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Community media groups call for empowerment agenda at WSIS
26 September 2003
Community media groups call for empowerment agenda at WSIS
Community media and other civil society organisations have called on United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to ensure the World Summit on the Information Society gives priority to empowerment of the poorest people and communities in the world including support for traditional and community-based communications media.
The outcome of the Third Preparatory Committee meeting for the World Summit on the Information Society has been deeply dissatisfying for many NGOs and civil society organisations involved in community-based media and communications.
The low profile of traditional communications media in the draft documents and the absence of clear linkages between the proposed ICT infrastructure targets and internationally agreed development goals is leading many civil society groups to question the real commitment to development at the forthcoming UN World Summit.
The present draft Declaration and Action Plan gives priority to the infrastructure for Internet connectivity whilst failing to address the fundamental barriers of electricity supply, literacy and equipment costs which will exclude the world's poorest people.
Much is promised by the information society but the world's poorest communities face the danger of being left out by a vastly unequal access to the global communications environment. Access to basic education and electricity are required before the world's poorest people can benefit from new ICTs. More than half the world's population still lack reliable access to electricity. Basic literacy skills are lacking for 20 per cent of the world's population, especially women and girls.
The most widespread communications technologies remain the traditional media, particularly radio. Community-based communications media have a crucial role to play in enabling participation, strengthening cultural diversity, promoting gender equality and supporting a more just and equitable information society that includes the voices of the poor and the marginalised.
Further information:
AMARC International Secretariat
Tel: +1 514 982 0351
Email:
amarc@amarc.org
Courtesy: Cm mailing list
Email:
Cm@wsis-cs.org
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WSIS and civil society: A backgrounder
We have compiled this backgrounder to give you a complete picture of the WSIS from the perspective of the civil society. Explains academic concepts and issues related to knowledge society, notes activities and concerns of the civil society, and lists actors and organisations involved in the WSIS process as well as links to related Websites.
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