World Summit on the Information Society
In 2003 and 2005, the fisrt phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) took place, taking care of information and communication issues. Although this first phase was undoubtedly important in respect to internet governance, information and communication rights, it was not enough to cover a phenomenon as wide and shifting as internet. In WSIS Phase II, further issues on information society and internet governance were taken into account, focusing, as before, in the role played ...
“The post WSIS clock is ticking and many challenges remain,” said APC executive director Anriette Esterhuysen at the opening of the twelfth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSDT). Among these challenges, she talked about WSIS principles related to human rights: “In many countries from the developed world and the developing world there is still a sense that freedom of information is perceived more as a threat than as an enabler, as a driver for learnin...
APC’s FAQ about Conducting a National WSIS Process outlines the steps to take and key components in organising a national consultation around ICT policy, in this case specifically the debates raised by the United Nations conference on the Information Society (WSIS). The ‘frequently asked questions’ (FAQ) question & answer format was chosen to home in on some of the key questions w...
On July 8th, the learning event will focus on sharing of findings and recommendations of an APC evaluation of gender networking and advocacy during the World Summit on the Information Society. On July 9th, the organisers will meet to map out further strategies for continuing gender policy advocacy post WSIS. The impact assessment, “Gender Networking and Advocacy in the Context of the UN World...
The Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is one of the UN bodies that took up the follow up of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This is APC’s contribution to a CSTD meeting meeting dealing with development-oriented policies for a social-economic inclusive information society, including access, infrastructure and an enabling environment, that took plac...
The Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is one of the UN bodies that took up the follow up of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This is APC’s contribution to a CSTD meeting where a report from the Secretary General on progress made in WSIS follow-up and implementation was presented, that took place on May 2007 in Geneva, as part of a series of WSIS fo...
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...
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has been roundly criticised in the past and this new study from APC concludes that the summit “is not the best starting point for new action.” So, what is the point of looking at how developing country delegations and civil society fared at the summit? Because, says the author “it is always important to learn from experience – particula...
Organised in two stages, and lasting four years, WSIS certainly consumed a great deal of time and resources – both financial and human. But was it worth it? What did WSIS actually achieve? What did developing countries and civil society organisations (CSOs) gain from it? And, perhaps more importantly, did these gains outweigh the costs associated with participation? These are just some of the...
APCNews interview with David Souter, author of ‘Whose Summit? Whose Information Society? Developing countries and civil society at the World Summit on the Information Society’.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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