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world summit on the information society geneva2003-tunis2005

WSIS as of 31st October 2003

Hiroshi Kawamura
WSIS CSB Disability Caucus

  1. WSIS as an opportunity to realize the "Information Society for All".

    The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is planned by the United Nations in order to 1) identify the issues around the Information Society including the digital divide, Internet Governance, intellectual properties, cultural diversity 2) create a global multi-stakeholders platform to tackle the issues, 3) declare the principles in 2003 in Geneva, 4) set out the plan of actions, 5) promote the initiatives of each stakeholders, 6) implement action plans, 7) evaluate the achievements in 2005 in Tunis, and 8) set out revised long term plan of actions beyond 2005.
    At the Geneva phase Summit on 10-12 December 2003, there will be a core event which will approve the "Declaration of Principles" and "Plan of Actions" and more than 80 Summit Events.
  2. Status of preparation of the Geneva phase Summit

    The most current information on the summit and all official documents are posted on the WSIS official website:
    http://www.wsis.org

    The negotiation on the contents of the documents are being conducted by governments. The PrepCom 3 reconvened will take place on 10-14 November in Geneva to finalize the principle documents. Informal negotiation is also being conducted to formulate a consensus of all stakeholders.

    A summit event regarding disability to take place on 12 December proposed by the DAISY Consortium and the Access for All has been approved by the Swiss Summit Event Organizer in late September. In spite of the time constraints, both organizations jointly decided to form an organizing committee and send out a call for participation to all IDA member organizations to create a global platform for further action towards Information Society for All.
    The Organizing Committee further decided to raise funding for persons with disabilities in developing countries to attend the event.
    The core Summit in Geneva in 2003 will take place on 10-12 December. There are several opportunities to contribute to this most important political event from disability community includes;
    1. Opening address on behalf of the Civil Society at the official opening immediately after UN Secretary General.
    2. Participation to 4 round tables, each not more than 30 participants including heads of states and business heads. Number of Civil Society representatives will be 3 for each round tables.
    3. Adoption of a charter, declaration, or plan of actions as the outcome of a summit event to be reported to the core summit.
  3. Status of the draft documents

    Informal non-paper from PrepCom President, which is the most current version of the draft just received in Word format and, in English only, available upon request due to technical reasons. This is not on the Web.
    The deadlines for feed back is the end of October, tomorrow. It does not include the spirit of para 20b of the draft set out in Paris in July. If we submit an exact alternative text of revision by the deadline and successfully accepted, then the draft for the further negotiation at reconvened PrepCom3 will include the spirit. But even if we fail to implement it before hand, we might still have a chance to give input at PrepCom3, 10-14 November.
  4. Organization of the Civil Society Bureau

    Civil Society, Private Sectors and International Organizations are invited to the preparatory process of the summit as observers but expected to take part in as active partners. Each civil society organization need to apply for accreditation.
    Accredited Civil Society participants of Preparatory Committee meetings, there were 4 preparatory committee meetings so far, took initiative to form the Civil Society Bureau (CSB), which negotiates with the Government Bureau on the process but not for contents. Each family group dealing with specific issues such as gender or disability was formed at the second PrepCom in March 2003. Since the DAISY Consortium was the only one accredited organization that was ready to bear the responsibility of the Focal Point of the Disability Family Group, the Consortium kept its commitment to all preparatory process including application for a summit event in order to facilitate active participation of all those concerned with ICT design and development to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
  5. Global Forum on Disability in the Information Society - a Summit Event

    Global Forum on Disability in the Information Society, December 12, 2003, 09.30 - 18.00, Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland is being organized by the Organizing Committee chaired by Bernhard Heinser, Director of the Swiss Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired. All IDA member organizations will be invited to the organizing committee to give consultation on selection of speakers and fellowship. The objectives of the event are:
    • To begin to build an international worldwide platform for the disability community with respect to the Information Society.
    • To create the opportunity to bring together three concerned sectors: disability community, governmental organizations dealing with disability issues and business sectors.
    • To decide a resolution including an action plan (from Geneva to Tunis) The secretariat of the summit event is established at the Swiss Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The organizing committee is striving for raising fund to invite 50 people with disabilities from developing countries. The organizing committee is also preparing summit documents in accessible format on CD-ROM, DAISY Standard Format, to be distributed to all accredited delegates of the Summit. 150 rooms for the summit event participants has been blocked to secure accessible accommodations.
  6. Agenda of the Global Forum on Disability in the Information Society
    • Opening session (09.30 - 10.30)
      Short statements by representatives of the political heads, disability sector, Business Sector, and International Organizations Key note presentations
    • Break 1 (10.30 - 11.00)
    • Second Session (11.00 - 13.00):
      Best Practice Showcase: Presentations with concrete achievement or suggestion of Information and Communication Technologies that meet specialr equirement of persons with disabilities. About eight presentations (15 minutes each). Several potential presenters have already been putting forward proposals.
    • Break 2 (13.00 - 14.30).
      During this time a Press Conference will be held. There is a Press Center within Palexpo. The Press Conference would take place there. Alternative:to have the Press Conference in the Mont-Blanc Room.
    • Third Session (14.30 - 16.30):
      ICT Design and Development for All: Best examples of ICT Design and Development that meet individual requirement of persons with disabilities and benefit all individuals in the community. About six presentations (20 minutes each).
      There will be slots for Education/Employment, Public/Transport Information and Disaster/Disease Prevention Information.
    • Break 3 (16.30 - 17.00)
    • Conclusion Session (17.00 - 18.00):
      Approve a Resolution (as a kind of annex to the Declaration of Principles stressing the requirements/needs of persons with disabilities in the Information Society including an Action Plan "From Geneva to Tunis". A draft resolution will be prepared by the Organizing Committee.
  7. Call for presentations
    There will be total 14 presentations. The organizing committee encourages those who are interested to present either showcase presentations (15mins) or ICT Design for All presentation (20 min.) Those who are selected to present contributions from developing countries will be given prioritiesfor fellowship to cover the cost for participations including airfares and accommodation. The deadlines for application of presentations is 10th November. Selection will be made by the organizing committee by 17th November.
    Requirements for application of presentation: abstracts of presentation, less than 1000 words including applicants name, address, e-mail and CV. Application must be sent via e-mail to Hiroshi Kawamura, hkawa@rehab.go.jp not later than 10th November 2003.
  8. Fellowship
    Details will soon be available from the Organizing Committee.