WORLD SUMMIT OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

1. WORLD SUMMIT OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY DECEMBER 2003, GENEVA PUTTING GENDER ON THE AGENDA

2. PARTNERS IN THE PREPARATORY PROCESS GOVT/UN and UN AGENCIES CIVIL SOCIETY PRIVATE SECTOR PUTTING GENDER ON THE AGENDA UN, CIVIL SOCIETY AND PRIVATE SECTOR PREPARATORY PROCESSES FOR WSIS

3. OFFICIAL PREPARATORY STRUCTURE A. PREPCOMS WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY Dec. 10-12 2003 July 1-5, 2002 Feb. 17-28, 2003 Sep.15-26, 2003 PREPCOM I PREPCOM II PREPCOM III CIVIL SOCIETY CIVIL SOCIETY CIVIL SOCIETY WSIS GENDER CAUCUS NGO GENDER STRATEGIES WORKING GROUP PARALLEL AND SHARED PLANNING MEETINGS

4. OFFICIAL PREPARATORY STRUCTURE B. REGIONAL MTGS ASIA/PACIFIC GOVTS WSIS GENDER ADVOCATES WSIS GENDER ADVOCATES N.AMERICA AND EUROPE GOVTS WSIS GENDER ADVOCATES MIDDLE EAST GOVTS TOKYO, JAPAN, JAN. 12-14, 2003 BUCHAREST, ROMANIA, NOVEMBER 7-9, 2002 BEIRUT, LEBANON, FEB. 4-6, 2003 AFRICAN GOVTS L.AMERICA/ CARIBBEAN GOVTS WSIS GENDER ADVOCATES BAMAKO, MALI, MAY 25-30, 2002 BAVARO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, JAN. 29-31, 2003 WSIS GENDER CAUCUS FORMED REGIONAL MEETINGS

5. WSIS GENDER CAUCUS -MULTI-STAKEHOLDER- THIS CAUCUS WAS FORMED DURING THE AFRICAN REGIONAL PREPARATORY CONFERENCE IN BAMAKO, MALI, MAY 2002. THE MULTI-STAKEHOLDER WSIS GENDER CAUCUS AFFIRMS ITS SUPPORT FOR WSIS AND COMMITS ITS WORK TOWARDS THE GOALS OF WSIS BY SHARING INFORMATION AND IDEAS ON STRATEGIES FOR INCLUDING GENDER EQUALITY GOALS AND ENSURING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE WSIS PROCESS. THE WSIS GENDER CAUCUS INCLUDES MEN AND WOMEN FROM NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS, NGOS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND THE UN SYSTEM.

6. NGO GENDER STRATEGIES WORKING GROUP THIS IS A FORMATION OF WOMEN’S INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR GENDER ADVOCACY WITHIN THE WSIS CONTEXT AND OTHER RELATED ISSUES. THIS GROUP IS DISTINCT FROM, THOUGH ALIGNED WITH, THE WSIS GENDER CAUCUS. MULTI-STAKEHOLDER GENDER CAUCUS NGO GENDER STRATEGIES WG WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP TO GET GENDER ON THE WSIS AGENDA

7. NGO GENDER STRATEGIES WORKING GROUP THIS GROUP IS SPECIFICALLY INTERESTED IN: ENSURING THAT ALL NGO DOCUMENTS AND STATEMENTS INCLUDE GENDER CONCERNS AND A GENDER PERSPECTIVE THROUGHOUT RAISING THE SPECIFIC CONCERNS THAT WOMEN’S NGOs MIGHT HAVE IN RELATION TO CIVIL SOCIETY PROCESSES AND AVENUES FOR PARTICIPATION PARTICIPATING IN BOTH CIVIL SOCIETY PLENARY AND WSIS GENDER CAUCUS IN THEIR LOBBYING AND ADVOCACY EFFORTS RAISING AWARENESS WITHIN THE WIDER WOMEN’S MOVEMENT CONTEXT ABOUT WSIS AND THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION CONCERNS THAT SHOULD BE ADVOCATED FOR BY WOMEN’S MOVEMENT ACTORS.

