The NGO Gender Strategies Working Group, the coalition of like-minded women who are working to engender the WSIS process, has been handling discussions and posting updates about the concerns of women regarding the WSIS in one of the earlier mailing lists called the . Here, women from all over the world have been discussing ways to critique the WSIS process, official documents and procedures and have been collaborating with each other towards working on similar goals.
To get an idea of how lists like this one works, a synthesis of the members' work in the past two months is now available online in html and word format at: http://www.genderit.org/list.htm and http://www.genderit.org/docs/list_letter.doc. Perhaps analysing the synthesis as well as the summary (with excerpts posted below) can help those who are just starting to join the WSIS process into further enhancing their women-focused advocacy.
However, the mailing list has been pegged to stop operations by 31 March. Although it still exists up to now, suggestions have been voiced on the list on how and where the list should go next, seeing that it is a good venue for women to work on their WSIS-oriented advocacies as there are still some opportunities to contribute to the process before the third and final PrepCom in September and the WSIS Summit in December. An example cited is how the WSIS Secretariat is still taking inputs to the basic working documents (Draft Declaration and Action plan) until the end of May and for this purpose, a drafting group composed of civil society/NGO representatives can still be created by women in the list to work on women's inputs. A suggestion made is that the drafting group will work in a separate list but will be closely in touch with the current one for updating and feedback.
Another suggestion made is that the mailing list be kept in order for members to continue to share news about national level WSIS activities, develop further positions, and have further discussions about the most contentious issues for women in the WSIS process.
Below are excerpts from the mailing list summation:
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Summary of Discussions
The NGOWomen mailing list was a busy venue during the 2nd Preparatory Committee (PrepCom2) meeting for the World Summit on the Information Society held in Geneva from 17-28 Feb 2003 and the 47th session of the Commission on Status of Women (CSW) that took place in New York from 03-14 March 2003. Both meetings were significant as women rallied around the issues of media, information and communication technologies. The bulk of the messages sent through the list during this period can be categorised into four areas:
- networking and co-ordination;
- advocacy and drafting of relevant documents;
- contributions to general discussions; and announcements; and
- information dissemination.
*World Summit on the Information Society
We agreed to reply to Mr. Adama Samassekou's (president of the WSIS PrepCom) letter or what is also referred to as the non-paper. Susanna George of Isis International-Manila initiated this process and drafted the letter. A number of us in this list including Margaret Gallagher, Bill McIver, and Karen Banks contributed in the drafting process. The letter was presented to Mr. Samassekou on 28 February by the NGO Gender Strategies Working Group. The letter was translated into French by Marie-Helene Mottin Sylla of ENDA Synfev, and into Spanish by Montserrat Boix.
English: http://www.genderit.org/wsis/Open-Letter-En.doc
French: http://www.genderit.org/wsis/Open-Letter-Fr.doc
Spanish: http://www.genderit.org/wsis/spanish_openletter.htm
Another decision we made was to nominate Karen to the Steering Committee of the WSIS Multi-Stakeholder caucus.
*WSIS Civil Society Bureau
Natasha Primo of APC-WNSP-Africa explained the structure of Civil Society Bureau (CSB) for the WSIS which is currently composed of 10 'families' representing: academic and educational, scientific and technological community media, creators and actors of the culture, cities and local authorities, trade unions, members of Parliament, NGOs including the groups such as: women, indigenous people, disabled, etc., social movements, and multi-sectoral groups. She also reported that an additional 'family' would be created specifically so that gender has its own focal point and not be grouped with youth or indigenous peoples. (Separate families have since been created for gender, youth and indigenous peoples). From 11, the families have now expanded to 23. Additional information on the CSB may be accessed at:
English: http://www.geneva2003.org/wsis/index_c01_2_08.htm
French: http://www.geneva2003.org/wsis/index_c02_2_07.htm
Spanish: http://www.geneva2003.org/wsis/index_c03_2_07.htm
*Civil Society Bureau Gender Focal Point
Natasha also informed us about the proposal to make the Gender Caucus itself the focal point and that individuals (rather than organisations) within the loose coalition represent the Gender Caucus at CSB meetings, possibly on a meeting-to-meeting rotation. She reported that one member within the Caucus felt that a year was too long for anyone within the Caucus to stand in as focal point. Some of the NGO members of the WSIS-GC argued that should the GC be formally proposed as the focal point, it was imperative that civil society members in the gender caucus lead that process and engagement with the CSB. She added that since no focal point for gender was designated during PrepCom2, gender had no representation in the CSB discussions on its operation mode. Natasha attended as an observer to the discussion.
Natasha saw this as the nub of the difficulty of a decision to have individuals within a loose coalition represent the gender family. "Everything might just be *too* loose, creating difficulties in extracting accountability to the family or gender caucus. It also poses problems around continuity of representation and following the process and discussions. While there is obvious strength in having a broad and inclusive gender caucus, that same quality does not make it the most appropriate form for family representation. There is too much opportunity for crucial decisions to fall through the cracks."
Amali De Silva responded to two points. The first was on the issue of difficulty in getting accountability from the loose coalition within the gender family, of which Amali said that on the other hand, it does ensure representation of both large and small groups and that "accountability is a function of transparency." Second, on the issue of possible loss of continuity of representation and following the process (due to the rotating responsibilities), she made a suggestion to have a moderator and/or moderators for the gender caucus to keep the process on track.
Currently, the four NGO women's groups who volunteered to sit on the bureau, representing the Gender family, are still in discussion with the Steering Committee of the WSIS gender caucus to arrive at a conclusion.
*Advocacy and Drafting of Relevant Documents
Several significant documents were produced or contributed to by various actors working within the Gender Caucus and the NGO Gender Strategies Working Group. These were:
- the "Gender Intervention" document
- a Civil Society Draft Declaration and Action Plan
- an Open Letter to Mr. Samassekou
- the "Seven Must Haves" for WSIS
As the documents became available online, members of the list submitted contributions that would reflect and strengthen the points mentioned in the documents, or stress specific points.
*Contributions to General Discussions
Amali De Silva, who was not attending the PrepCom, submitted several points that she thought should be considered and prioritised in the WSIS process - including ensuring ease of access and opportunities for education and tools for the disadvantaged groups, commitments to recognition of basic human rights, and recognising the need for private sector support, among others.
Marian Douglas requested that gender preparations for WSIS include analysis of issues surrounding rural women and women of colour who remain marginalised with respect to ICT.
Tai Purcell raised the idea of focusing on specific needs of women in rural areas of island nations, such as in the Pacific. She related her own experience in setting up a multipurpose telecentre in Samoa.
Manish Narayan raised several points (regarding): harmonising content on gender and human rights for the benefit of end users; content development as a responsibility of states; and that if states assume this responsibility, market forces will not be significant in development.
*Announcements and Information Dissemination
The NGOwomen list was also at the hub of information dissemination on various the issues, becoming a source of information that was then disseminated into other networks. Reports posted by individual members kept everyone abreast of important developments at both events and these reports were mirrored at other sites and venues.
At the same time, some members also contributed significantly to the information dissemination by translating important documents and postings from English into Spanish and French for the benefit of members whose primary language was not English. These translations were then made available on Spanish and French websites and lists.
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