[WSIS CS-Plenary] minibio...

[Carlos Afonso]

Here it goes... :)

Carlos Alberto AFONSO

Born in April, 1945. Studied naval engineering at the Polytechnical 
School of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Master in Economics, York 
University, Toronto, Canada, with doctoral studies in Social and 
Political Thought at the same university.

Works in human development fields since the early 1970s, when he worked 
with Chile’s National Planning Office under Salvador Allende’s 
government. Has been a consultant with several UN and other multilateral 
and bilateral agencies, as well as international foundations (UNDP, 
IDRC. Kellogg Foundation and others).

Co-founder of the Brazilian Insitute of Social and Economic Analyses, 
Ibase (1981), Rio de Janeiro, where he conceived and led the first 
Internet services provider project in the country (Alternex, 1989). 
Co-founder of the Association for Progressive Communications, APC 
(1990), an international consortium of NGOs with the overall mission of 
promoting universal access and democratization of information and 
communication. Proposed and coordinated the Eco ’92 Internet project in 
Rio de Janeiro in association with APC and the UN.

Member of Brazil’s Internet Steering Committee (CGIbr) from 1995 to 
1997, and since 2003 as one of four representatives of non-profit civil 
society organizations. Works since 1998 with the Information Network for 
the Third Sector (Rits), a Rio-based organization dedicated to 
democratize information among NGOs, and to proactively work on public 
policies related to information and communication technologies and 
digital inclusion. He is currently Rits’ planning director.

Member of the UN’s Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) – 
2004-2005. Former council member of ICANN’s GNSO (Generic Domain Names 
Supporting Organization) – 2003-2004 -- on behalf of the Non-Commercial 
Users Constituency.

Has been active as a consultant for UNDP, IDRC (Canada), Kellogg 
Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation and other international 
organizations, on themes related to ICTs and human development in 
Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia, Honduras, Mozambique, Angola and Cambodia, 
among other countries.

Is author of several articles, studies and books on social and political 
themes and about Internet development, published in Portuguese, Spanish, 
French and English.

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Carlos Afonso
diretor de planejamento
Rede de Informações para o Terceiro Setor - Rits
Rua Guilhermina Guinle, 272, 6º andar - Botafogo
Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brasil         CEP 22270-060
tel +55-21-2527-5494        fax +55-21-2527-5460
ca at rits.org.br            http://www.rits.org.br
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