8. NGO GENDER STRATEGIES IN AN EFFORT TO OPEN UP THE DISCUSSION OF IDEAS AND STRATEGIES AROUND GENDER AND THE INFORMATION SOCIETY, WORKSHOPS AND/OR PANELS HAVE TAKEN, OR WILL TAKE PLACE AT: ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN DEVELOPMENT (AWID), INTERNATIONAL FORUM, GUADELAJARA, MEXICO, OCT. 3-6, 2002 GLOBAL COMMUNITIES CONGRESS, MONTREAL, CANADA, OCTOBER 7-14, 2002 UN EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON GENDER AND ICTS, SEOUL, KOREA, NOVEMBER 11-15, 2002 UN EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON WOMEN AND MEDIA, BEIRUT, LEBANON, NOVEMBER 12-16, 2002 FEMINIST ENCUENTRO, COSTA RICA, DECEMBER, 2002 UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN, MAJOR THEME: GENDER AND ICTS, MARCH 3-14, 2003

9. WSIS PREPARATORY PROCESS AT PREPCOM 1, JULY 2002, THERE WERE NO DECISIONS TAKEN ON THE THEMES OF THE SUMMIT. HOWEVER, 4 CORE ISSUES EMERGED….. E-LEARNING, ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ISSUES. 1. E-GOVERNMENT, GOVERNANCE ISSUES: HOW INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES CAN BE USED BY GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENS TO SECURE TRANSPARENT GOVERNANCE, ACCESS TO COMMUNITY INFORMATION, IMPROVE CITIZEN’ PARTICIPATION AND DIMINISH BUREACRACY. 2.

10. WSIS PREPARATORY PROCESS 4 KEY ISSUES (continued) 3. E-INCLUSION, BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION FOR ALL ISSUES: APPLICATIONS OF ICTS IN DAILY LIFE, WORK AND E-HEALTH. FUNDAMENTAL IN THIS REGARD ARE GENDER ISSUES, AFFORDABILITY OF ICTS SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT OF ADEQUATE CONTENT. 4. ICTs AND NETWORK SECURITY ISSUES: ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY SYSTEMS AND COLLABORATION AMONG COUNTRIES ON NETWORK SECURITY. ELECTRONIC SECURITY. FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION.

11. A POSSIBLE FIFTH THEME? GENDER IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (From the Beijing Platform for Action: Section J) Strategic Objective J.1: Increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication. Support women’s education, training and employment to promote and ensure women’s equal access to all areas and levels of the media Promote women’s full and equal participation in the media, including management, programming, education, training and research Encourage and recognize women’s media networks, including electronic networks and other new technologies of communication, as a means for the dissemination of infor- mation and the exchange of views… Encourage the participation of women in the development of professional guidelines and codes of conduct or other appropriate self-regulatory mechanisms to promote balanced and non-stereotyped portrayals of women by the media.

12. TO SUMMARIZE: WOMEN WANT GENDER INPUT INTEGRATED INTO ALL PARTS OF THE WSIS POLICY DOCUMENT GENDER INPUT GENDER INPUT Gender in the Information Society 5 1 4 2 3 GENDER INPUT GENDER INPUT

13. THIS WILL INEVITABLY CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THE DOCUMENT…. GENDER INPUT Gender in the Information Society GENDER INPUT 4 5 3 3 1 GENDER INPUT 4 2 GENDER INPUT

14. IN SEPTEMBER 16-18 2002, AN INFORMAL SESSION ON CONTENT AND THEMES WAS HELD A CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT WAS PREPARED AND DELIVERED TO THE INFORMAL SESSION. KEY AMONGST THE POINTS IN THE STATEMENT WERE

15. KEY POINTS IN WSIS CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MUST BE THE BASIS FOR WSIS. THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SOCIETY MUST NECESSARILY HAVE PEOPLE AT ITS CENTER.

16. CROSS-CUTTING THEMES IN THE CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT INCLUDED 1. BRIDGING DIVIDES AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SOCIETY AND 2. GENDER PERSPECTIVES: IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION, THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DESCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN, THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS ADOPTED BY THE UN, THE WSIS MUST ADDRESS GENDER PERSPECTIVES WITHIN THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SOCIETY IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE AGENDA.

