[WSIS CS-Plenary] Civil Society Press Release: lastest version

[Valeria Betancourt]

Text of press release 
27 September 2003

WSIS process at PrepCom III

Civil society has come here to share with the governments our own 
vision for an Information Society. We want an information society 
based on human rights. This provides a unique chance for the 
extension of all the values of Civil Society around the globe.

Over the past two weeks, Civil Society has proven that it is a 
vibrant force in the preparation of the World Summit on the 
Information Society. Civil Society has engaged in dialogue with 
government and business, and has expressed visionary ideas and a 
strong position in the negotiations. 

According to Beatriz Busaniche, a civil society bureau member:  "A 
few days ago I met an indigenous person from Ecuador, who is here in 
Geneva at a  UN. working group on Indigenous Peoples, fighting here 
for rights for self-determination of his people. He told me that his 
community is not here asking for their rights, nor to seek 
affirmation. They are already living them. They are here for the 
international community to recognise the fact."

In a similar way, civil society has already been building the 
information society, defending our rights to achieve social, 
educational, political, and economic benefits. Communication rights 
are part of human rights. Human rights must be the framework for the 
Knowledge Society. Without this, the WSIS vision of an information 
society is meaningless. Even if the outcomes of the WSIS does not 
reflect, at the end of the process, our principles, visions and 
perspectives, we will continue being key actors in the definition of 
the nature and direction of the Information Society, one whose focus 
would be people's rights.   

For instance, free software has not been highlighted as we would like 
in this process, though each day more communities are adopting it 
with all the philosophy it entails.  While the spirit of the 
documents is market focused, civil society and some governments, 
especially from the south, will continue supporting the rights of 
citizenship and promoting the concept of cooperation instead of 
competition. 

As delegates from Civil Society we believe that every stakeholder 
should have an equal voice, and a right to the benefits of the 
Information Society, whether in education, work, leisure, and 
communications. Hence we are disappointed by the continuing 
resistance of some governments to include specific text that ensures 
support for community based media initiatives - which will facilitate 
the inclusion of hitherto marginalized communities from the 
Information Society. To date, there has been an overemphasis on 
computers and the Internet, to the exclusion of analogue and 
traditional media.

In this process, for first time, Civil Society has been directly 
involved in the negotiations.  A special effort has been made by 
Civil Society to communicate its philosophies and methods to 
governments and the business sector. Even though the process has been 
fraught and inconsistent, with civil society included and excluded at 
the whim of governments, our experience has been one of closer 
engagement than has been the case at other United Nations 
conferences.  We hope that this is an experience that can be built on 
to ensure much closer involvement of civil society in the design and 
development of the Information Society.

We now have a stronger position, because as the days have progressed 
meaningful communication has emerged. But much remains to be done.