The suspended Third Preparatory Committee Meeting of the WSIS will reconvene from 10-14 November 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland. Referred to as the "Resumed Session of Prepcom3," it is aimed at reaching an agreement between governments who have dissenting views on issues such as Internet governance and security, as well as financial mechanisms for implementation.

The PrepCom3 was suspended last 26 September after chaotic debates, according to a report filed with the worldsummit2003.org website. The PrepCom plenary adapted the draft Declaration of Principles and Action Plan only "as a basis for future negotiations."

The documents are in a state of disarray, the report continued. The Action Plan still contains many sections in square brackets, and the Declaration is even further from being finalised.

The Resumed Session of Prepcom 3 raises the issue of participation from developing countries and civil society. The Civil Society Division Secretariat has circulated a memorandum stating that there will be no fellowships available both for governments and the civil society.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are strategising on ways to secure funding. Some delegates have broached the idea of forming a task force to find funding directly from the donors. Some have also thought of tapping the Philanthropic Foundation Caucus in the hope that this Caucus could assist the CSOs aside from their basic task of representing foundations.

The memorandum also gave the following Resumed Session of PrepCom3 schedule and other details:

A civil society plenary session is planned on Monday 10 November (9:00 10:00) to provide information on the time management plan for the meeting. The general Plenary will meet for half an hour at 10:00, followed by the Sub-Committee 2 sessions. No documents will be distributed and no pigeonholes will be available. Communications will be available through the wireless network at CICG.

Regarding the advancement of the negotiations, three parallel processes are taking place:

1. Informal consultation meetings with the missions in Geneva, held by the President of the PrepCom;
2. Facilitation meetings held by the former President of the Swiss Confederation, M. Adolf Ogi;
3. Resumed Session of PrepCom 3.

All consultations are aimed at reaching consensus on an acceptable text of the Declaration and Plan of Action for the Summit.

Participants registered to PrepCom 3 will automatically be registered for the Resumed Session.

A follow up meeting similar to the Intersessional meeting in Paris last July has also been set for 07-09 December to ensure that a substantive document that is acceptable to all stake holders is produced.

CSO delegates have also started deliberating on the two speakers from civil society who will address the General Assembly of the WSIS on 10 December 2003, the opening day of the Summit. A number of groups have suggested Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human rights activist who is this year's recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. While many CSO members strongly support this proposal, some have expressed sentiments that the speaker should be someone who is an actual stakeholder within the WSIS.