[WSIS CS-Plenary] Civil Society Press Release: lastest version

[adel.elzaim at canti.com]

Hello,

Thanks for sharing with us the press release.
I like this comparaison with the self-determination. 
I sugest like yesterday to do not forget that a lot of
countries and even regiosn in some developed countries
still dont have access to ICT.

We sould mention that and ad a phrase about the financing.

I suggest in french: 

Beaucoup de pays et de régions éloignées n'ont pas encore
accès aux technologies de l'information et de la
communication. La Société civile fait sa part pour les
aider, mais les gouvernements devront s'engager clairement
à financer des initiatives d'aide destinées à ces pays.

Thank you

Adel El Zaim
Multistakeholders partenerships
Internet Society-Francophonie
Internet Society Québec



On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 02:58:13 -0500
 "Valeria Betancourt" <valeriab at apc.org> wrote:
> Text of press release 
> 27 September 2003
> 
> WSIS process at PrepCom III
> 
> Civil society has come here to share with the governments
> our own 
> vision for an Information Society. We want an information
> society 
> based on human rights. This provides a unique chance for
> the 
> extension of all the values of Civil Society around the
> globe.
> 
> Over the past two weeks, Civil Society has proven that it
> is a 
> vibrant force in the preparation of the World Summit on
> the 
> Information Society. Civil Society has engaged in
> dialogue with 
> government and business, and has expressed visionary
> ideas and a 
> strong position in the negotiations. 
> 
> According to Beatriz Busaniche, a civil society bureau
> member:  "A 
> few days ago I met an indigenous person from Ecuador, who
> is here in 
> Geneva at a  UN. working group on Indigenous Peoples,
> fighting here 
> for rights for self-determination of his people. He told
> me that his 
> community is not here asking for their rights, nor to
> seek 
> affirmation. They are already living them. They are here
> for the 
> international community to recognise the fact."
> 
> In a similar way, civil society has already been building
> the 
> information society, defending our rights to achieve
> social, 
> educational, political, and economic benefits.
> Communication rights 
> are part of human rights. Human rights must be the
> framework for the 
> Knowledge Society. Without this, the WSIS vision of an
> information 
> society is meaningless. Even if the outcomes of the WSIS
> does not 
> reflect, at the end of the process, our principles,
> visions and 
> perspectives, we will continue being key actors in the
> definition of 
> the nature and direction of the Information Society, one
> whose focus 
> would be people's rights.   
> 
> For instance, free software has not been highlighted as
> we would like 
> in this process, though each day more communities are
> adopting it 
> with all the philosophy it entails.  While the spirit of
> the 
> documents is market focused, civil society and some
> governments, 
> especially from the south, will continue supporting the
> rights of 
> citizenship and promoting the concept of cooperation
> instead of 
> competition. 
> 
> As delegates from Civil Society we believe that every
> stakeholder 
> should have an equal voice, and a right to the benefits
> of the 
> Information Society, whether in education, work, leisure,
> and 
> communications. Hence we are disappointed by the
> continuing 
> resistance of some governments to include specific text
> that ensures 
> support for community based media initiatives - which
> will facilitate 
> the inclusion of hitherto marginalized communities from
> the 
> Information Society. To date, there has been an
> overemphasis on 
> computers and the Internet, to the exclusion of analogue
> and 
> traditional media.
> 
> In this process, for first time, Civil Society has been
> directly 
> involved in the negotiations.  A special effort has been
> made by 
> Civil Society to communicate its philosophies and methods
> to 
> governments and the business sector. Even though the
> process has been 
> fraught and inconsistent, with civil society included and
> excluded at 
> the whim of governments, our experience has been one of
> closer 
> engagement than has been the case at other United Nations
> 
> conferences.  We hope that this is an experience that can
> be built on 
> to ensure much closer involvement of civil society in the
> design and 
> development of the Information Society.
> 
> We now have a stronger position, because as the days have
> progressed 
> meaningful communication has emerged. But much remains to
> be done. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> Plenary at wsis-cs.org
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Adel El Zaim, PhD
adel.elzaim at canti.com
Téléphone: (514)214-9139

Association ISOC-Québec
ISOC-Francophonie