[Peace-discuss] Fwd: WSIS part 2
Alfred Kagan
akagan at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
Tue Dec 16 10:29:17 CST 2003
>Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 07:43:53 -0600
>To: akagan at uiuc.edu
>Subject: Africa: Digital Solidarity Gap, 2
>From: africafocus at igc.org
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>
>Africa: Digital Solidarity Gap, 2
>
>AfricaFocus Bulletin
>December 15, 2003 (031215)
>(Reposted from sources cited below)
>
>Editor's Note
>
>Meeting in Lyon, France just before the World Summit on the
>Information Society, representatives of cities and local
>authorities decided to take their own initiatives to address the
>global digital divide. When the World Summit failed to make a firm
>commitment to a new Digital Solidarity Fund, the mayors of Lyon and
>Geneva joined with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade to commit 1
>million euros to launch the fund themselves.
>
>This issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a news report and press
>release on initiatives from the first World Summit of Cities and
>Local Authorities on the Information Society. It also contains the
>Digital Access Index released by the International
>Telecommunications Union in November with its World
>Telecommunication Development Report, with rankings for 178
>economies. Unsurprisingly, African countries dominate among
>those in the "low access" section of the table. Significantly,
>however, the authors of the report stress that their report may
>underestimate internet access in many developing countries, due to
>factors such as the spread of internet cafes and the absence of
>reliable surveys on usage.
>
>Another issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin today includes several news
>reports on the World Summit from the Highway Africa News Agency.
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Visit http://www.africafocus.org for news, analysis, advocacy
>Find recent book recommendations at Powell's, a unionized
>on-line bookstore: http://www.solidarityresearch.org/powells
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Senegal, Mayors Bypass Nations, Set Up Digital Fund
>
>By Traci Hukill, U.N. Wire
>
>http://www.unwire.org
>
>December 12, 2003
>
>GENEVA Days after representatives from nearly 200 countries put
>the idea on hold, two European cities and the government of Senegal
>today launched a global digital solidarity fund to help poor
>countries bridge the digital divide.
>
>Dissatisfaction with what they described as the typical U.N. summit
>process of talk followed by inaction led the mayors of Geneva and
>the French city of Lyon to join in an unusual alliance with the
>African nation.
>
>"We wanted to make sure at this summit there would not only be
>declarations of intent but also acts, and this is our way to ensure
>that enhancement of human rights in this world can be helped in
>this way," said Geneva Mayor Christian Ferrazino.
>
>The two cities donated $395,000 and $368,000 respectively to the
>fund on the final day of the World Summit on the Information
>Society. The fund, initially proposed by Senegal's President
>Abdoulaye Wade in the run-up to the summit, also received $500,000
>from Senegal, bringing the total to the significant figure of 1
>million euros. The three founders hope to solicit donations from
>other cities, nations and perhaps even the United Nations itself.
>
>Senegalese Minister of Communication Mamadou Diop, standing in at
>a press conference for an unavoidably delayed Wade, seconded
>Ferrazino's sentiments. "We thought we should not finish with the
>usual resolutions, the usual commitments which are theoretical but
>do not give rise to concrete action," he said.
>
>For months, controversy has swirled around the notion of a
>voluntary U.N.-administered fund to help technologically
>disadvantaged countries build telephone lines and other
>infrastructure in an attempt to keep the digital gap and its
>inseparable twin, the wealth gap, from widening further. The need
>to bridge the divide was obvious - half the people in the world do
>not have access to a telephone but how to meet it was less so.
>In a series of preparatory meetings before the summit, country
>negotiators locked horns: developing countries wanted the fund,
>while developed countries said it would be plagued by waste and
>proposed instead using existing institutions to manage the effort.
>
>On Tuesday, in what appeared to be a defeat for Senegal and its
>allies, negotiators working on a draft declaration to be approved
>at the summit decided not to decide yet. They would instead
>commission a study on the subject to be completed by the second
>phase of the WSIS, scheduled for November 2005 in Tunisia. The
>agreed-upon text neither encouraged nor prohibited independently
>established funds or bilateral agreements.
