[WSIS CS-Plenary] WSIS implementation: Consultation meeting of action lines moderators/facilitators (24 February)

[Anriette Esterhuysen]

Dear all

Thank you for these notes Philippe.  To follow up on Willie Currie's 
intervention at the meeting of the 24th, APC has since written a letter 
to Mr. Utsumi to express our concern about the fact that the first 
dialogue on Action Line C2 (Infrastructure) will take place in Doha next 
week during the World Telecommunication Development 
Conference... an event not many civil society organisations can attend.

I have received a response from the ITU (not directly from Mr. Utsumi) 
which stated that the event is in fact just a 'consultation', taking 
advantage of the fact that many people will be there for WTDC. I will 
let you know when we get a response from the ITU.

Best

Anriette

Here is the main text of the letter we sent to the ITU:


Mr Yoshio Utsumi
Secretary-General, Internatonal Telecommunication Union
itumail at itu.int 
Fax +4122 730 5137

Dear Mr Yoshio Utsumi:

I am writing to express some concerns, which I know are widely 
shared amongst civil society organisations, about the timing and venue 
of the meeting which you have scheduled in Doha to - as you put it in 
Geneva last week - "kickstart" dialogue on action line C2, related to 
information and communication infrastructure, of the WSIS follow-up 
process.

The first meeting will, obviously, be very important in setting the tone of 
the dialogue on this action line, in establishing its agenda, and in 
building working relationships between interested parties. 
Unfortunately, the context in which it has been scheduled means that it 
is unlikely to attract participation from many of the stakeholders whose 
involvement is essential if this dialogue is to be established on a firm 
basis that meets the multistakeholder requirements identified by 
WSIS.

As scheduled, the meeting will be held in Doha during the World 
Telecommunication Development Conference - WTDC. While I can 
understand the attractiveness to the ITU of initiating the dialogue while 
a substantial number of relevant ITU members will be in Doha for that 
conference, it is also important to ensure that the full range of 
stakeholders engaged in WSIS is fully engaged in the follow-up 
process from the start. WTDC has not previously, for example, been 
substantially attended by the mainstream development agencies which 
are fundamentally concerned with the financing of infrastructure, or, 
from the demand side, with the capacity which communications 
infrastructure delivers for development. Their full participation is 
essential if a dialogue on infrastructure and development issues is to 
have real meaning.

Similar issues arise in respect of civil society and private sector 
stakeholders other than ITU sector members.  I appreciate that the 
three-hour meeting you have scheduled for the afternoon of 9 March 
will be open to organisations other than governments, ITU sector 
members and associates.  However, civil society organisations are 
unable to secure accreditation for the WTDC itself, while applications 
for observer status in WTDC had to be submitted before December 
last year.  In any event, civil society organisations cannot reasonably 
afford the resources to travel to Doha for a three hour meeting - nor, I 
would suggest, can other stakeholders not attending WTDC.  The 
result is likely to be a meeting that fails to bring together the 
appropriate range of stakeholders.  This could easily undermine 
multistakeholder cooperation rather than advance it, which would be 
both regrettable and counter-productive.

Like other interested civil society organisations, APC believes that the 
first meeting of this dialogue should be a forum which is equally 
attractive to and will secure effective representation from the different 
stakeholder communities involved - i.e. that will have strong and equal 
participation from development agencies as well as ICT sector 
organisations, and from private sector and civil society organisations 
as well as the national communications ministries/regulators that 
attend WTDC.  It is also essential for effective multistakeholder 
dialogue that members of stakeholder communities, such as civil 
society, are able to discuss issues amongst themselves as they arise 
during the course of meetings within the post-WSIS process.  

I would therefore suggest that you either reconsider the proposal to 
hold the opening meeting of this dialogue during your Doha 
conference, or at least reconsider your decision to treat this as the first 
formal meeting of the multistakeholder process.  I think this is essential 
if the process is not to lose credibility among those who need to be 
involved.  It would be particularly regrettable if this happened to the 
first in the series of post-WSIS dialogues.  Perhaps it would be more 
appropriate if you saw the Doha meeting as a way of seeking input 
from the ITU's membership that would contribute to the dialogue rather 
than as the first meeting of the dialogue itself.  You could also take the 
opportunity in writing, at the same time, to consult other stakeholders 
on their priorities for the dialogue, its modalities, and the agenda for its 
initiation.


------------------------------------------------------
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