17. GENDER PERSPECTIVES FOCUSED ON THE BROAD THEMES OF REDUCING GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND IMPROVING PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SOCIETY, CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING FOR WOMEN, AND THE USE OF ICTS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS OF WOMEN WORLDWIDE.

18. GENDER PERSPECTIVES SPECIFIC THEMES INCLUDE: SUPPORTING WIDE PARTICIPATION BY WOMEN ICT SPECIALISTS IN POLICY AND DECISION-MAKING AT ALL LEVELS IN THE ICT SECTOR; SUPPORTING WOMEN’S GREATER ACCESS AND CONTROL OVER RESOURCES NECESSARY FOR THEIR EMPOWERMENT; ENCOURAGING WOMEN TO EXPLORE THE CONVERGENCE BETWEEN CULTURAL AND TRADITIONAL FORMS OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE TECHNOLOGIES CURRENTL AVAILABLE;

19. GENDER PERSPECTIVES ENHANCING THE POSSIBILITIES OF WOMEN AT ALL LEVELS UTILIZING ICT TOOLS TO TRANSFORM GENDER HEIRARCHIES IN SOCIETY AND TO CHALLENGE STEREOTYPED ROLES THAT THEY ARE EXPECTED TO FULFILL; USING NEW AND ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF ICTS TO COUNTER THE NEGATIVE PORTRAYALS OF WOMEN IN THE MEDIA, EXAMINING AND ADDRESSING OLD AND NEW FORMS OF EXPLOITATION AND VILENCE AGIANST WOMEN IN THE INFORATION AND COMMUNICATION SOCIETY.

20. WSIS PREPARATORY PROCESS UPDATE! AT PREPCOM 2, FEB. 17-28, 2003, CIVIL SOCIETY SUDDENLY FOUND THAT THEY WERE BEING SHUT OUT A FEW COUNTRIES DECIDED THAT THE VOICE OF CIVIL SOCIETY WAS NOT TO HAVE INPUT INTO OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. ALSO FINAL DRAFTS OF THE PLAN OF ACTION DID NOT CONTAIN A SINGLE REFERENCE TO GENDER EQUITY, GENDER ISSUES AND/OR GENDER CONCERNS.

21. WSIS PREPARATORY PROCESS UPDATE! A GROUP OF GENDER ADVOCATES FROM EVERYWORLD REGION, MET INFORMALLY WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE PREPCOM, MR ADAMA SAMASSEKOU (MALI), TO SPEAK WITH HIM ABOUT THE ABSENCE OF GENDER IN THE LATEST DRAFT DOCUMENTS, AND TO RESPOND TO HIS “OPEN LETTER” DELIVERED TO DELEGATES IN THE WEEK BEFORE THE PREPCOM. THEY RECEIVED A SYMPATHETIC HEARING AND AN ASSURANCE THAT HE WOULD TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SITUATION.

22. WSIS PREPARATORY PROCESS COMING UP NEXT GENDER INPUT ? GENDER INPUT ? INTERSESSIONAL WORKING GROUP JULY, UNESCO/PARIS PREPCOM 3 SEPTEMBER 15-26, 2003, GENEVA

23. WOMEN WORLDWIDE HOWEVER, CONTINUE TO DISCUSS GENDER INPUT INTO THE WSIS POLICY DOCUMENTS……. BY REGION BY ISSUE TRAINING/ EDUCATION RIGHT TO COMMUNICATE OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL ACCESS

24. ….IN FULL RECOGNITION THAT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY ARE BROAD AND MULTI-FACETED, INCLUDING SUCH AREAS AS: *e-governance *telecommunications *distance learning *e-commerce *e-empowerment!

25. A GENDER PERSPECTIVE IS THEREFORE IMPERATIVE AT ALL LEVELS AND IN ALL ISSUES AND THEMES women worldwide are working hard to help make this a reality

26. THIS PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY: Anne S.Walker,International Women’s Tribune Centre, For the NGO Gender Strategies Working Group UPDATED FEBRUARY 2003