[WSIS CS-Plenary] Themes of WSIS official round tables

[Anriette Esterhuysen]

Dear colleagues

I thought you would be interested in knowing what the discussion will be 
about at the official round tables on November 17th.

The following is an extract from the logistics information the ITU sent to 
those of us who have been accepted as speakers.

Best

Anriette
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Theme of round tables

The round tables are organized around the overarching theme: "From 
Commitment to Action: Implementation after Tunis". 

The cluster of issues associated with the overarching theme is meant to 
provide guidance for participants, thereby ensuring focus and coherence in 
each session. 

The following is an indicative list of topics, which the moderators will use to 
help guide discussions:

·	E strategies and national priorities: Developing countries wish to 
harness and utilise the benefits of ICT for development, but must balance 
this against other pressing needs and concerns. How can countries best 
devise sustainable strategies for ICT development, in light of limited 
financial, technological and trained human resources?

·	International cooperation: Many countries are already formulating 
and implementing national e-strategies as a powerful tool to achieve the 
Millennium Development Goals. What is the role for regional and global 
organizations in harnessing international cooperation that fits the needs of 
countries in the information society? 

·	Empowering citizens: Development and Democracy are intrinsically 
linked. Democracy demands transparency and an effective involvement of 
citizens in the decision-making processes. What are some potential public 
strategies to build governance of the 21st century? 

·	Social inclusion: How best can the benefits of ICTs be extended to 
the poor particularly those living in remote, rural and marginalized urban 
areas? How can youth and women groups be encouraged to participate in 
the Information Society and be closely involved in its evolution? What more 
needs to be done to ensure social inclusion of vulnerable groups and 
achieve Sustainable Development?

·	Growth and job creation: Many argue that the Digital Divide is an 
integral part of a much broader and more intractable Development Divide. 
Can ICTs enable countries to leap frog into a Digital Economy and help 
narrow the Development Gap?

·	Cultural diversity and common heritage: How can an inclusive 
Information Society avoid the top-down approach and instead facilitate the 
cross-flow of information and knowledge with local content to ensure that 
traditional knowledge and information are a part of the global exchange?

·	Multi stakeholder partnership: To what extent are the multi 
stakeholder partnerships a viable mechanism through which to address ICT 
development goals? How can the private and public sectors, civil society 
and local communities engage to actively contribute in this social and 
economic processes of building an Information Society? What effective 
mechanisms can be used to strengthen multi stakeholder partnerships?


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Anriette Esterhuysen, Executive Director
Association for Progressive Communications
anriette at apc.org
http://www.apc.org
PO Box 29755, Melville, South Africa. 2109
Tel. 27 11 726 1692
Fax 27 11 726 1692