We launched this last week in Geneva. Patcha, Chun, and myself from the Asia
CSO Caucus were involved in the drafting...
Please circulate
===============
> Subject: [APCNews] New book highlights priorities for UN summit on info
> society
> Sender: apcnews-admin@lists.apc.org
> Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 10:47:32 -0300
>
> NO EMBARGO
>
> PRESS RELEASE
>
>
> NEW BOOK FROM COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVISTS HIGHLIGHTS PRIORITIES FOR WORLD
> SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
>
>
> GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, September 24 2003 - "There is little doubt that
> access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) is
> expanding, yet this process excludes the majority of people in
> developing countries. Many who do have access are unable to use it
> freely to promote their social, economic and political interests. When
> people gain access to these technologies, it is mostly as consumers,
> rather than owners or creators. The growing concentration of ownership
> and control of ICT can limit its remarkable potential for social
> empowerment," says APC in a new book launched last week at the third
> preparatory conference (PrepCom) in the run-up to the first ever United
> Nations world conference on the information society.
>
> At the United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS),
> to be held in Geneva in December, governments will agree on a
> declaration and action plan that could enhance or hinder access to ICTs
> for the vast majority of the world's population. The Association for
> Progressive Communications (APC) and the CRIS Campaign have been
> following the WSIS process and their publication - "Involving Civil
> Society in ICT Policy: the World Summit on the Information Society" -
> highlights some of the principal issues at stake.
>
> "The information society, we are told, is a promise to all the peoples
> of the world of untold benefits and promises for our future however the
> reality is often much closer to a nightmare," says CRIS Campaign
> Coordinator, Myriam Horngren. "As our mass media become more and more
> sanitised and commodified, our airspace sold to the highest bidders, our
> common knowledge and creativity get fenced off, we fear that the
> information society is solely promoting the expansion of corporate
> control at people's expense."
>
>
> Who is this book for?
>
> This book is aimed at people who want to advocate for more just and
> enabling policy environments. It is designed to build awareness of and
> capacity to engage in ICT policy-making spaces at international,
> regional and national levels, including the WSIS.
>
>
> What does the book include?
>
> Published in English, French and Spanish, the book includes a basic
> orientation to the WSIS for non-governmental and non-commercial
> participants as well as information about the CRIS campaign. It outlines
> APC's perspectives on the WSIS which emerged from broad discussions and
> consultations with APC members and other civil society groups from
> Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. It also includes the
> views of the members of the APC Women's Networking Support Programme,
> and draws on the collaborative work of CRIS and APC with other networks.
> Key issues (including a reflection on the term 'information society',
> intellectual property rights, and spectrum allocation) is covered by the
> CRIS campaign. A practical 12-page guide to organising a national ICT
> policy consultation developed by APC accompanies the book.
>
>
> CONTEXT
>
> "Involving Civil Society in ICT Policy: the World Summit on the
> Information Society" has been compiled by the Association of Progressive
> Communications (APC) and the Campaign for Communication Rights in the
> Information Society (CRIS). It is part of our combined efforts to ensure
> that communication and internet rights are upheld and protected as
> fundamental rights throughout the world.
>
> ABOUT APC AND CRIS
>
> APC: The Association for Progressive Communications is an international
> network of civil society organisations whose mission is to empower and
> support organisations, social movements and individuals in and through
> the use of information and communication technologies for social
> justice, development and environmental sustainability. APC's vision is
> of a world in which all people have equal and affordable access to the
> creative potential of ICTs to improve their lives and create more
> democratic and egalitarian societies. APC is a founding member of CRIS.
> www.apc.org
>
> CRIS Campaign: Communications Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
> is an international campaign to ensure that communication rights are
> central to the information society and to the upcoming World Summit to
> the Information Society. The campaign is sponsored and supported by the
> Platform for Communication Rights, a group of non-governmental
> organisations involved in media and communication around the world.
> www.crisinfo.org For additional information about CRIS activities during
> the Summit itself, visit the World Forum on Communication Rights'
> website: http://www.communicationrights.org. The Forum will take place
> on December 11 in parallel to the WSIS.
>
>
> FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
>
> Karen Banks
> APC WSIS Coordinator
> Tel: +44 7712 553 582
> Email: karenb@gn.apc.org
>
> Myriam Horngren
> CRIS Advocacy and Network Coordinator
> Tel: +44 777 185 6091
> Email: mh@wacc.org.uk
>
> Ms Banks and Horngren are currently attending WSIS PrepCom III and are
> available for interviews.
>
> Graphics available: contact khiggs@apc.org
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