The second meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom-2) for the World Summit on the Information Society, Geneva, 17 - 28 February
PrepCom-2
began with a panel of 'visionaries' that included the Presidents of Senegal and
Romania and concluded with working documents for a draft Declaration and Action
plan. The meeting also marked the creation of a Civil Society Bureau, which will
ensure the closest possible cooperation between government and civil society.
President
Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, in his visionary address, called for "digital
solidarity, perhaps founded on a digital charter." President Ion Iliescu of
Romania noted that as the information society is increasing our dependency on
technology, "establishing a suitable framework will be of key
importance." For the visionaries statements click here.
The
working documents for a draft Declaration and Action plan propose a common
vision of the information society and the issues to be dealt with ranging from
ICTs for economic development and human capacity building to security and access
to information and knowledge. These documents will form the basis for on-going
discussions amongst all stakeholders and are available here.
A new working document, incorporating all of the input from PrepCom-2, will be
produced by 21 March 2003 and will be posted on the website for consultation and
comment.
PrepCom-2 attracted 1586
participants of which 918 were from member states, 398 from civil society and
non-governmental organizations, 60 from the business sector and 25 from the
United Nations and specialized agencies. "Their enthusiastic participation
is reflected in the comprehensive nature of the work produced, and in their
collective belief in developing new and innovative partnerships between Member
States, civil society and the business sector in order to bridge the
divide," says Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of ITU. "However, to
achieve the vision of the information society we've outlined, we need to do more
work as well as gain the support and political will of the leaders of the
world."
The
full text of the press release on the outcome of PrepCom-2 can be found here.
The
document outlining the intersessional arrangements between PrepCom-2 and
PrepCom-3, which will be held in Geneva 15 - 26 September, can be found here.
The outcome of the eight multi-stakeholder roundtables held during
PrepCom-2 is available here.
Please
feel free to contact us at anytime for more information on the World Summit on
the Information Society: https://www.itu.int/net/wsis/contact/index.html
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