Youth @ WSIS:

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Youth _at_ WSIS
Not just the future,
The Present!
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World Summit on the Information Society

• An overview of the Summit, the preparatory
  process and youth involvement

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Presentation Plan

• The challenge
• Youth as key players
• The framework
• Proposed themes
• The preparatory process
• Participation
• Youth activities to the Summit and beyond
• How to get involved

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The Challenge (1)

• The modern world is undergoing a fundamental
  transformation as the industrial society that
  marked the 20th century rapidly gives way to the
  information society of the 21st century. This
  dynamic process promises a fundamental change in
  all aspects of our lives.

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The Challenge (2)

• The WSIS is the first time that all Governments
  of the world assemble at a UN Summit to discuss
  the issues of the Information Society and the
  Digital Divide.
• The Summit is to harness synergies and to create
  cooperation among the various ICT-initiatives at
  the regional and the global level and shall
  promote and foster the potential of ICT for
  development.

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Secretary-General Kofi Annan

• "Information technology is
• not a magic formula or
• panacea. But it is a
• powerful force that can and
• must be harnessed to our
• global mission of peace and
• development."

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Youth The key development actor of the
Information Revolution

• Youth are the most avid users of technology and
  are a driving force behind technological
  entrepreneurship and innovation
• However, youth remain the worlds greatest
  untapped resource, lacking voice, involvement and
  opportunities, especially in developing countries
  
• Clearly, if it is to achieve its ambitious goals,
  the World Summit needs to engage young people,
  the path-breakers of the ICT revolution

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The framework (1)

• The first phase of the World Summit will take
  place in Geneva, hosted by the Government of
  Switzerland from 10 to 12 December 2003
• It will address the broad range of themes
  concerning the Information Society, like internet
  governance, security and the digital divide, and
  adopt a declaration of principles and an Action
  plan.

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The framework (2)

• The second phase of the World Summit will
• Take place in Tunis in 2005 hosted by the
• Government of Tunisia.
• Development themes will be a key focus in
• this phase and the Tunis Summit will assess
• the progress that has been made and adopt
• any further Action Plan to be taken.

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Proposed themes (1)

• Vision
• What is the shared vision of the information
  society? What framework can the international
  community develop to ensure that the possible
  benefits of ICTs for development are maximized
  while the possible obstacles and barriers are
  minimized?

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Proposed themes (2)

• Access
• How can the benefits of ubiquitous and
  affordable ICTs be extended to all the worlds
  inhabitants? How can we assist those that have
  access to ICTs to use them effectively?
•  

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Proposed themes (3)

• Applications
• The development of ICTs has implications for
  economic, social and cultural development. How
  can ICTs be leveraged to help promote the common
  goals of humanity, such as those expressed in the
  UN Millennium Declaration?

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The Preparatory Process for Geneva 2003

• At the global level
• PrepCom-1 Geneva 1-5 July 2002
• PrepCom-2 Geneva 17-28 February 2003
• PrepCom-3 Geneva 15-27 September 2003

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The Preparatory Process for Geneva 2003

• At the regional level
• Africa Bamako 28-30 November 2002
• Europe Bucharest 7-9 November 2002
• Asia Pacific Tokyo 13-15 January 2003
• Latin America Caribbean Bavaro, Dominican
• Republic 29-31 January 2003

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Proposed outcome of the first phase of the Summit
A Declaration of Principles on the Information Society (The Geneva Declaration) A Plan of Action for all stakeholders involved (The Geneva Action Plan)
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Participation

• All member states of the United Nations.
• Particpating with observer status are
• Entities and international organizations having
• received a standing invitation from the UNGA
• Specialised agencies and other intergovernmental
  organizations
• Accredited NGOs and civil society entities
• Accredited business entities

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Participation of Youth (Policy Level)

• High level participation in all Regional Meetings
  (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America), and all
  Preparatory Meetings (PrepCom 1, 2, 3, Paris
  Intersessional) of WSIS
• Substantive written contributions have been made
  by the Youth Caucus, following extensive
  consultations with its members
• E-consultations held during April and May 2003 to
  gather feedback from youth worldwide on draft
  documents prepared at PrepCom 2. This followed
  regional level e-connsultations held in
  November/December 2002.

