The World Summit on the Information Society: [WSIS] update.

The World Summit on Information Society, commonly referred to as the WSIS, provides a unique opportunity for key stakeholders to assemble at a high-level gathering to develop a better understanding of the ICT revolution and its impact on the international community. It aims to bring together Heads of State, Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), and media representatives in a single high-level event. The roles of the various partners (Member States, UN agencies, the private sector and civil society) in ensuring smooth coordination of the practical establishment of the information society around the globe will also be at the heart of the Summit and its preparations.

The anticipated outcome of the Summit is to develop and foster a clear statement of political will and a concrete plan of action for achieving the goals of the Information Society, while fully reflecting all the different interests at stake.

More information on what WSIS is all about can be found on the following URL: http:// www.itu.int/wsis/basic/about.html

Preparatory Process And Summit:

The WSIS has been going through a preparatory process, which has seen a number of regional events as well as the first two PrepComs held in July 2002 and February 2003 and now PrepCom 3 to be held in September 2003.

The Summit is being held under the patronage of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) taking the lead role, in cooperation with other interested UN agencies. It will occur in two phases:

Geneva 2002. First Phase

The first phase of the Summit will take place in Geneva hosted by the Government of Switzerland from December 10-12, 2003. It will address the broad range of themes concerning the Information Society and adopt a Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action, addressing the range of issues related to the Information Society,

Tunis 2005: Second Phase

The second phase of the Summit will take place in Tunis hosted by the Government of Tunisia in 2005. Development themes will be a key focus in this phase. It will assess progress that has been made and adopt a further plan of actions to be taken.

AFRICA CIVIL SOCIETY and WSIS

Bamako 2002

African civil society has been involved in the WSIS process from the Africa preparatory meeting for WSIS that was held in Bamako in 2002. Representatives of CSOs from the African region gathered for a consultation on the role of civil society in the preparation of and participation in the Summit from May 26 -27 2002 in Bamako.

PrepCom 1

During PrepCom 1 held in Geneva in July 2002, the 'Africa Civil Society Caucus' was...