governments to ensure that communication as a
central and crucial human activity remains in the final Declaration that
will be presented at the Summit in December 2003.” - CRIS
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=14483

* A Synthesis of Civil Society debates on the information society
10/16/2003, Mosaic, the World Forum on Community Networking
Since July 2003, the WFCN publishes Mosaic, a newsletter presenting an
overview of the discussions on the information society, especially on the
WSIS process. The objective is to present different cultural and linguistic
(English, French and Spanish) perspectives using about a dozen of civil
society discussion lists and websites. This second issue covers the
preparation period for PrepCom 3.
http://www.globalcn.org/en/article.ntd?id=1707&sort=1

* Media Under Fresh Global Threat:
09/23/2003, Wairagala Wakabi, CATIA
Though several African governments continue to harass critical media, a key
United Nations summit could soon legitimise oppressive national media
legislation.
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14237

* Civil Society Priorities and Recommendation for WSIS
Maputo, 1-4 September, Gil Manuel
During the recently held African Conference on e-Strategies for Development,
CSOs produced a list of priorities and recommendation for WSIS.
http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=14558

* WSIS: South African Civil Society Priorities Document
07/11/2003
The South African civil society organisations endorsing this document are
well aware of the potential importance of the WSIS, which is why we are
investing in this process. While we understand that the WSIS has no explicit
normative nor programmatic objective (no treaty is expected out of it, nor
does it have decision-making power to unleash new funding), we consider that
it offers a unique framework at the international level, where not only
different visions can be shared among a variety of stakeholders and
cultures, but also basic agreements on the shape of future policies could
emerge.
http://africa.rights.apc.org/resources-content.shtml?x=12922

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WAY FORWARD AND STRATEGIES FOR INTERVENTION & INCLUDING SUMMIT PLANS

Currently, Africa CSOs are in the process of discussing how to best take
things forward so that issues of concern can be raised at the upcoming
‘resumed’ session. Discussions are mainly centred on a few number of issues
that Africa CSOs feel are priority areas that must be adequately addressed
and reflected in the final documents.

While we do not yet now to what level civil society will allowed to
participate during this session, it is very important that CSOs prepare
adequately on specific issues that they want to raise during this session.
The following are a few recommendations on how CSOs should act to ensure
some success in getting their concerns raised and included in the final
documents for the summit in December.

1.	Develop a summary position of key issues or concerns and especially
reflecting on the main contentious issues that will be debated in the
upcoming session.

2.	Identify and lobby governments who are likely to support the position of
CSOs and who are already holding key or influential positions at the
negotiation table.

3.	Collaborate with other CSOs around the world to lobby for support on key
issues and also to consider additional/alternative mechanisms to air
concerns, should it not be possible to raise issues in the current process.
An alternative event is the World Forum on Communication Rights:
http://www.crisinfo.org/live/index.php?section=2&subsection=2&id=70

4.	Ensure that whatever processes you are involved with are linked to your
local communities and national processes that involve ICT policy. Where
possible, hold a national consultation on WSIS.  APC has developed a
‘National WSIS Consultation Guide’ that can be used for such a purpose.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=12829

5.	Think beyond the summit: CSOs need to start thinking about what steps to
take with regard to activities or other related plans after the December
summit. Among the many issues that have been mentioned is their active
involvement in monitoring and evaluation of implementation of the WSIS Plan
of Action. CSOs must ensure that our issues are well documented for use
during the assessment stage planned for the second phase of the summit in
Tunis in 2005.

To join in the debate, please subscribe to the Africa Information Society
Initiative discussion list: details below or visit the caucus website:
http://www.bellanet.org/lyris/helper/index.cfm?fuseaction=Visit&listname=ais
i-l

or http://www.wsis-cs.org/africa/

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LINKS TO KEY DOCUMENTS AND RELATED RESOURCES

Resources and other links to stories and documents that may be of relevance
to WSIS issues:

* New APC book: 'Involving civil society in ICT Policy: the WSIS':
This book is aimed at people who want to advocate for more just and enabling
policy environments. It is designed to build awareness of and capacity to
engage in ICT policy-making spaces at international, regional and national
levels, including the WSIS. You can download it free of charge in English,
Spanish and French.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=14223

* Our Side of the Divide: African Perspectives on Information and
Communication Technologies:
This booklet is part of a broad strategy called ‘Speaking for Ourselves’. It
recognizes, that while the African perspective on the digital divide is
underrepresented in the context of the World Summit on the Information
Society, the people most directly affected by the digital divide have the
best ideas, analysis and opinions about how to address the issues.
http://africa.rights.apc.org/resources-content.shtml?x=14809

* Africa WSIS Civil Society Caucus website
Visit the Africa Civil Society Caucus website on WSIS. The African Civil
Society Caucus aims to strengthen African civil society’s capacity to ensure
African perspectives on the information society are articulated in the WSIS
process.
http://www.wsis-cs.org/africa/

* WSIS Civil Society Meeting Point – link to information on other civil
society organizations.
http://www.wsis-cs.org/

* Time Plan with side events
A detailed list with additional events within the WSIS framework (8th to
12th December) is available on the WSIS website of the Swiss government:
http://www.wsisgeneva2003.org/events_set_proj.html

* The World Forum on Communication Rights
The World Forum on Communication Rights will be held on December 11th 2003
alongside the WSIS in Geneva. It is organised by a coalition of civil
society organisations, initiated by the CRIS campaign.
http://www.crisinfo.org/live/index.php?section=2&subsection=2&id=70

* African Media Village – WSIS – YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS NEEDED!!!!!!!!!

African caucus members are planning to make the installation site a cultural
centre and meeting place during the summit. Plans are advancing for the
installation of an African media village at the WSIS. The installation will
sit within a large semi-circular backdrop that will depict a typical rural
African setting and present the perspectives of people from both sides of
the African digital divide.
For more details of the installation and how to get involved, please visit
the pages below.
http://africa.rights.apc.org/alerts-content.shtml?x=14842

http://www.wsis-cs.org/africa/summit.shtml

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Contact: chakula at apc.org for questions, comments and contributions Africa IR
Policy Monitor Project

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