 
|
|
|
|
||
|
| ||||
|
WSIS
and Bangladesh Background of WSIS The
UN General Assembly, on 21 December 2001, adopted a Resolution (A/RES/56/183)
endorsing the organization of the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS), to be convened under the patronage of the United Nations
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, with the International Telecommunication
Union taking the lead role in its preparation along with interested UN
organizations and the host countries. The
origin of the Summit is ITU Plenipotentiary Conference Resolution 73,
which led to consultations among the UN agencies and agreement on the need
to hold a World Summit on the Information Society. The governing body of
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Council, at its 2001
session, endorsed the holding of the World Summit on the Information
Society, to be held in two phases: in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003 and
in Tunis from 16-18 November 2005. Vision What
is the shared vision of the information society? What framework can the
international community develop to ensure that the possible benefits of
ICTs for development are maximized while the possible obstacles and
barriers are minimized? Access How
can the benefits of ubiquitous and affordable ICTs be extended to all the
worlds inhabitants? How can we assist those that have access to ICTs to
use them effectively? Applications The
development of ICTs has implications for economic, social and cultural
development. How can ICTs be leveraged to help promote the common goals of
humanity, such as those expressed in the UN Millennium Declaration? The
Opportunity The
World Summit on the Information Society will provide a unique opportunity
for all key stakeholders to assemble at a high-level gathering and to
develop a better understanding of this revolution and its impact on the
international community. It aims to bring together Heads of State,
Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders,
non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society in
a single high-level event. The roles of the various partners (Member
States, UN specialized agencies, private sector and civil society) in
ensuring smooth coordination of the practical establishment of the
information society around the globe will also be at the heart of the
Summit and its preparation. Who
will participate? GOVERNMENTS All
governments have a stake in the Information Society, whatever their level
of national income or their infrastructure facilities. Governments are key
for bringing the benefits of the Information Society to everyone through
the development of national and global policies and frameworks to meet the
challenges of the Information Society. In their pursuit of the public
interest, governments can raise awareness, facilitate access to
information for the public, and they also can lay the foundations for all
citizens to benefit from Information and Communication Technologies in
terms of improved quality of life, social services and economic growth. PRIVATE
SECTOR The private sector will play an active role, in conjunction with governments and civil society, by offering an economically viable model to achieve the development objectives on the world agenda. The contribution of the private sector is instrumental in creating the material conditions for universal access to information and value-added ICT services. Its involvement in the Summit will promote economic growth and new partnerships, technology transfer, increase awareness of new technologies, and motivate the creation of local content development and skilled employment opportunities. The private sector input to the Summit is expected to be facilitated by a Coordinating Group of Business Interlocutors, chaired by The International Chamber of Commerce. CIVIL
SOCIETY Civil
society is playing an active role in identifying the social and cultural
consequences of current trends and in drawing attention to the need to
introduce democratic accountability on the strategic options taken at all
levels. Its diversity and, often, hands-on approach to issues, make civil
society a key player in the renewed international partnership called for
by the UN Secretary-General. UNITED
NATIONS FAMILY The
Summit offers a unique opportunity for the global community to reflect,
discuss and give shape to our common destiny in an era when countries and
peoples are interconnected as never before. The UN family of organizations
serves as a catalyst for change by bringing together state governments, as
well as the private sector, international institutions and civil society
in pursuit of common goals. The United Nations system and its specialized
agencies will be deeply involved in the organization and holding of the
Summit, with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) taking a lead
role. How
to contribute The
key opportunity to contribute and be part of the World Summit is to
actively participate in the preparatory process of the World Summit. This
can be done is the following suggested ways: -
Build a constructive network When
and Where The
Summit is being held under the high patronage of Kofi Annan, UN
Secretary-General, with the International Telecommunication Union taking
the lead role, in cooperation with other interested UN agencies, and will
occur in two phases: GENEVA
2003: First
phase The
first phase of the World Summit will take place in Geneva hosted by the
Government of Switzerland from 10 to 12 December 2003. It will address the
broad range of themes concerning the Information Society and adopt a
Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action, addressing the whole range
of issues related to the Information Society. TUNIS
2005: Second
phase The
second phase of the World Summit will take place in Tunis hosted by the
Government of Tunisia, from 16-18 November 2005. Development themes will
be a key focus in this phase, and it will assess progress that has been
made and adopt any further Plan of Action to be taken. Preparatory
Process The
Summit in Geneva (10 to 12 December 2003) will be the outcome of a wide
variety of inputs, including from previous meetings, existing Action Plans
of the various partners involved and inputs from the Preparatory
Committees of the Summit (PREPCOMs). Regional, conferences and thematic
and expert meetings will be organized to consider a specific subject. Regional
conferences will be organized to address the specific concerns, needs and
priorities of the various regions. They will, most likely, be organized at
ministerial level. Governmental representatives and other parties
concerned will attend PREPCOMs, including representatives of the UN
specialized agencies, the private sector, civil society and NGOs. KEY
DATES Preparatory
Committee Meetings PrepCom
1 Geneva 1-5 July 2002 Regional Conferences Africa
Bamako (Mali) 25-30 May 2002 The
Outcome The
anticipated outcome of the Summit is to develop and foster a clear
statement of political will and a concrete plan of action for achieving
the goals of the Information Society, while fully reflecting all the
different interests at stake. The scope and nature of this ambitious
project will require partnerships with public and private entities, and
such partnerships will be actively sought in the coming months. WSIS and Bangladesh Working Group In
Bangladesh, the process of WSIS has been started with Global
Knowledge Partnership (GKP) and its' member Bangladesh
Friendship Education Society (BFES) in 2002. BFES works with
particular emphasis on ICT and development. In January 2002 it conducted
an international conference on Towards Building a Knowledge Society:
The Role of NGOs with the support of Swiss government. The necessity
of WSIS process in Bangladesh was first felt in that meeting where members
from GKP, Swiss government, policy makers from Bangladesh government,
media, NGOs, and civil society members were present. BFES as a member of GKP is involved in the process since long and as a part of the process it organized a regional consultation meeting in Dhaka in September 2002 with GKP South Asia Regional Meeting, which was attended by national and international policy makers, NGOs, civil society members and experts. In the conference a special session on WSIS was conducted where the importance of WSIS in Bangladesh perspective was also seriously felt. And the conference was supplementary to the WSIS global process as country consultation. Since this is also a priority agenda, BFES has been playing the role of disseminating information both formally and informally to government and non-government sectors especially with the Ministry of Science and ICT, Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Ministry of Information, Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and with media, NGOs and civil society groups. Finally, a Working Group on WSIS was formed with the representatives of GO-NGO and civil society actors. This is an exemplary group formed with the representative of government, NGO and civil society and as a collaborative effort, the process is continuing that can contribute to taking position on building information right to people and a knowledge society. BFES is providing all secretarial support to the Working Group. In the process, many have shown their interest to be its part, which are welcoming. Among them, UNDP, British High Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs can be mentioned which are now treated as associated member of the group process. UNDP is a GKP member also involved in the global process of WSIS. |