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<TITLE>RE: [Telecentres] Going forward</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Arun calling from MSSRF, Chennai, India. Last year when we decided to take part in the WSIS and ICT4D events in Geneva we included one of our villaghe volunteers, Ms Usharani, in our team, and a number of people met and spoke to her and she demonstrated her skills in handling computers - typing in Tamil which has an alphabet of 247 characters using the regular QWERTY English keyboard, and answered a variety of questions on her work in the village knowledge centre. My colleague Mr Rajamohan and Shaddy of OneWorld South Asia helped her navigate through the maze, but within a day she was on her own! While the presence of people like Usharani can facilitate reality check, policy formulation, drafting, negotiating, etc. certainly would need people who are not from the true grassroots. All we can hope is that these non-grassroots people understand the needs of the grassroots people and their communities!</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Arun </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>-----Original Message-----</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>From: Don Cameron [<A HREF="mailto:donc@internode.on.net">mailto:donc@internode.on.net</A>]</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 4:01 PM</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>To: 'Andy Carvin'; telecentres@wsis-cs.org</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Subject: RE: [Telecentres] Going forward</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Thanks for your thoughts Andy.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>The invitation for Telecentre's (as representatives of civil society) to</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>participate in WSIS has been a long and hard-fought battle since our first</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>representations prior to Prepcom1, and it's terrific to now have this</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>opportunity, and I (amongst others) thank you for it - providing</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Telecentre's are not again marginalized by WSIS or cited as being "too</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>narrow a focus for a thematic group"</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>(<A HREF="http://wsis.ecommons.ca/node/view/457" TARGET="_blank">http://wsis.ecommons.ca/node/view/457</A>). This shows a distinct lack of</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>understanding about the role of Telecentre's in today's society.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Most critics of WSIS, many of whom are practitioners and other regular</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>participants on Telecentre forums, cite the major issue as being a lack of</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>civil engagement compounded by the fact that what engagement there is falls</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>far short of true civil representation: "Civil society needs to claim its</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>role in WSIS and demand that information should be for the good of humanity.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>A pro-development stamp is needed on the WSIS process" (South Asia</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Partnership Summary Report: Communication for Social Change Forum"</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://action.web.ca/home/sap/issues.shtml?x=41483&AA_EX_Session=913a7783532" TARGET="_blank">http://action.web.ca/home/sap/issues.shtml?x=41483&AA_EX_Session=913a7783532</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>f6e3fc1c6ba5eff0d51ed)</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>The views of many Telecentre practitioners about WSIS are well summarized by</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>the following extract:</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>"During a conversation with Sarah Parkinson of IDRC I re-affirmed my</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>thinking, that what we call the 'Civil Society' is in fact a collection of</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>middle-class researchers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) workers and</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>the like. People with the time and money to spend far too much time on the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>internet, these people feel strongly about injustice and try to rectify it.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>But are not the people suffering the injustice of poverty and isolation.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Then is it true that Civil Society does not even come from the population we</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>claim to represent." (Community Information Network for Southern Africa</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>editorial</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.cinsa.info/portal/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=325&Itemi" TARGET="_blank">http://www.cinsa.info/portal/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=325&Itemi</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>d=110).</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>I am not suggesting that we do not participate in WSIS, to the contrary. I</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>am suggesting it is our responsibility as community representatives to</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>require that WSIS extends itself beyond a closed-door conference venue and</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>incorporates true civil representation - these are not new issues having</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>been raised many times within and external to the WSIS process, and WSIS</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>itself has now had more than two years to develop processes for civil</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>engagement.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>The Telecentre movement can help WSIS by offering a tremendous opportunity</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>for delegates to engage with society - if this is what WSIS delegates truly</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>want to do. However if WSIS stands aloof and only accepts input by</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>invitation there is probably little we can offer in the way of help.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Anything we do contribute would be subject to the determinations of people</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>inherently lacking in experience and exposure.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>If I can presume to ask a question of the list in turn... What can the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Telecentre movement offer to help WSIS achieve civil engagement thereby</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>fostering the development of the information society? - Answers to this</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>question may well offer insight into how best the movement is represented at</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>WSIS, whether by select individuals or the method of a unified</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>representation.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Rgds, Don</FONT>
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