Donnerstag, 17.November 2005
-- ON THE ISSUES: INTERNET GOVERNANCE --
The Tunis Commitment almost signed [By APCNews]
APCNews writing from TUNIS, Tunisia, 16/11/2005 09:15 -- By 10 pm Tuesday, the chairperson, ambassador Khan, had concluded negotiations on chapter 3 on internet governance and received a standing ovation from all attending delegates. The outcome of the internet governance process is to have a forum that will take up broad public policy issues on the one hand, and a process of cooperation on the narrow principles that relate to domain name, numbers and the root zone file on the other.
"This outcome has to be evaluated in terms of the balance of power in the community of nations," said Willie Currie, APC's Communications and Information Policy Programme Manager. "The U.S. clearly saw that its strategic interest with regard to the war on terror and its dominant role in the global economy meant that it had to retain its oversight over the primary form of communications in the world, which today is the internet," Currie added.
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2466414
APC... recommendations on internet governance [By APC]
APC crystallizes a set of recommendations with regard to internet governance for the final Summit in Tunis in November 2005 including for an internet governance forum that has become reality in the Tunis declaration. Recommendations available in English, Spanish and French. http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2379688
Crucial drafting session in Tunis [By APCNews]
Late on Sunday night, November 13, 2005, an assembly of about 100 people agreed to a series of minimal points of common ground related to internet governance in Tunis. These points were then to be reported back to the general plenary of what is called the resumed PrepCom 3 meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) for definitive negotiation and implementation.
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2418539
-- ON THE ISSUES: HUMAN RIGHTS IN TUNISIA --
NEWS ALERT: Censorship by the host of THE UN summit on information? People in Tunisia cannot access a number of websites because they are being blocked. And the Citizens' Summit on the Information Society has also been taken 'offline' for Tunisians. List of filtered websites:
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2436066
Flagrant violation of human rights at Tunis [By APCNews]
Under the incredulous eyes of the participants at the World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS), journalists and human rights defenders
were manhandled, insulted, and then violently beaten. APCNews reports
from Tunis. http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2431813
Online protest ... an alternative home [By Neila Charchour Hachicha]
Since the official website of the Online Protest is censored as you can check for yourself here http://www.yezzi.org. I copied all pics from the protest on flickr cause I thought you might like to discover this online protest http://flickr.com/photos/yezzi/sets/1366354/. It is a virtual online protest to say "Yezzi...Fock" which means "Enough is Enough". They just cannot say we are disturbing the public order and protesting is a constitutional right. The Keyboard Revolution is doing its way so help us keep the internet free from censorship.
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2438705
In Tunis, internet governance rhymes with state control [By APCNews]
Today, the website of the Citizens' Summit on the Information Society (CSIS) was effectively off-line for all web users in Tunisia. It appears that Tunisian authorities have started to intensify their crackdown on legitimate initiatives related to the World Summit on the information Society (WSIS). Blocking the access to the www.citizens-summit.org is the latest in a series of measures introduced to silence voices critical of the government and its human right record. http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2436066
-- ON THE ISSUES: FINANCING OF ICT4D --
Making the ride to cyberspace affordable [By APCNews]
En route to the promised global village, the information superhighway is plagued by poor access and high fares that the bulk of this planet simply cannot afford. Reducing international internet costs is an important priority, underlined in a set of recommendations from the APC made to the WSIS stresses.
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2427753
Some figures... and hard facts [By FN]
Some figures, and hard facts, from a Highway Africa article, titled ICT4 All expo to attract 40,000 participants: "According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the 942 million people living in the world's developed economies enjoy five times better access to fixed and mobile phone services, nine times better access to Internet services, and own 13 times more personal computers than the 85 per cent of the world's population living in low and lower-middle income countries. ITU also estimates that 800,000 villages still lack connection by telephone line, the internet or any other modern ICTs."
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2418346