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<div><font face="Garamond" size="-1" color="#000000"><b>CIVIL SOCIETY
CONTRIBUTIONS TO PREPARATION TOWARDS THE SUMMIT AND BEYOND<br>
<br>
</b>Civil society is committed to the implementation of a dynamic,
content rich, multi stakeholder Summit to conclude the negotiation
phase of WSIS.<br>
<br>
We acknowledge that a lot of progress has been made for Civil Society
for the first phase of the Summit though ad-hoc and informal, and we
look forward to continuance of the same Multi-stakeholder
collaborations.<br>
<br>
We have the following feedback on the Geneva Phase of the Summit:<br>
<br>
<b>FEEDBACK ON GENEVA SUMMIT<br>
<br>
</b>For the first time, Civil Society engagement in a UN World Summit
was held via the ICT4D platform and Side Events within the same venue
concurrently with the Governmental sessions. However the following
where fallouts of this phase:<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font face="Garamond"
size="-1" color="#000000">There were a number of relevant events but
due to over laps in the Agenda, the number of participants were
dismal<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond" size="-1" color="#000000">There
was not a lot of coordination between the ICT4D Platform, the Side
events and the main session.<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font face="Garamond"
size="-1" color="#000000">The Security measures taken were not shared
a forehand or known by participants in general. Some of these felt
quite strongly that their privacy had not been respected.<br>
<br>
<b>SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TUNIS SUMMIT<br>
<br>
</b>We recommend the following for the Tunis Phase of the WSIS:<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond" size="-1" color="#000000">Civil Society would like to
actively participate in the decision-thinking stages of Summit. We
would like the multi-stakeholder process to be applied consistently
throughout the planning and implementation processes. We are certain
that we have valid content input to make, at expert level. Our content
is the end result of collaborative engagement within civil society
groupings, including as a plenary. This ensures a diversity of
content.<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond" size="-1" color="#000000">On
security, Civil Society is aware of the legitimate security concerns
around Heads of States and would like its security experts to be
engaged in security planning to optimise the potential for innovative,
engaging formats within the Summit. We want to contribute to achieving
the objective of enlivening the Summit, whilst ensuring a secure
environment.<br>
We appreciate that the nature of security information captured on
individuals will be made clear in public ways.<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond" size="-1" color="#000000">Reduce the level of security
barriers separating the ICT 4D Platforms - if one is had - and the
side events from the main sessions particularly for Accredited and
Registered participants irrespective of their status.<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond" size="-1" color="#000000">We
strongly support the idea of the Geneva format of having all events
within the same venue but recommend that the main sessions and side
events should have no security demarcations and are open to all
accredited and registered participants of the summit.<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size="-1"
color="#000000">¢</font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond" size="-1" color="#000000">We
would like to avoid the rather sterile environment created by the
Round Table approach in Geneva, where speakers were often nearly alone
in the Round Table rooms. We suggest a panel approach, with audience
and interaction.<br>
<br>
We suggest the panel sessions reflect the main themes of the second
phase of WSIS. However, we see as critical to relevance to the public,
an intersection between the main themes, which have been financing the
Digital Divide and Internet Governance, and the groupings that have
characterised Civil Society families. We believe that the civil
society's groups are a reflection of society itself and that for
information age issues to come to life for members of broader society,
the issues need to be framed in ways that people will relate to within
the framework of the summit and beyond.<br>
<br>
For example:<br>
</font><font size="-1" color="#000000">-<font
face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">Governance: The impact of
Internet Governance on household access to the Internet.<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">Financing: Who will be included
now? The implications for people on the non connected side of the
digital divide, of the financial plans to close the divide.<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">Capacity Development: What are the mechanisms for
capacity building and the inclusion and utilisation of groupings such
as Youth and Volunteers<br>
</font>-<font
face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">Media in the Info Age: Will my
media diet change because of the Information
Society?</font></font></div>
<div><font size="-1" color="#000000">-<font
face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">What's in it for women? Gender
dimensions of the WSIS.<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings">¢</font><font face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">For the selection of side events
and speakers in sessions Civil Society would like to be included in
the structures that are set in place to facilitate these and for the
Opening Ceremony suggest that it be more interactive, including
speakers from Civil Society and the private sector<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings">¢</font><font
face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">There has been limited interaction within WSIS between
the private sector and civil society and we would like to see this
interaction happen in a dynamic, interactive way, at the Summit.<br>
<br>
For example:<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">A live discussion between actual proponents (as
opposed to representatives) of Government management of the Internet
and Private Sector governance of the Internet.<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings">¢</font><font
face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">On Summit documents, Civil Society would like to make
it clear that in the spirit of multi-stakeholder process, we would
like to have our input reflected in one Summit document/s. However, we
also reserve the possibility, that should our input not be clearly
reflected in a multi-stakeholder document, of issuing a separate
document. In this event, we would like such a document to be appended,
as in Phase 1 of WSIS, to the Summit Declaration.<br>
<br>
In the event of a separate document from Civil society being produced,
we request a specific time to present this to the Government plenary
at the Summit.<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings">¢</font><font face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">We want to see clear
implementation, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms established to
ensure that the outcomes of WSIS are followed up in a continued
multi-stakeholder environment. We would like to be equal participants
in these mechanisms.<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings">¢</font><font
face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">We ask that civil society be informed of logistical
arrangements relating to the Summit, at the same time as all
stakeholders. It is important that the Civil Society Bureau be in a
position to inform the Civil Society Plenary of all decisions that
impact on the Summit in a timely manner. In this regard we would like
to know if a decision has already been made on the relative locations
of Government and Civil Society activities, at the Summit.<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings">¢</font><font face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">The matter of financing Civil
Society participation needs to be planned and catered for with
adequate time to prepare quality outcomes. Civil Society participants
seek assistance in advance on two levels - that of fellowships for
attendance and participation; for events and projects that will enable
innovation in the exhibition and parallel event platforms.<br>
<br>
<b>OUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS<br>
<br>
</b>On our part, we are developing mechanisms that will ensure:<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">quality content in civil society
interventions based on hands-on experience in the ICT for development
arena<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">Working towards a more definite and inclusive
knowledge society and clearly linking it to other UN processes such as
the Millennium Development Goals +5. This would also work towards
helping to raise the profile of the summit within existing UN and
governmental mechanisms<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="Garamond">Meaningful and sustainable
follow-up and implementation of the Geneva Declaration of Principles
and Plan of Action (based on the multi-stakeholder approach) as is
currently on-going within a number of civil society groupings and
caucuses<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">fair distribution of fellowships for civil society
participation in Regional Meetings, Prepcom 3 and the Summit
itself<br>
</font>-<font face="Arial"><x-tab> </x-tab></font><font
face="Garamond">a planned process for the distribution of over passes
for civil society members<br>
<br>
<br>
Contributions to this document came via an informal grouping of the CS
Bureau. It was drafted by Tracey Naughton (Media Caucus), Viola Krebs
(Volunteer Family), Titi Akinsanmi (Youth Caucus)<br>
<br>
Notes to CS:<br>
Pièce de Website sur l'exécution continuant basée sur D.o.P et
AP par des groupements de CS... Nous devrions toujours inclure
nos propositions de valeur dans nos documents...<br>
</font></font></div>
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<div>###<br>
Robert Guerra <rguerra@privaterra.org><br>
Privaterra - <http://www.privaterra.org></div>
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