>
>Wade was reportedly upbeat after Tuesday's decision, and today's
>launch explains why. The three officials on the dais at the
>conference were short on details about how they would manage their
>digital solidarity fund details such as what criteria they would
>use to dole out funding and how they would assure other potential
>contributors that the fund was managed in a transparent manner
>but they clearly believe they and their unorthodox alliance are
>onto something big.
>
>The two mayors especially seem to think their time has come.
>
>Asked how countries would react to the establishment of a fund they
>had just refused to create, Ferrazino shrugged.
>
>"They cannot do anything about it," he said. "This is the way
>things are going these days. Many people live in cities and
>municipalities, and within 20 years 80 percent of the world's
>population will be living in cities and municipalities."
>
>"[U.N. Secretary General] Kofi Annan instructed the former
>Brazilian president to reflect on the future of relations between
>cities and municipalities with international and intergovernmental
>organizations," added Lyon's Mayor Gerard Collomb. "Mr. Annan
>knows full well that a number of large cities and municipalities
>throughout the world would have economic, cultural and social power
>that would ensure they can play a significant role as players at
>the world level."
>
>"At Rio, the cities were not involved," Ferrazino said, referring
>to the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, also
>called the Earth Summit. "But who was responsible for implementing
>all this? The cities and local authorities."
>
>"The role of the state is changing," Ferrazino continued. "We have
>the European Union, the African Union, organizations that are
>regrouping states. The fund we're talking about is of course a new
>initiative taking advantage of this new reality."
>
>Copyright 2003 by National Journal Group Inc. Distributed under
>terms of use of the United Nation Foundation's U.N. Wire.
>
>************************************************************
>
>World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information
>Society
>
>Press release
>
>10 December 2003
>
>http://www.cities-lyon.org
>
>Geneva, WSIS: the cities and local authorities from around the
>world present their Declaration and Action Plans for a fair and
>sustainable information society
>
>[For the declaration, see http://www.cities-lyon.org/en/declaration]
>
>The success of the first World Summit of Cities and Local
>Authorities on the Information Society organised at Lyon on 4 and
>5 December (500 local authorities, 2,000 participants from all over
>the world) marks a major turning point in international political
>life. It responds to the desire of Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary General
>of the United Nations, to associate cities, local authorities and
>civil society in the UN?s projects and activities. Cities are major
>actors that participate concretely in the daily lives of citizens
>everywhere, whether in education, knowledge, culture, the combat
>against social exclusion, participation or involvement in
>democracy.
>
>The Declaration of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information
>Society was unanimously adopted at the end of the Lyon World
>Summit. It asserts the basic rights of citizens that cities and
>local authorities want to have taken into consideration at the
>Summit in Geneva. The information society must strengthen:
>
>* Democracy, freedom of expression and respect for human rights;
>
>* Freedom to communicate and equal access to knowledge;
>
>* Education, particularly in setting up universal primary
>education;
>
>* Access to knowledge, to facilitate research and for cultural
>diversity;
>
>* Digital solidarity to combat exclusion and the digital divide in
>cities in developed and developing countries, with four possible
>orientations:
>
>* Develop the use of free software;
>
>* Develop decentralised cooperation programmes between cities and
>regions; o Support actions in favour of digital solidarity between
>developed and developing countries;
>
>* Relay the proposals of Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal and
>Vice-President of NEPAD on digital solidarity.
>
>The Declaration will be presented to Mr Kofi Annan on 10 December,
>and to the Heads of State and Government on 12 December (WISI,
>10-12 December, Geneva) by Gerard Collomb, Mayor of Lyon and
>Christian Ferrazino, Mayor of Geneva.
