
Governmental and non governmental organizations
meeting in Addis Ababa on ICT policy-making for civil society
agreed on the following:
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1. The World Summit on the Information Society
received a clear mandate from the UN Secretariat to outline a clear
vision of the way humankind wants to build societies freed from
poverty, oppression, imbalances of all kinds and exclusion from
the benefits that can be derived from communications technologies
and their fair utilization.
2. The WSIS should be people-centered, i.e., concerned
with communities' well-being and their access to communications'
tools, processes, services, technologies and opportunities. Eradicating
poverty should be key in this international drive for economic and
social justice.
3. In this perspective, information and communication
societies are defined as processes and structures through which
access to relevant information resources and communication services
and opportunities are harnessed for the purpose of developing sustainable
human development, equity and social justice.
4. Participants called attention on the fact that
developing information and communications societies entails the
promotion of free and fair flow of information and communications
as well as the implementation of support and access to information
and communications manufacturing capabilities especially with regard
to low cost and appropriate technologies.
5. Participants recognized that information and
communications processes and technologies should be primarily utilized
to tackle outstanding challenges related to peace and security,
cultural empowerment and democratic and sustainable human development.
6. The need for capacity building in the areas
of networking, training, lobbying and research was stressed whilst
government and development agencies were encouraged to place emphasis
in these particular areas.
7. Participants urged CSOs to mobilize their respective
constituencies around the outstanding issues discussed in Addis
Ababa. They urged all CSOs to harness unity of purpose and work
towards the successful completion of the African NGOs Forum envisaged
between the two main WSIS meetings.
8. CSOs were particularly asked to work in unity
towards the successful completion of a Peoples' Summit on Information
and Communications societies in 2003 in Geneva.
9. CSOs were encouraged to create a flexible coordinating
mechanism with readily available regional networking and outreaching
capabilities. The mission of such a mechanism will be to encourage
discussions, work towards a much broader inclusion of other CSOs
and interested stakeholders and defend common positions on outstanding
issues.
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