Governments
All governments have a stake in the Information Society, whatever
their level of national income or their infrastructure
facilities. Governments are key for bringing the benefits of the
Information Society to everyone through the development of
national and global policies and frameworks to meet the
challenges of the Information Society. In their pursuit of the
public interest, governments can raise awareness, facilitate
access to information for the public, as well as lay the
foundations for all citizens to benefit from information and
communication technologies in terms of improved quality of life,
social services and economic growth.
The political support to the global vision of WSIS to
establish the Information Society was evident when world leaders
including over 40 Heads of state/government and Vice-Presidents
and high-level delegates from 175 countries participated at the
first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society that
was held in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003. Similarly,
delegates from 174 countries, including over 40 Heads of State
or Government, attended the second phase of WSIS in Tunis, from
16-18 November 2005, to reconfirm the outcomes of Geneva and to
call for implementation and follow-up to WSIS.
Private Sector
The private sector plays an active role, in conjunction with
governments and civil society, by offering an economically
viable model to achieve the development objectives on the world
agenda. The contribution of the private sector is instrumental
in creating the material conditions for universal access to
information and value-added ICT services. Its involvement in the
Summit promotes economic growth and new partnerships, helps
transfer technology, increases awareness of new technologies,
and motivates the creation of local content development and
skilled employment opportunities.
The private sector input to the Summit was facilitated by the
Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors (CCBI), chaired
by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). For more
information about the mobilization, contributions and
participation of the global business community, please click
here.
Civil Society
Civil society is playing an active role in identifying the
social and cultural consequences of current trends and in
drawing attention to the need to introduce democratic
accountability on the strategic options taken at all levels. Its
diversity and, often, hands-on approach to issues, make civil
society a key player in the renewed international partnership
called for by the UN Secretary-General.
At the second Preparatory Committee meeting (PrepCom-2) of
the Geneva phase, the "Civil Society Bureau" was created in
order to provide mechanisms that facilitate the dialogue with
governments ensuring an effective participation of the Civil
Society at the heart of the decisive structures of WSIS. The
Civil Society Bureau was composed of larges "families" of global
civil society: unions, media, creators and actors of culture,
towns and local authorities, NGOs, youth, gender, indigenous
people, disabled people, etc. It also included representatives
from caucuses (Human Rights causus, Internet Governance caucus,
etc), and the regional contact points in order to establish
links with all continents.
The opening session of both phases of the Summit, in Geneva
and Tunis, were addressed by representatives of civil society
and business.
At the first phase of WSIS, the
Geneva Civil Society
Declaration, “Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs”,
was presented to the President of the Summit, H.E. Mr. Pascal
Couchepin, at the last Plenary meeting. Similarly, Mr. Adama
Samassékou, on behalf of the Civil Society Bureau, presented the
Tunis Civil Society Declaration
to the Plenary.
United Nations Family
The Summit offered a unique opportunity for the global community to reflect,
discuss and give shape to our common destiny in an era when countries and
peoples are interconnected as never before. The UN family of organizations
serves as a catalyst for change by bringing together governments, as well as the
private sector, civil society and international institutions in pursuit of
common goals. The United Nations system and its specialized agencies were deeply
involved in the organization and holding of the Summit, and continue this
involvement in WSIS follow-up and implementation.
Other invited International Organizations
All interested International and Regional Organizations outside
the UN were invited to participate in WSIS. Some of these
organizations took a keen interest in WSIS, like the Council of
Europe (which enforced the Cybercrime Convention in 2004), the
Francophonie and the Arab League. The full list of participating
International and Regional Organizations is available in the
list of participants at the Geneva and Tunis phases of the
Summit.
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