[Telecentres] Identifying goals of the working group (was Telecenter Statistics)

[Stuart Mathison, FDC]

I agree with Andy (see his note below) - we should discuss and define
SPECIFIC GOALS for this "WSIS Civil Society Working Group on Telecentres".
Otherwise, with such a large group, we will be easily sidetracked.

Andy's questions were:

1) How can telecentres, as a "movement", play a coordinated role in meeting
the WSIS plan of action and the MDGs?
- Achievement of the MDGs are the fundamental principle and objective of the
WSIS (see para 2 Declaration of Principles, para 1 Plan of Action). I think
any advocacy position should be based on solid evidence that
well-designed-and-operated telecentres can and do contribute to achievement
of specific MDGs. We need to go beyond anecdotal. If we can't do this, a
"telecentre" voice in WSIS will not be so compelling. (Note: I think this is
a very specific question within the broader "evaluation" debate).

2) What role do we, as a working group, want to play in WSIS discussions on
funding mechanisms to bridge the digital divide?
- There are numerous such discussions happening around the world - at
regional and national levels. They are not specifically about "telecentre
financing", although some have focused on telecentre-type initiatives. The
big issue at international level is not "money for telecentres" in the
broadest sense, but "financing mechanisms for UPSCALING of successful
telecentre initiatives". Upscaling - expansion, replication - should,
perhaps, be the focus of our "financing" discussion.

3) What role do we want to play in Prepcom meetings, as well as WSIS itself?
- My suggestion is that we advocate on the two previous questions. An issue,
however, is the mechanics through which the collective voice of this working
group can make itself heard. Are we "official"? Can we be registered as a
civil society entity? How do we appoint people to represent the group?

cheers
Stuart Mathison
Program Manager
Information and Communication for Development
The Foundation for Development Cooperation
www.fdc.org.au <http://www.fdc.org.au/>

Tel: +61 7 3236 4633
Fax: +61 7 3236 4696

Andy Carvin wrote:
>> I think we as a group need to discuss what our goals are. How can
telecentres, as a movement, play a coordinated role in meeting the WSIS plan
of action and the MDGs? What role do we, as a working group, want to play in
WSIS discussions on funding mechanisms to bridge the digital divide? What
role do we want to play in Prepcom meetings, as well as WSIS itself? As a
working group, there are lots of activities we could try to undertake; I
think we should start by brainstorming a list of some of these possibilities
then prioritize them.