[Telecentres] Online Forum on Financing Mechanisms Extended Until November 24

[Andy Carvin]

Hi everyone,

Some of you may recall my previous notice last month that the Taskforce 
on Financing Mechanisms (TFFM) is hosting an online consultation seeking 
feedback from civil society on the following question: "How can 
financial resources be most effectively mobilized to help harness the 
potential of ICT to promote human development throughout the world?"

This online consultation was supposed to end today, but it's been 
extended until November 24. During a conference call organized by 
Frannie Wellings of EPIC earlier today, we talked about the potential 
insights that might come from our particular working group, given the 
fact that telecentres all must deal directly with the challenge of 
long-term financial sustainability. So I would like to invite you to 
contribute to this online consultation, both as a group and as individuals.

Right now, anyone may go online to 
http://www.wsis-online.net/financing/forums/forum-view?forum_id=426395 
to participate in the discussion, and I would encourage all of you to do 
so. The discussion is broken down into four threads:

    1. Most pressing needs and opportunities : What are the most 
pressing needs and opportunities for deploying ICT in the context of 
meeting basic development objectives in the developing world ?

    2. How to harness and reinforce human resources : How can human 
resources be best harnessed and reinforced to maximize the potential of 
ICT for all segments of sciety ?

    3. Efficiency of existing mechanisms : How effective have existing, 
traditional financial mechanisms been in meeting ICT development goals 
and how can such mechanisms be enhanced ?

    4. Innovative mechanisms : Are there any examples of new, innovative 
or multi-sectoral mechanisms that should be considered, and what should 
be their role ?

All of us may go to the site and participate individually, but there 
might also be value in the group filing comments collectively. Is this 
something that you think would be worthwhile? If so, please post your 
thoughts on the idea to the list.

I am about to fly to Helsinki tonight for meetings in Estonia early next 
week, prior to the UN ICT Taskforce meeting in Berlin. I'll try to be 
online several times a day, but I may not be online as often as I 
usually am. So I'd like to apologize up-front for not being able to 
participate very actively over the next several days. But if the group 
would like to  post comments either individually or collectively, I 
would be very supportive of the idea. What does everyone think?

For more information on the online consulation, please visit here:
http://www.wsis-online.net/financing/finance-root/ForumTFFM

thanks,
ac


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Andy Carvin
Program Director
EDC Center for Media & Community
acarvin @ edc . org
http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org
Blog: http://www.andycarvin.com
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