[WSIS CS-Plenary] ITeM's Project - Tunis 2005

[Pablo Accuosto]

MessageDear Plenary,

Below I send information of this new project by the Instituto del Tercer
Mundo (ITeM), which Zaid refers to in his email.

* Motivation

Key issues of particular interest to developing countries were largely
postponed to the second part of the WSIS. The process also exposed the
difficulty that Southern countries and civil society actors have in ensuring
that their proposals are taken into account and reflected in the text of the
documents being drafted. Many Southern governments lack the resources and
information needed to be able to make informed decisions and negotiate
effectively the issues related with information and communication
technologies (ICT).

Even if we do believe that this second stage of the WSIS process provides an
opportunity for countries in the South, we also believe that all the pending
issues in discussion are relevant in themselves, independently of the
outcomes of the WSIS and its success or failure as a world conference. It is
essential that decision-makers and the civil society organizations that are
able to have an active role in these discussions (in all and any fora in
which they are presented, including the special working groups created
within the UN, but also the WTO, WIPO, Financial Institutions, etc.) have
timely and appropriate information and analysis about the issues at stake,
their impact and the possible alternatives.

The views and interests of minority groups, women, young people and, in
general, all those who have limited possibilities of influencing the
policies adopted at global level need to be expressed. This information
should come out of research into the different issues involved in the
discussion of shaping of the "information societies" of the future
(including those that are presently not in the official agendas).

* Objectives

The general goal of the project is to contribute to the WSIS II
decision-making process by conducting a number of researchs in key issues of
interest to developing countries, disseminating the results and, based on
them, advise Southern negotiators, the conference secretariat and working
groups on the policy implications of the different proposals they will be
considering during the summit process (at global and regional levels,
including ad-hoc groups created during the process).

The general objective of the project is to contribute to the WSIS II
decision-making process by researching key issues of interest to developing
countries.

Its specific objectives include:

- To involve Southern civil society in debates on the issues on the agenda
at the summit and to give visibility to their opinions so that they may be
taken into account in policy-making;
- To assist government delegates from the South on their positions that may
be favourable to the regional interests and defend them in their general
negotiations;
- To make use of the research results in other instances where the issues
studied under this project may help in the
consideration of the Civil Society Organisations' contributions to the
on-going process of construction of the Information Society;
- To publish briefing papers and policy recommendations summaries on the
research results of key issues for the World Summit in Tunis, 2005.

* Outcomes

Research will take as its starting point the current situation in Southern
countries and will analyze, among other issues, the effect of applying the
policies specified in the documents adopted at the first WSIS summit, as
well as other measures, not included in those documents, that should be
promoted in those countries.

The conclusions of the research will be published online and their policiy
implications summarized in briefing papers that will be published and
distributed at key meetings. Both the research and briefing papers may be
accompanied by additional documentation produced during the research
process.

During the preparatory process for the Tunis WSIS Summit, workshops will be
organized with the aim of publicizing the research in progress and involving
the different civil society actors in discussions on the issues under study.


We will shortly make available a new website dedicated to this new project.
By now, please, refer to Choike's special section on WSIS:
http://www.choike.org/wsis

This project is possible thanks to the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC) support.


Thank you,

Pablo

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ziad Abdel Samad
To: info at virtualactivism.net
Cc: plenary at wsis-cs.org ; hqazzaz at palnet.com ; 'Roula Masri' ; Kinda
Mohamadieh
Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 11:28 AM
Subject: [WSIS CS-Plenary] (no subject)



Dear friends in the plenary of the WSIS
It was obvious that the Arab civil society was absent during the
preparations for the Summit on Information Society except some Tunisian NGOs
who had been invited because Phase II would be taking place in Tunisia.
The Arab NGO Network for Development is interested to be involved in the
process of creating this Arab caucus. However, ANND was designated to be
member of the advisory board of the project launched by the Third World
Institute (ITeM) "Instituto del Tercer Mundo". This project is aiming at
involving southern civil society in the process.
In this regards, ANND is looking for further cooperation, and kindly asks
for more information regarding the efforts and to join the mailing list.
Thanks for your time and consideration.
We will keep in touch.
Arab NGO Network For Development
P.O.Box: 5792/14
Mazraa 1105-2070
Beirut Lebanon
Tel: +9611319366, fax: +9611815636
Email: annd at cyberia.net.lb, annd at annd.org
web site: www.annd.org