Viva African civil society building an inclusive: information society! Viva!(WSIS Update)

• Author: Ford, Heather

These were the words that began one of the most vibrant and challenging discussions about civil society's engagement in ICT policy-making in Africa to date. Organised by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) with the support of Article 19, the workshop on ICT Policy and Civil Society sparked the formation of a network of ICT policy mobilisers dedicated to building an inclusive information society in Africa.

The workshop took place over three days starting November 6, 2002 at the UNECA headquarters in Addis Ababa. Over 80 representatives from non-governmental organisations, human rights organisations, media groups, women's organisations, development groups and researchers from 24 countries throughout Africa gathered to discuss the role of African civil society in ICT policy-making and to outline a plan of action to move forward on mobilising other organisations on these issues. The aims of the workshop were, firstly, for civil society actors to share their experiences and build on the knowledge that already existed, secondly, to identify the needs of those organisations in developing ICT policy at both national and international levels and lastly, to identify the strategies required to meet those needs.

Participants at the workshop came from diverse fields in civil society and from countries throughout Africa. The debates, especially those around issues such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), were intense and challenging, as participants critically analysed the role of civil society in governance and policy development. Working groups formed around four main areas of ICT policy-making including the right to communicate, freedom of expression and information exchange, diversity of content, language, ownership and control and global, regional and national governance of the information society. These discussions led to the formulation of an Action Plan and a statement on African civil society's engagement in ICT policy development from participants. The statement begins with the recognition of the importance of civil society in ICT policy-making: "Given the centrality of civil society to the development of an inclusive information society, and the proximity of civil society organisations (CSOs) to the needs of people and society at large, CSOs need to play a central role in developing and implementing ICT policy. The Action Plan sets out a clear...