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<DIV>The Africa Civil Society for the Information Society - ACSIS, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is happy to announce the soon publication of a Handbook for ICT decision makers titled <EM><U>Africa and the WSIS: From Principles to Action. Perspectives from the Civil Society</U></EM></DIV>
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<DIV>Civil society members with the interest and capacity to write on particular subjects are invited to submit an abstract, or short description of the piece they would write.<BR><BR>To assist in shaping your contributions, here is some additional information:<BR><BR><STRONG>Aim of the publication: </STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV>To present the Civil Society perpectives of the WSIS, showcase the lessons learned and recommend the way forward for an African Action Plan. </DIV>
<DIV><BR><STRONG>Target Readers of the publication:</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV>Decision makers, heads of states, governments, international organisations and the larger Civil Society.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><STRONG>Funder: </STRONG>Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)</DIV>
<DIV><BR>Civil society author co-ordination: ACSIS – Nnenna Nwakanma<BR></DIV>
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<DIV>Fee per contribution on second part: <STRONG>USD$100<BR></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Word length: 2500 to 5000 </STRONG>for the second part </DIV>
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<DIV>Best practices, success stories and lessons learned: Maximum <STRONG>2000</STRONG> words<BR><BR><STRONG>Timeline</STRONG><BR><BR>Suggestions on additional topics are welcome and need to be made <BR>to Nnenna by: <STRONG>April 10, 2005</STRONG><BR><BR>Abstracts should be sent via the list to Nnenna by: <STRONG>April 26, 2005<BR></STRONG><BR>Written go-ahead will be received by: <STRONG>April 30, 2005</STRONG><BR><BR><BR>Deadline for completed piece: <STRONG>June 30</STRONG><BR><BR>The e-address to post all the above to is: <STRONG><A href="http://us.f502.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=infohki@yahoo.com" target=_blank>infohki@yahoo.com</A> <BR><BR><BR>xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</STRONG></DIV>
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<P align=center>Africa and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)</FONT><B><FONT face=Arial size=5> : </P></FONT><I><FONT face=Arial size=4>
<P align=center>From Principles to Action</I>. Perspectives from the Civil Society</P></B><I>
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<P align=center>First Part</P></I></FONT><B><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<P>Chapter I : The Africa Information Society Initiative - AISI- Africa’s Digital Agenda</P></B>
<P>This chapter will explain the principles, the agenda and the realisations of the AISI as Africa’s framework to the deployment of ICT for a sustainable regional development. Particular attention will be given to partnerships, grassroots mobilisation, and civil society involvement.</P><B>
<P>Chapter II The World Summit on the Information Society - WSIS</P>
<P>I Understanding the WSIS</P></B>
<P>This section will give background information on the WSIS, its objectives, processes and other useful information for an understanding of the summit. Special attention will be given the role of the Africa Civil Society from the beginning of the process to the present.</P><B>
<P>II</B> <B>The outcomes of the WSIS</P></B>
<P>The purpose of this part is to highlight the concrete parts of the Declaration of Principles and Action Plan. It will also include the other sectoral outcomes, like the Civil Society Declaration.</P></FONT><I><FONT face=Arial>
<P align=center>SECOND PART</P></I></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>
<P>Chapter III Issues in the use of ICT for Development</P></B>
<P>The issues here may include</P>
<OL>
<LI>Internet Governance</LI>
<LI>Finance Mechanisms</LI>
<LI>Media </LI>
<LI>Human Rights</LI>
<LI>Gender</LI>
<LI>Cultural Diversity</LI>
<LI>Content and Application</LI>
<LI>Free and Open Source Software</LI>
<LI>Intellectual Property Rights</LI></OL><B>
<P>Chapter IV</B> <B>Mainstreaming ICT for African Development</P></B>
<P>The issues here may include</P>
<OL>
<LI>National, sub-regional and Regional policies and their implementation</LI>
<LI>Financing Mechanisms for ICT at the grassroots level</LI>
<LI>Poverty Reduction Strategies</LI>
<LI>Millennium Development Goals</LI>
<LI>Infrastructure</LI>
<LI>Indicators and Benchmarks etc<B></LI></OL>
<P>Chapter V</B> <B>Partnerships for a viable and inclusive African Information Society</P></B>
<P>The objective of this section will be:</P>
<UL>
<LI>To highlight the role, and the Action Plan of the Civil Society in the Information Society</LI>
<LI>Seek concrete proposals on promoting partnership with the Private Sector in a win-win framework</LI>
<LI>Understand barriers to effective partnerships in the multi-stakeholder framework of the Information Society and how to tackle them</LI></UL>
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<P align=center>THIRD PART</P></I></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>
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<P>Chapter VI Best Practices and lessons learned in the use of ICT for development.</P></B>
<P>This part will aim at showcasing diverse stories from all parts of Africa and the globe. </P><B>
<P>VII The way forward</P></B>
<P>This chapter will draw on the outcome of the African Preparatory Conference, Accra and will aim at presenting concrete recommendations on the next steps for ICT for African development. It </P>
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<P> </P></FONT></DIV><p>__________________________________________________<br>Do You Yahoo!?<br>Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around <br>http://mail.yahoo.com