[WSIS CS-Plenary] Deep Dish Endorses Statement of Civil Society

[dhalleck]

> >Deep Dish Community Satellite Network Endorses this Statement
DeeDee Halleck
Deep Dish Television
339 Lafayette Street
NY NY 10012


> >Statement of the Civil Society in Response to the WSIS Draft
Declaration
> >Presentation to Sub-Committee 2, September 22nd.
> >
> >My name is Natasha Primo delegated by the civil society content and
> >themes group.
> >
> >We, representatives from civil society, express our grave concern in
> >response to the Draft Declaration issued on 19th September 2003.
> >
> >The information society described in the document is characterized
> >by uniformity, technocracy and bargaining. It lacks any vision that
> >is people and citizen centered:  there is little or no mention of
> >the poor, workers and marginalized groups including indigenous
> >people, refugees, people with disabilities. The emphasis on
> >diversity of peoples, cultures and ways of living is still far from
> >sufficient. Our contributions throughout this process of shaping a
> >common vision of an inclusive, democratic and sustainable
> >information society, have not been given serious consideration.
> >
> >We have two overarching concerns:
> >
> >· Although the principles of the UDHR and the Millenium Development
> >Declaration are referred to prominently at the start of the
> >Declaration, subsequent paragraphs do not demonstrate genuine
> >commitment to upholding these principles in the realization of an
> >Information Society. Existing rights, such as Article 19, should be
> >quoted fully and affirmed rather than cut up in pieces according to
> >individual country preferences.
> >
> >· Some core concerns have been formulated in ways that fundamentally
> >alter their meaning, whilst others raised by civil society over the
> >past 18 months have been removed.
> >
> >Specifically:
> >
> >1. Community media as a concept is missing from the document.  This
> >indicates a complete disregard of the value of such alternative
> >media in promoting public participation and strengthening cultural
> >and linguistic diversity.
> >
> >2. Literacy, education and research - fundamental components of the
> >information and knowledge society cannot be confined to one section
> >of capacity building. Universal education is a key principle for
> >building a participative society.
> >
> >3. Capacity Building must include not only skills to use ICT`s but
> >also include skills for creating, innovating and enabling active
> >citizenship. It should also recognize fundamental rights in the
> >workplace and core labour standards for all who work in the
> >Information Society.
> >
> >4.  The value and benefits of Free and Open Source Software are not
> >adequately recognized nor promoted in this document, thus
> >undermining their real potential. These extend far beyond the
> >concept of affordability.
> >
> >5. The section on Enabling Environment speaks of a regulatory and
> >legislative environment that reinforces the advancement of a
> >market-driven industry at the expense of the citizenry.
> >
> >6. The reference to Intellectual Property Rights manipulates the
> >notion of fair balance. It threatens innovation, the public domain,
> >and citizens rights and promotes the further concentration of wealth
> >and power in the hands of the resource rich. Legal environments and
> >economic means should be setup for Public libraries, schools and
> >universities in order to enrich the public domain and facilitate the
> >free and open circulation of scientific publications.
> >
> >7. The role of civil society in relation to Internet governance, is
> >completely negated whilst increased powers of control are extended
> >to governments and the private sector.
> >
> >8. Discussions in relation to Building Confidence, Trust and
> >Security have shifted to a highly politicized agenda, characterized
> >by language referring to the integrity of the military field and the
> >use of information resources for criminal and terrorist purposes.
> >This is at the expense of citizen's rights including freedom of
> >association, movement, expression, and privacy.
> >
> >9. References to women still fail to recognize them as key actors in
> >building an information society. The Declaration must avoid language
> >that couches women as 'wards' and must focus on the importance of
> >women as primary change agents.
> >
> >10. In addition, references to the role of the Information Society
> >in ensuring the furthering of commitments made in previous UN
> >conferences are given little, if any, mention in this document.
> >
> >The document as it currently stands reinforces the unequal balance
> >of powers and of development between and within nations, rather than
> >redressing it. We demand that governments maintain a strong human
> >development focus and prevent the growing control of international
> >governance processes by market-led forces.
> >
> >This is not a document that Civil society can endorse and we
> >question the degree of support that will emerge amongst all
> >stakeholders.
> >
> >As it stands, the current document will only succeed in reaching a
> >consensus amongst the elite.
> >
> >----
> >Prepared by the Civil Society Content and Themes group, mandated by
> >the Civil Society Plenary on 22nd September.
> >
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