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Youth Main Policy Objectives

• 1) Recognition of Youth engagement in decision
  making processes as informed participants
• 2) Centrality of Education mainstreaming, not
  merely incorporating, technology into school
  curricula
• 3) Promoting Youth Employment government
  regulations to ensure job safety, equity, and
  security
• 4) Concrete Action Plan for Youth concise and
  time-bound with clear means of implementation

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Youth Activities up to the Summit

• Creation of Youth Creating Digital Opportunities
  (YCDO) Coalition with TakingITGlobal,
  International Institute for Sustainable
  Development, Global Knowledge Partnership
• YCDO consultation with its 18 members
  organizations and development of the YCDO Action
  Plan 2003-2004
• National WSIS Youth Campaigns in over twenty
  countries
• Identification of Best Practice Projects for
  Youth Awards
• Young Women ICT Leaders Meeting (Egypt, June
  2003)
• Young Asian ICT 'Doers' Meeting (Malaysia, June
  2003)
• Publishing a book of best-practice youth ICT
  projects

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Youth Activities at the Summit

• Youth Day (December 11)
• Youth Hub Space
• Youth Awards Program
• Youth Media Program
• Book launch
• Launch of YCDO Fund
• High Level Core Event Participation

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Youth Day (Dec. 11)
The Focal Point

• Youth workshops, press events and forums will
  centre around Youth Day on December 11, 2003
• One to two hour workshops will explore diverse
  themes like human rights, digital solidarity,
  employment and e-learning in the Information
  Society
• Youth Day will also highlight Youth Caucus
  activities including national WSIS youth
  campaigns, WSIS Youth Award winners, and the
  launch of the YCDO Fund
• Located at Hall 2, Room S of Palexpo

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Youth HUB Space
The Gathering Place

• Exhibition space showcasing best practice
  projects from the WSIS Youth Awards, a photo
  exposition, national WSIS campaigns and YCDO
• Information point with youth-specific program
• Meeting area for youth to work, broker
  collaborations and find support
• Participatory mural focusing on young women in
  ICT
• Located at the ICT4D Platform

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Youth Awards Program
The Showcase

• Recognizing and rewarding best-practice youth-led
  ICT4D initiatives in categories such as health,
  culture education, environment, media and human
  rights
• Overall GKP-sponsored award given out by
  Director-General of the Swiss Agency for
  Development, Mr Walter Fust, at a high level
  Awards Dinner.
• All category finalists will come to the Summit to
  showcase their project at the Youth Hub space, at
  a Panel Showcase on December 11, and through the
  media

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Youth Media Program
The Connection

• Collaboration with the British Council, AMARC,
  OneWorld and Webtrotteurs des Quartier to bring
  around 40 young journalists from around the world
  to report on the Summit via radio, print, video
  and web
• A daily newscast with WSIS-Online on updates,
  interviews, news etc. distributed via large
  screens at the PALEXPO venue and through webcast
  
• Establishment of mentor relationships with
  mainstream journalists during Summit.
• Award category recognizing one best-practice
  youth-led media project

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Book Launch
The Best Practice Projects

• YCDO Coalition book showcasing the top projects
  submitted to the Awards program, listed by
  category.
• Launched at the Awards Panel Showcase on December
  11 at the ICT4D Platform
• Effective tool to link international agencies and
  concrete projects led by youth
• YOIS Europe publication, a series of essays and
  perspectives exploring issues in the information
  society such as cyber-security and e-government.

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Launch of YCDO Fund
The Future

• Major implementation mechanism after Geneva to
  scale up and replicate successful youth ICT4D
  projects within and between regions
• Develop into a long term mechanism to support
  major initiatives as part of the YCDO Action Plan
  2004-2005
• Seed funding from the Swiss Agency for
  Development and Cooperation (SDC)

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How to get involved

• Join a mailing list WSIS Youth
• Participate at the Summit - December 9-12 2003
• Join or start a national WSIS youth campaign
  workshops, projects, media, etc.
• Join a national delegation
• Join Youth Media Team
• Join the YCDO Coalition

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• Youth Caucus website www.ycdo.net/wsis
• Official WSIS website www.wsis.org
• Contact
• Nick Moraitis - nick_at_takingitglobal.org
• Alex Fielding alex_at_takingitglobal.org
• Thank you for your attention