Working Group Five Demand and Use of New Technology: engaging citizens and increasing awareness Group five explored issues of demand and the use of new technologies to stimulate citizen engagement. This group focused on the importance and means of

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Working Group FiveDemand and Use of New
Technology engaging citizens and increasing
awarenessGroup five explored issues of demand
and the use of new technologies to stimulate
citizen engagement. This group focused on the
importance and means of increasing awareness,
sustaining advocacy efforts, and the
responsibility of holders of information to
disclose. Finally the group examined how
increasingly advanced and available technology
can be effectively utilized to release
information affordably and accessibly.
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• Issue Statement
• The rapid proliferation of new media
  communication technologies and the broad spread
  of conventional technology already demonstrates
• Citizens demand for communication and
  information and
• Provides a powerful opportunity to realize the
  right to information across Africa.
• The commitment of the 14th African Union leaders
  summit in 2010 to promote ICT for all partners
  reinforces the idea of communication as a public
  good.
• Government and other actors who seek to promote
  broad access to information are encouraged to use
  new technology to enhance access to for millions
  of ordinary citizens in ways that are affordable,
  reliable and secure.

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• Main Discussion Considerations
• ICT provides an opportunity to access information
• There is a low level of information provisions in
  existing laws and policies
• Regulatory and enabling environment is poor
• ICT reach and penetration exists but there is a
  need to reach more people in the continent
• There is an issue around the capture and supply
  of data
• Demand is a two way street
• Tools/platforms/formats how are the new
  technologies useful? How to harness the potential
  of the old technologies such as radio to provide
  access to information
• How useable is the format in which the
  information is provided ?

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• Main Discussion Considerations
• There should be proactive disclosure of
  information in an accessible and usable format,
  regardless of demand.
• One could view information as a commodity. In
  that formulation government would be a wholesaler
  and non-state actors could be viewed as retailers
  packaging information in accessible ways.
• Culture may seriously affect demand for
  information.
• Need to further explore how to use technology for
  the dissemination and gathering of information,
  proactively and reactively.
• Government and other stakeholders have a
  responsibility to actively engage in providing,
  disseminating and promoting information.

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• Regional Findings
• Lack of policy framework, effective regulations,
  enabling environment, infrastructure,
  competition, and liberalization policy diminish
  affordable opportunities for access to
  information for citizens.
• Public servants and the population have a lack of
  understanding about the right to information and
  this affects peoples ability to effectively
  demand and enjoy the right.
• While civil society has been raising awareness on
  ATI and the use of ICT, their efforts have not
  been sufficiently far reaching.
• Opportunities and obstacles for the enjoyment of
  access to information, including tax and
  regulatory framework, vary across the continent
  and civil society has a role to play in analyzing
  and disseminating information on these issues and
  the effect they have on information demand and
  access.
• Information on the working of government, elected
  representatives, and organizations that use
  public funds should be, but is not now, easily
  accessible and understood by the general public
  and this affects demand.

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• Recommendations Action Points
• REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
• Prioritize funding support for the provision of
  universal access and other activities by actors
  which promote demand for, and use of, the right
  to access to information.
• STATES
• Demonstrate political will by providing the
  policy framework and enabling regulatory
  mechanisms, including opportunities for
  competition and liberalization, for citizens to
  easily access accurate, reliable and affordable
  information.
• Promote multi-stakeholder partnerships to ensure
  that the necessary enabling environment for the
  citizens access to information is guaranteed.
• Provide capacity building by ensuring public
  servants and the general population understand
  and effectively enjoy their rights to
  information.
• Ensure sufficient funding efforts to the
  provisions of relevant technology.

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• Recommendations Action Points
• NON-STATE ACTORS
• Increase effort to raise awareness on the use of
  ICT to access information
• Identify, analyze, simplify and disseminate
  existing laws and opportunities on information
  access (including tax policy and regulatory
  frameworks)
• Identify, analyze, simplify, make more
  user-friendly, and provide to the public
  information on the workings of government,
  elected representatives and other organizations
  that use public funds