By AL for APCNews TOULOUSE, France,
Published onPage last updated on
Uruguayan civil society has insisted on showing its successive governments that information and communication technology (ICT) related policies are a key issue in the country’s development that goes beyond expanding the software industry.
The Communication and Citizen Participation Forum, in which APC member ITeM takes part, is the result of this desire. It arises as a “space to reflect on and influence the definition of public communication policy”. IteM saw APC’s national ICT policy websites project, which resulted from the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), as an opportunity to promote the work of the forum and, generally, strengthen the work on ICT policy in the country.
APCNews spoke to Pablo Accuosto from ITeM about this project and some plans for the future, during the ICT policy website workshop organised by APC at the end of June and the beginning of July in London.
The AMARC Latin America Legislation Programme is one of the actors that is spearheading the debate on ICT policies in Uruguay. When ITeM joined APC’s national website project as the coordinator of the Uruguayan website, the idea of working together came to the forefront and took shape. The website is in the final preparatory phase and will be launched to the public shortly. [http://politicas.infoycom.org.uy]
APC’s national ICT policy websites project is precisely about creating and consolidating networks. During the London workshop many of the organisations that are developing these websites met face to face, not only to share challenges and experiences, but also to jointly reflect on global policy issues (plus their local consequences) and design future plans of action.
Accuosto noted that this aspect of the workshop was highly positive: “during the WSIS process there was an element that united the ICT policy actions of the different organisations: the work around the summit. Once the process was over, we started redefining new working spaces. In that sense, this workshop was useful. It allowed us to consider what we are doing, assess these processes and attempt to redefine the policy-related work of the future.”
The challenge that now arises for the organisations that participated in the WSIS process is to ensure that the agreements reached in Geneva and Tunis as well as those made at the regional level are in fact implemented and that civil society play an active role both in their implementation as well as their follow-up or monitoring.
ITeM participated very actively in the entire WSIS process, mainly through the WSIS Papers research initiative, which aimed at involving civil society in the summit agenda and producing reference materials for governments of the South.
ITeM and APC are currently developing mechanisms to monitor the commitments made by the various countries. ITeM has significant experience in this field, through Social Watch – an initiative dedicated to providing follow-up to the implementation of the commitments made at the Copenhagen and Beijing Summits, as well as the Millennium Summit. There is no lack of proposals on ways not to loose the synergy generated by the conference. Organisations continue to be deeply committed to the work that has already been achieved.
