The World Summit on the Information Society Or, Years of Meetings and Policy Debates Summarized in 1

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The World Summit on the Information Society(Or,
Years of Meetings and Policy Debates Summarized
in 10 Powerpoint Slides)

• Andy Carvin
• Digital Divide Network
• acarvin_at_edc.org
• www.digitaldivide.net
• www.andycarvin.com

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Before We Get StartedA Jargon Roundup

• WSIS (prounounced wih-sis, Why-sis, aka SMSI,
  etc)
• Prepcoms Preparatory Committees, ie planning
  meetings
• Civil Society nonprofits, NGOs, activist groups,
  academia
• ICTs information and communications technologies
  
• (what we Americans would call IT)
• ICT4D ICTs for Development
• Telecentres (public computing centers, community
• tech centers)
• If I use other jargon, interrupt me!

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Why WSIS?To bridge the digital divide

• Term popularized in mid-90s by Clinton, Gore,
  Larry Irving of the Commerce Dept
• Historically seen as the gap between
  communities/households that have Internet access
  and those that dont
• Also about literacy/education, content, media
  ownership, other issues
• Enormous gap between developed and developing
  nations
• A reflection of poverty/development challenges,
  in the context of ICTs

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WSIS Timeline

• Proposed in late 90s
• Prepcoms, regional meetings in 2002-2003
• Geneva WSIS December 2003
• Hammamet Prepcom June 2004
• Regional/Thematic meetings 2004 and 2005
• Geneva Prepcom on financing February 2005
• Prepcom III on Net Governance Sept 2005
• ... And finally, WSIS November 2005, Tunis

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My Role in the Process

• One of hundreds of volunteers, thousands of
  delegates from around the world
• Founder and Chair of Telecentres Caucus
• Participant in Education Taskforce,
• North American Caucus
• Blogger WSISblogs.org

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Civil Society A Diverse Group Indeed

• Digital divide/ICT4D advocates
• privacy and free expression groups
• human rights groups
• development activists
• free and open source activists
• universities
• labor unions
• religious groups
• Non-governmental orgs of all shapes and sizes
• Diversity also means we dont always agree -/

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Civil Society in the WSIS Process

• CS fought hard to have a seat at the table
• WSIS first UN summit to actively involve CS,
  private sector multi-stakeholder
• CS caucuses based on topics, regions
• Speaking slots, document drafting, committees
• Downside No vote

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Is WSIS Working?Well, its a mixed bag....

• Squabbles over financing, Internet governance
• Digital Solidary Fund is controversial
• Less than expected on the digital divide,
  education, content

• Greater CS involvement in summit processes
• Unique opportunity to collaborate, form
  partnerships
• Raise awareness of the digital divide - outside
  the US, at least

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How to Get Involved

• Join WSIS Civil Society Plenary List, Caucuses
  (www.wsis-cs.org)
• Join WSIS Youth Caucus (www.wsisyouth.org)
• Organize campus events
• Recruit students to volunteer, join caucuses
• Plan WSIS Meetups for November
• (http//ddn.meetup.com)
• Blog, blog, blog the more coverage the merrier

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• Andy Carvin
• Digital Divide Network
• acarvin_at_edc.org
• www.digitaldivide.net
• www.andycarvin.com