Issue papers

WSIS process and issues debated
WSIS process and issues debated 11 December 2007 Valeria Betancourt

This fifteen page paper by the coordinator of APC’s Latin American ICT Policy Monitor covers the background to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), stakeholders, the process (including the Geneva and Tunis rounds), themes discussed in round one, and looks at results.

The centrality of e-strategies in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) plan of action
The centrality of e-strategies in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) plan of action 06 December 2007 Willie Currie

The term ‘e-strategies’ has gained widespread use over the last few years in the debates on the role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for development, following the United Nations Millennium Declaration in 2000. E-strategies have been defined as “plans based on the selection of scenarios and options for applying ICTs to national development” . A similar definition sees “an e-strategy as a shorthand for policies and strategies intended to exploit ICTs to promote ...

African participation in WSIS: Review and discussion paper
African participation in WSIS: Review and discussion paper 06 December 2007 David Souter

This paper presents a review of African participation in the first phase WSIS process (i.e. the Geneva summit held in December 2003 and the preparatory process leading up to it). It is not intended as a comprehensive analysis, but to stimulate discussion about ways in which African participation – particularly that of African civil society – can be more effectively structured during...

Internet governance and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
Internet governance and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 06 December 2007 Adam Peake

The purpose of this paper is to describe our current understanding of the debate about internet governance in WSIS, and to examine the main policy issues that are being considered in that discussion. It also suggests opportunities for developing nation stakeholders to contribute to the processes that are defining the internet governance landscape. The key message is that there are opportunities...

Financing the information society in the South: A global public goods perspective
Financing the information society in the South: A global public goods perspective 06 December 2007 Pablo Accuosto and Niki Johnson

This paper sets out to look at the question of financing the provision of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the South, within the context of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society, and advocates adopting a “global public goods” perspective on the issue. The paper first examines how the question of ICT financing has been debated during the WSIS prepa...

Interconnection costs
Interconnection costs 30 November 2007 Mike Jensen

This paper produced by South African Mike Jensen covers increasing North-South inequities (“paying both ways”) and proposed strategies for minimising the disparities in interconnection rates, accelerating the restructuring of the communications sector, supporting the establishment of national and international internet exchange points, and building local demand for national and internationa...

E-waste challenges in developing countries: South Africa case study
E-waste challenges in developing countries: South Africa case study 30 November 2007 Alan Finlay

This discussion paper, commissioned by the APC, aims to raise the profile of e-waste issues in developing countries so that the implications of information and communications technology (ICTs) for development initiatives can be better understood – particularly in the context of the increasing flow of old technology from developed to developing countries.

World Summit on the Information Society: APC's recommendation on internet governance
World Summit on the Information Society: APC's recommendation on internet governance 30 November 2007 APC

APC has participated extensively in the internet governance process at the World Summit on Information Society. Out of this participation and in collaboration with other partners, including members of the WSIS civil society internet governance caucus, APC has crystallized a set of recommendations with regard to internet governance ahead of the final summit in Tunis in November 2005.

Digital television and radio: Democratisation or greater concentration?
Digital television and radio: Democratisation or greater concentration? 15 November 2007 Gustavo Gómez Germano

Digitalisation of media is an approaching reality for Latin American countries. This technologic paradigm shift promises more democratic and diverse access to radio and TV frequencies. However, there is also a great risk of reproducing the same inequalities and power relations that exist in the “analogical” world and thus of media being in the hands of a few. This paper by Gustavo Gómez Ge...

Pushing and prodding, goading and hand-holding: Reflection from APC at the conclusion of the WSIS (2006)
Pushing and prodding, goading and hand-holding: Reflection from APC at the conclusion of the WSIS (2006) 05 November 2007 APC

The Civil Society Statement on WSIS concluded that: “The broad mandate for WSIS was to address the long-standing issues in economic and social development from the newly emerging perspectives of the opportunities and risks posed by the revolution in Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). The summit was expected to identify and articulate new development possibilities and paradigm...

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