[WSIS CS-Plenary] Re: [WSIS-CT] Civil Society press release: new version

[Meryem Marzouki]

Hi Valeria and all,

Le vendredi, 26 sep 2003, à 09:17 Europe/Paris, Valeria Betancourt a 
écrit :

> Hello everybody,
>
> A new version of the press release has been developed today.  We
> would like you all you review it and make any comments until 11 am.

Thanks for this draft. Below are some comments in the text:
> ------------------
> Text of press release
> 27 September 2003
>
> WSIS process at PrepCom III
>

Generally speaking, I would prefer that "Information society" be 
replaced by "information and communication society" throughout the text.

> 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

based on human rights, including the right to development. This 
provides...

> 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

government, and has expressed visionary ideas and a
[Suppress "and business" : we haven't had any dialogue with them, 
specially since they are not present... Moreover, as civil society 
organizations, we discuss with governments. And so does the business.]

> strong position in the negotiations.
>
> According to Beatriz Busaniche, a civil society bureau member:  "A

I've no problem quoting Beatriz or any one else in the press release. 
But I do have a problem quoting someone in his/her capacity of a "civil 
society bureau member". It would be more accurate to quote Beatriz or 
any one else, as a "civil society content and themes coordinating group 
member", since this group has collectively coordinated all the CS 
inputs to the documents and more generally speaking the CS strategy and 
achievements. Caucuses, which are the responsibles for achievements, 
are represented in the C&T group, not in the CS bureau, which in 
addition has no mandate regarding content.

> few days ago I met an indigenous person from Ecuador, who is here in
> Geneva at the U.N. Indigenous Forum, 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."

I'm not sure if this quote is very productive in this press release. 
Civil society organizations, including the indigenous caucus, are not 
only here to "recognise the fact", but also to ask for their rights and 
to seek their affirmation. And there is still a long way to this 
achievement...

> 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.
>
> 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.

I've got some problem with this formulation:
1/ what does an "equal voice" means ? To which extent ? Is it to have 
its voice heard in the dialogue process or to ultimately decide ?
2/ not "every stakeholder" should have a right to the benefits of..., 
but "every citizen, community, and people"
==> The paragraph should read, from my point of view:
"As delegates from Civil Society Organisations, we believe that our 
voices should be heard, and that every citizen, community and people 
should have equal right to the benefits..."

> Hence we are disappointed by the continuing
> resistance of 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

governments. Even though... [see supra the rationale]

> 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

Summits and conferences. We hope...

> 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.

I'm afraid we can get the same question as the one raised at the press 
conference by a journalist. "What is the message?" e.g. Is the 
community based media initiatives the only remaining problem? I think 
there are other remaining issues of concern, like national regulations 
compliant with human rights standards,  the privacy and security, open 
source, infrastructure and financing, etc. We can cite governance as 
another big issue of concern, but without specifying any kind of 
governance, since there is absolutely no consensus on that, be it 
within CS or among governments.

Meryem