>
>Forever concerned with making proposals a reality, cities and local
>authorities are now formulating an action plan, stemming from the
>synthesis of the debates held during the Lyon Summit. This action
>plan will be presented at the congress held to found the first
>World Association of Cities and Local Authorities, "United Cities
>and Local Authorities", at Paris in May 2004.
>
>For GÈrard Collomb, Mayor of Lyon, "The great success of the World
>Summit of Cities relies on wide-ranging consultation, strong
>mobilisation of local actors and authorities, and above all
>concrete commitments to build a fairer and more united world,
>particularly between developed and developing countries."
>
>Christian Ferrazino, Mayor of Geneva declares, "The Lyon Summit
>marks a major turning point in the history of international
>relations. Our municipalities show that they can play an
>international role, since they are the best placed to make known
>the needs and hopes of their citizens."
>
>Cities and local authorities from around the entire world have
>developed international networks that permit collective expression
>and actions. At the end of the Lyon Summit, Mercedes Bresso,
>President of CAMVAL (Coordination of World Associations of Cities
>and Local Authorities) announced the "creation of the first World
>Association of Cities at Paris in May 2004 that we hope will be the
>first representative organisation of cities and local authorities
>to sit at the UN."
>
>The exemplarity of cities and local authorities in the information
>society: Several hundred projects, actions and initiatives were
>presented at the Lyon World Summit and can be consulted on
>www.cities-lyon.org. They are also exhibited at the WISI at the
>City of Geneva/City of Lyon stand, Forum ICT4D, Palexpo Hall 4.
>
>Press contact: France: Agence Isabelle Dejeux - Isabelle Dejeux,
>Cyril Chenu - T : 33 4 72 07 44 90 F : 33 4 72 07 44 99 - M : 33 6
>08 16 91 28 - cyril at agence-idejeux.fr / isabelle at agence-idejeux.fr
>Switzerland: City of Geneva, Philippe d'Espine - T : 00 41 22 418
>29 11 philippe.despine at ville-ge.ch
>
>************************************************************
>
>Digital Access Index 2002
>Source: International Telecommunication Union
>http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2003/30.html
>
>The full World Telecommunications Development Report 2003 is also
>available on the ITU website.
>
>[display table in courier font for greater readability]
>
>High Access
>
>Sweden 0.85
>Denmark 0.83
>Iceland 0.82
>Korea (Rep.) 0.82
>Norway 0.79
>Netherlands 0.79
>Hong Kong, China 0.79
>Finland 0.79
>Taiwan, China 0.79
>Canada 0.78
>United States 0.78
>United Kingdom 0.77
>Switzerland 0.76
>Singapore 0.75
>Japan 0.75
>Luxembourg 0.75
>Austria 0.75
>Germany 0.74
>Australia 0.74
>Belgium 0.74
>New Zealand 0.72
>Italy 0.72
>France 0.72
>Slovenia 0.72
>Israel 0.70
>
>Upper Access
>
>Ireland 0.69
>Cyprus 0.68
>Estonia 0.67
>Spain 0.67
>Malta 0.67
>Czech Republic 0.66
>Greece 0.66
>Portugal 0.65
>UAE 0.64
>Macao, China 0.64
>Hungary 0.63
>Bahamas 0.62
>Bahrain 0.60
>St. Kitts and Nevis 0.60
>Poland 0.59
>Slovak Republic 0.59
>Croatia 0.59
>Chile 0.58
>Antigua & Barbuda 0.57
>Barbados 0.57
>Malaysia 0.57
>Lithuania 0.56
>Qatar 0.55
>Brunei Darussalam 0.55
>Latvia 0.54
>Uruguay 0.54
>* Seychelles 0.54
>Dominica 0.54
