The latest sub-committee to discuss WSIS issues and themes was the Civil Society Segment Sub-Committee on Content and Themes.

The WSIS Informal meeting on Content and Themes was held on September 16-18 and several civil society organisations participated in the discussion and drafting of proposals to be submitted for the agenda of the WSIS. The sub-committee recognises the importance of the WSIS and the opportunity that it would present to interested and concerned groups. Thus, it was concluded that human needs in the realm of information and communication and the goals of human development must be at the heart of the discussions. It was further concluded that only if there were adequate opportunities to confront different perspectives would it be possible to achieve basic consensus on goals and strategies.

During the informal meeting, several principles were drafted which are important to consider as well as critique. All of these principles are deemed "indispensable" by the committee, yet there is still room for further alterations for some of the proposed ideas.

The principles drafted are:

• Human rights are the basis for the WSIS.
  The Information Society must necessarily have people at its centre. Human rights must be the fundamental basis for consideration of all other principles, themes and possible outcomes within any UN-sponsored summit. This principle must be explicitly stated in the summit declaration. Approaching the Information Society from a rights perspective implies putting human dignity above technological or commercial considerations.
• The WSIS should have a development orientation with the overall goal of meeting fundamental human and societal needs. ICTs are not an end unto themselves; they are tools for economic and social goals, such as poverty eradication. The goals of the WSIS, therefore, should be directed toward the meeting of fundamental human and societal needs, as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Millennium Declaration, and many other documents that have been adopted by member states.
• The WSIS should be oriented to ensuring that ICTs contribute to the goals of peace, conflict resolution, equality, sustainable development, reduction of poverty and health issues.
• The WSIS must recognise the universal right to communicate. Communication is a fundamental human need, indispensable to all social organisations. A WSIS that makes human rights a guiding principle for all other thematic discussion must, therefore, take up the concept of communication as a universal human right.
• Communication – understood as a participative and interactive process essential to human coexistence, human formation and community building, and information–sharing should be a central thematic focus of the summit. Technology should be at the service of these.
• People should be recognised in their full quality as citizens.
  People are not just "consumers", nor "users" of technology or services. The focus should be on people and the services they require, rather than on services and the people who use them.
• The WSIS should emphasise universal and inclusive access to and the means to make effective use of the tools and benefits of the information society. The bridging of the digital divide to provide democratic access to information and ICTs in the information society should be a major focus of the summit. This includes recognition of not just the global North / South digital divide, but also recognition of enduring inequities in developed nations. Political and social barriers must be considered along with technical, educational, gender and economic ones.
• Gender equality should be guaranteed in the Information Society.
  Gender equality goals and mainstream gender perspectives in all plans and preparations for WSIS and its follow up programs. All declarations and plans of WSIS must take into consideration their effect on women and ensure that the rights of women are promoted.
• Youth must be recognised as stakeholders.
  Contributions of youth in overall development of Information societies should be emphasised.
• Diverse realities and specific needs of different groups should be addressed.
  An approach should be adopted that addresses the diverse realities and specific needs of different social groups, including the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity, marginalized groups, women, youth, older persons, indigenous peoples, the disabled, and people suffering from discrimination.
• A focus should be maintained on community-based initiatives.
  The broad-based partnership among participating groups should pay specific attention to community-enabling initiatives.
• States should assume their political responsibilities in promoting an Information Society that puts people first. It is not enough to seek partnerships with private business, if this means abdicating their responsibility towards the other sectors that make up society.
• The human ethical and social dimensions of each theme must be addressed in the declaration.
• The technical, political and economic mechanisms and instruments necessary to implement each theme or proposed outcome must be addressed in the Plan of Action.
• Previous work on relevant issues should serve as a basis for future work, carried on by the civil society, governments and private sector.
• The WSIS should support broad-based partnerships among all stakeholders (i.e. member governments, civil society and the private sector).
• The outcomes of the WSIS must give priority to the interests and needs of the population as a whole and particularly marginalized groups.
• The WSIS should be organised and held in a spirit of international co-operation.

Source: Official document from the World Summit on the Information Society INFORMAL MEETING ON CONTENT & THEMES 16-18 September 2002 Civil Society Segment Sub-Committee on Content and Themes available at http://www.itu.int/wsis/.