On the first day, I was so desperate to see women at this space because of the overbearing presence of men, especially those in uniformed and are armed. When I scanned around, I saw mainly (apart from the participants) women in pink who were cleaners and usually hauled big bags of rubbish with them...
My day started with a failed attempt to check in at the APC stand in ICT4all. Crowds of people were queuing to make it inside in time for the opening of the Summit. Having read Jac's diversity Style information: This term should not be capitalised. I cast an analytical eye over them. Only one category stood out. Suits.
There are so many different caucuses and groups and everyone leads their own Source: APC ICT Policy Handbook and APC Annual Report 2005.">WSISprocess. It's a pity that civil society couldn't find its way to consolidation for stronger influence on the process. As a result such an important issues as environmental Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, APC and "Sustainable Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Thoughts by Batchelor and Norrish" (April 2002)">sustainability, impact of the ICTs on the human health, unification of standards in different parts of the world, different systems compatibility are barely covered by the WSIS process. For the full text of the BlueLink's impressions from the WSIS in Tunis so far see the link below at the Bulgarian ICT policy monitor.
...It is unacceptable that the UN still has members that harass or imprison their citizens because they criticize them on the Internet. Freedom of speech has to be respected. Everyone has to be able to express their views freely. It is one of the crucial conditions for this conference to succeed...
By 10 pm Tuesday, the chairperson, Ambassador Khan, had concluded negotiations on Chapter 3 on Source: Tunis Agenda for the Information Society">internet governanceand received a standing ovation from all attending delegates. The outcome of the Source: TechSoup Glossary and GenderIT.org">internet governance process is to have a forum that will take up broad public policy issues on the one hand, and a process of cooperation on the narrow principles that relate to domain name, numbers and the root zone file on the other. APC's Willie Currie felt "this outcome has to be evaluated in terms of the balance of power in the community of nations."
Today was a day of cancellation. The GEM (Gender Evaluation Methodology) Book launch was scheduled to happen at 2:00 pm, but in a demonstration of solidarity, APC decided to withdraw and cancel all of its side events scheduled for today...
Source: Wikipedia">emailaddresses in my address book finally got a face ;)
Information Society... blocked in Tunis, * href="http://www.wsis-wire.net/">WSIS Wire, * href="http://www.itu.int/wsis/">WSIS official site from the Source: ITU">ITU, * href="http://www.unmsp.org/">UN Multi-Stakeholder
Partnerships, * href="http://www.itu.int/wsis/tunis/newsroom/index_print.html
Summit">Newsroom, Tunis Phase, * href="http://www.wsis-si.org/oa-facts.html">Open access: the facts,* href="http://www.andycarvin.com/">Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth Style information: This term should not be capitalised. ,
* WSISblogs.org, * href="http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/wsis-themes/ict_stories/index.phtml">ITU's
Source: APC">ICT success story home page, * Unesco WSIS publication series, * The
WSIS Civil Society Meeting Point, * href="http://www.worldsummit2005.de/en/nav/14.htm">German site on
WSIS, * href="http://www.boell.de/en/04_thema/3800.html">Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
(German Greens Party-linked foundation) on WSIS..., * href="http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=19580&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SE
reports of UNESCO’s four thematic meetings for WSIS, * href="http://www.itu.int/wsis/stocktaking/sites.html">a (very) few websites
focusing on ICT for Development, * href="http://www.wsis-online.net/">helping to "make the best of your visit
and promote your activities" at Tunis, * electronic dissidents, * href="http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/74591/1">interview:
humanity will survive information deluge – Sir Arthur C Clarke,
* FSF Europe on who
owns and controls the information societies?, * href="http://www.worldsummit2005.de/en/web/810.htm">WSIS and Beyond:
dialogue between Soenke Zehle and Geert Lovink, * href="http://www.wsis-online.net/ict4all/booths?event_id=516962">list of
participants at the ICT4All exhibition at Tunis and * href="http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/doc_multi-en-1161%7C1160.asp">WSIS
documents in various languages (incl English, Spanish, French)... This list is obviously very incomplete and needs your help in being updated.
Heated discussions between governments meeting in Tunis at the World Summit on the Information Society seems to reaching results, which could change the face of how the Source: TechSoup Glossary and GenderIT.org">internetis managed for the next several years. APCNews reports.