>Argentina 0.53
>Trinidad & Tobago 0.53
>Bulgaria 0.53
>Jamaica 0.53
>Costa Rica 0.52
>St. Lucia 0.52
>Kuwait 0.51
>Grenada 0.51
>* Mauritius 0.50
>Russia 0.50
>Mexico 0.50
>Brazil 0.50
>
>Medium Access
>
>Belarus 0.49
>Lebanon 0.48
>Thailand 0.48
>Romania 0.48
>Turkey 0.48
>TFYR Macedonia 0.48
>Panama 0.47
>Venezuela 0.47
>Belize 0.47
>St. Vincent 0.46
>Bosnia 0.46
>Suriname 0.46
>* South Africa 0.45
>Colombia 0.45
>Jordan 0.45
>Serbia & Montenegro 0.45
>Saudi Arabia 0.44
>Peru 0.44
>China 0.43
>Fiji 0.43
>* Botswana 0.43
>Iran (I.R.) 0.43
>Ukraine 0.43
>Guyana 0.43
>Philippines 0.43
>Oman 0.43
>Maldives 0.43
>* Libya 0.42
>Dominican Rep. 0.42
>* Tunisia 0.41
>Ecuador 0.41
>Kazakhstan 0.41
>* Egypt 0.40
>* Cape Verde 0.39
>Albania 0.39
>Paraguay 0.39
>Namibia 0.39
>Guatemala 0.38
>El Salvador 0.38
>Palestine 0.38
>Sri Lanka 0.38
>Bolivia 0.38
>Cuba 0.38
>Samoa 0.37
>* Algeria 0.37
>Turkmenistan 0.37
>Georgia 0.37
>* Swaziland 0.37
>Moldova 0.37
>Mongolia 0.35
>Indonesia 0.34
>* Gabon 0.34
>* Morocco 0.33
>India 0.32
>Kyrgyzstan 0.32
>Uzbekistan 0.31
>Viet Nam 0.31
>Armenia 0.30
>
>Low Access
>
>* Zimbabwe 0.29
>Honduras 0.29
>Syria 0.28
>Papua New Guinea 0.26
>Vanuatu 0.24
>Pakistan 0.24
>Azerbaijan 0.24
>* S. TomÈ & Principe 0.23
>Tajikistan 0.21
>* Equatorial Guinea 0.20
>* Kenya 0.19
>Nicaragua 0.19
>* Lesotho 0.19
>Nepal 0.19
>Bangladesh 0.18
>Yemen 0.18
>* Togo 0.18
>Solomon Islands 0.17
>Cambodia 0.17
>* Uganda 0.17
>* Zambia 0.17
>Myanmar 0.17
>* Congo 0.17
>* Cameroon 0.16
>* Ghana 0.16
>Lao P.D.R. 0.15
>* Malawi 0.15
>* Tanzania 0.15
>Haiti 0.15
>* Nigeria 0.15
>* Djibouti 0.15
>* Rwanda 0.15
>* Madagascar 0.15
>* Mauritania 0.14
>* Senegal 0.14
>* Gambia 0.13
>Bhutan 0.13
>* Sudan 0.13
>* Comoros 0.13
>* Cote d'Ivoire 0.13
>* Eritrea 0.13
>* D.R. Congo 0.12
>* Benin 0.12
>* Mozambique 0.12
>* Angola 0.11
>* Burundi 0.10
>* Guinea 0.10
>* Sierra Leone 0.10
>* Central Af. Rep. 0.10
>* Ethiopia 0.10
>* Guinea-Bissau 0.10
>* Chad 0.10
>* Mali 0.09
>* Burkina Faso 0.08
>* Niger 0.04
>
>Note: The composite indicator is based on infrastructure (fixed
>telephone lines and mobile telephone lines per 100 inhabitants),
>affordability (internet access price as percent of national income
>per capita), knowledge (adult literacy, and formal school
>enrollment), quality (international internet bandwidth per capita,
>and broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants), and usage (internet
>users per 100 inhabitants).
>
>*************************************************************
>AfricaFocus Bulletin is a free independent electronic publication
>providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
>a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
>Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
>
>AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus at igc.org. Please
>write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin,
>or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about
>reposted material, please contact directly the original source
>mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see
>http://www.africafocus.org
>
>************************************************************
--
Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA
tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu
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