Pushing and prodding, goading and hand-holding is how the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) describes civil societys future efforts to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) concluded last year.

WSIS Meetings

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in two phases. The first phase took place in Geneva on December 10 to 12, 2003. The second phase took place in Tunis in November 16 to 18, 2005. Four documents were adopted: Geneva Declaration of Principles, Geneva Plan of Action, Tunis Commitment, and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. The series of UN-sponsored conferences about information and communication that took place between 2002 and 2005 aimed to bridge the "digital divide" separating rich countries from poor countries by spreading access to the Internet in the developing world.

However, reviews on what actually transpired in the WSIS were mixed.

In an 11-page report, APC, an international network of civil society organisations, explores themes such as Internet governance debate, financing information and communication technology for development (ICTD), and the critical issue of implementation and follow-up. The APC concludes that WSIS was basically a discursive exercise and, at this point of time, its outcomes impact more in the virtual areas of networking and political debate, rather than in the area of concrete decisions.

Other post-WSIS reflections hoped that democratisation of the Internet governance system and the leverage of funding for the development of information and communication in the South would be discussed during the summit.

While WSIS outcomes express good intentions, however, they do not provide concrete mechanisms to address the disparities in access to information and communication in developed and developing countries.

Despite the flaws of the WSIS process, APC accepts that it did have positive results, such as changing the mindset of many people towards ICTs for development.

"In many developing countries, there is now more focus on the integration of ICTs, and information and communication with social, economic, and political development than there was before the WSIS," says APC in their statement.

Other progress include increase in civil society participation, clarity of the roles of public and private investments in information and communication, opening the debate on Internet governance policies to multiple actors, and most importantly, the shift in perspective from a market-oriented and technology-centered information society towards a stronger awareness on the role of information and communication infrastructures and capacities for human development.

Sources:

Association for Progressive Communications (APC). (2006) Beyond the dust and heat: APC looks at Tunis and Geneva in perspective. Retrieved March 20, 2006 from <http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=4153963>.

_____. (2006). Pushing and prodding, goading and hand-holding. Retrieved March 21, 2006 from <http://rights.apc.org/documents/apc_wsis_reflection_0206.pdf>.

Choike. (2006). After the WSIS: A time for balance. Retrieved March 21, 2006 from <http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/3660.html>.

_____. (2005). World Summit on the Information Society: Tunis 2005. Retrieved March 20, 2006 from <http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1956.html>.