Establishment of a Civil Society Bureau: A historic
event!
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be
held in Geneva in December 2003 and in Tunis in 2005, intends to lay the
foundations of the society that we would like to build for the upcoming decades,
given the profound changes taking place as a result of globalization and
scientific progress, particularly the new information and communication
technologies. Civil society was strongly mobilized after the UN General Assembly
adopted resolution 56/183, which “encourages […] non-governmental
organizations, civil society and the private sector to contribute to, and
actively participate in, the intergovernmental preparatory process of the Summit
and the Summit itself ”. Civil society’s commitment stems from the
observation that only a true and effective collaboration amongst all involved in
sustainable development, i.e., governments, the private sector, and civil
society, will allow the development of an information society able to fulfill
the hopes of the world’s peoples.
To meet this challenge, the international civil society
has established a Civil Society Bureau.
This decision was made at the second session of the Preparatory Committee
(PrepCom-2), held in Geneva from 17 to 28 February 2003, after intense
consultations for over a year between the Civil Society Division of the WSIS
Executive Secretariat and numerous representatives of civil society. The Civil
Society Bureau is a decisive turning point in the history of the United Nations
and of international negotiations. Indeed, it is the first time that civil
society will have the means to effectively participate in the debate and will
assume its responsibilities as a government interlocutor. In the Summit context,
the Bureau cuts a path for new prospects to grapple with all the issues needing
to be addressed in order to alleviate the very real concerns of our fellow
citizens.
The Bureau is made up of the world’s leading civil
society “families”: trade unions, academia and education, the scientific and
technology communities, the media, creators and players in culture, local
authorities, NGOs, the young, women, indigenous peoples, the physically
challenged, etc. It also includes regional contacts tasked with weaving links
with all continents.
As in the case of the Intergovernmental Bureau, the Civil
Society Bureau’s function is basically organizational; its purview is not to
deal with Summit themes. However, it will be responsible for raising awareness
amongst all the active forces of society and for helping them express their
expectations. The Civil Society Bureau will have to relay the positions taken
and ensure that they are duly considered in the preparatory process as well as
at the Summit itself. In addition, it will manage the “facilitation fund” to
financially support the widest participation at the Summit by civil society,
especially as regards least developed countries and disenfranchised groups.
The Civil Society Bureau will pave the way to ongoing
dialogue with the Intergovernmental Bureau and private sector. This will help
resolve the many procedural issues that have often hampered the business at
hand. The creation of a bureau specific to the international civil society was
heralded as a historic event, after its representatives met with
Intergovernmental Bureau members on 25 February 2003. To ensure its development,
the Civil Society Bureau will work closely with the Civil Society Division of
the WSIS Executive Secretariat, which will serve as its secretariat.
Alain Clerc, Director of the Civil Society Division/WSIS
Executive Secretariat
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