[WSIS CS-Plenary] UK civil society WSIS communique

[Steve Buckley]

The British Council has issued a communique to the UK government 
summarising the key messages of a UK civil society consultative conference 
on the WSIS.

The full text is below and online at: 
<http://www.britishcouncil.org/wsis.htm>http://www.britishcouncil.org/wsis.htm

Steve Buckley



Executive summary:
WSIS UK Participation Day 24 May 2005
‘UK Civil Society speaks’

We have grouped together the key messages from the British Council 
facilitated event for your consideration.  The one day event brought 
together 88 Civil Society representatives from Government, Academia, Media, 
Business and NGOs, to discuss thematic approaches to the UK’s involvement 
in WSIS.  The Manchester based event attracted a diverse group of delegates 
with a focussed approach, leading to consensus on the following points:

Freedom of Expression and Information Societies:
·       WSIS II must reinforce and seek full implementation of 
internationally recognised guarantees on the right to freedom of expression 
and access to information. The Tunisian government as host country should 
set an example, by introducing improvements in civil rights and freedom of 
expression.
·       UK is seen as an international leader in the Information Society 
and therefore will have experiences which others may find valuable

Media Diversity and Information Societies:
·       The media is an essential tool in promoting good governance and 
citizenship.  Governments should take particular account of the importance 
of community media and other grass-root activities to drive creation of an 
inclusive information society
·       Government investment should drive sustainable business models, 
which join up mainstream business drivers of government, industry and civil 
society

Democratic decision making and Information Societies:
·       Civil society groups have played a valuable role in highlighting 
the social impact of the Internet and its governance.  Sections of civil 
society have experience of the various funding and governance approaches 
for activities involving ICTs. These have led to innovative and effective 
developments helping towards poverty eradication, enabling change, 
promoting citizenship and gender empowerment
·       It is important that the UK delegation actively seeks to draw on 
existing expertise and encourage direct peer-to-peer outreach and 
communications within civil society, for both a sustainable and innovative 
model of Information Society

Recommendations for future consultation

For UK Civil Society to be more effective in the consultation process with 
UK government, we have the following suggestions:
·       Invitations for future consultations to be made earlier for a more 
meaningful input from Civil Society (e.g. WTO, WIPO and UNESCO)
·       Consultation at the initial planning phase will lead to real and 
widespread engagement on issues relating to communication and information
·       For example, this worked well with the Commission for Africa Report 
(released 11 March), which contained over 60 references, comments and 
recommendations related to information and communications. This highlighted 
the greater need for effective and consistent policies on these issues 
across the board.




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        Please note my new contact details:
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                          Steve Buckley
  15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX - U.K.
              Email: sbuckley at gn.apc.org
                    Tel: +44 114 220 1426
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             Community Media Solutions
                       www.cmso.co.uk
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