IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #215
Initiatives and Activities of Women Worldwide
By Anne S. Walker and Karen Banks

January 13, 2003

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS).
UPDATE ON PLANS AND PREPARATIONS INCLUDING GENDER INPUT

(Please refer to IWTC Women's GlobalNet bulletins #198 (July 18, 2002)
and #208 (September 29, 2002) for background related to the World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS) -to be held in December 2003, Geneva
and 2005, Tunisia- and on the ongoing efforts by women worldwide to
place gender firmly at the centre of the WSIS preparatory process.
Copies of IWTC Women's Globalnet bulletins can be found on the IWTC
website at: http://www.iwtc.org>)

CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT SENT TO WSIS SECRETARIAT
A statement from the Civil Society Co-ordinating group, comprising
representatives of groups participating at preparatory committee
meetings for WSIS has been sent to the WSIS Secretariat as input into
plans and preparations for PrepCom 2 in Geneva, February 14-28, 2003.
Included in the comprehensive statement are the following:

1. VISION:
Our vision is of Information and Communication Societies based on
recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable
rights of all human beings as articulated in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. The developments that shape such information and
communication societies should pursue goals of social, political, gender
and economic justice, sustainable human development, and support for
democracy, participation, and empowerment.

Building people-centered and inclusive information and communication
societies implies taking into account the different stakeholders and
involving them as participants and decision makers in shaping policies
and frameworks. It also means enabling the engagement and commitment of
all generations and ensuring the involvement of diverse social and
linguistic groups, cultures and Peoples -particularly those most exposed
to exclusion, discrimination and disadvantage- and ensuring gender
equality.

2. GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
2.6 Incorporating a gender perspective
Gender-based analyses and perspectives must be introduced into all
proposals, action plans and follow-up programmes, so that gender
equality can be guaranteed in information and communication societies,
as enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action
(including, but not limited to Section J).

3. THEMES:
3.1.5 Gender Perspectives
In accordance with the Millennium Declaration and other instruments
adopted by the UN, the WSIS must address gender perspectives within the
information society as a cross-cutting issue in all aspects of the
agenda and in relation to each of the themes outlined in this document.
In addition, in this specific category, the WSIS would focus on the
broad themes of reducing gender discrimination and improving
participation of women in the Information Society, capacity building and
training for women, equal access, and the use of ICTs to improve the
lives and livelihoods of women worldwide.

Specific themes would include: supporting wide participation by women
ICT specialists and gender analysis specialists in policy formation and
decision making at all levels in the ICT sector; supporting women©ˆs
greater access to and control over resources necessary for their
empowerment; encouraging women to explore the convergence and between
cultural and traditional forms of communication with the technologies
currently available; enhancing the possibilities for women at all levels
to use ICT tools for the transformation of gender hierarchies in society
and to challenge stereotyped roles that women and men are expected to
fulfill; using new and alternative forms of ICTs to counter the negative
portrayal of women in the media, examining and addressing old and new
forms of exploitation and violence against women in information and
communication societies.

To see the full Civil Society Statement, go to:
http://article19.net/WSIS/SCT/

WSIS NGO GENDER STRATEGIES GROUP:
Listserve: ngowomen@genderIT.org
NGO GSG Representatives on the Civil Society Executive:
Susanna George (Isis international/Manila) and Karen Banks (APC Women's
Network Support Programme/UK)

One of the groups that has been strategising and organising its active
participation in the WSIS process is the WSIS NGO Gender Strategies
Group. Formed during the first WSIS PrepCom in July 2002 in Geneva as
one of the sub-Committtes of the Civil Society Coordinating Group, the
WSIS NGO Gender Strategies Group is currently composed of the African
Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), Agencia Latino
Americana del Informacion, Association for Progressive
Communication-Women's Networking Support Programme, International
Women's Tribune Centre, and Isis International-Manila. Participation by
other interested NGO groups and individuals is warmly welcomed.

Recognizing the significance of the WSIS and all other fora where gender
and ICT issues are addressed, the WSIS NGO Gender Strategies Group has
set up their mailing list with the following objectives:

1. To share information on the different activities around WSIS
including the Regional and Preparatory Committee meetings, the 47th
session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the Asian Social
Forum and the World Social Forum, the 8th International Congress of the
World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC) and other discussion
spaces on gender and ICT particularly those pertaining to NGO women's
initiatives.

2. To develop women's lobbying positions and strategies around WSIS
within the civil society formations and bring in the civil society
inputs to the multi-sectoral Gender Caucus discussions.

3. To share strategies, resources including documents, researches, and
publications as well as regular updates from civil society organizations
to ensure effective women's participation in civil society activities
and NGO women's participation in the governmental and intergovernmental
processes.

4. To create a platform for strategizing and organizing various forms of
women's participation in the different gender and ICT fora.

To join the list, write to: Mavic Cabrera-Balleza at:
mavic@isiswomen.org

An agenda which outlines discussions in preparations for the WSIS
Prepcom II (including plans women's groups have for the World Social
Forum and the Commission on the Status of Women meetings) will be posted
before Jan 20th when our discussions will begin.

WSIS MULTI-SECTORAL GENDER CAUCUS
Listserve: wsis-gendercaucus@wougnet.org
Website:
Facilitator: Gillian Marcelle

The multi-sectoral WSIS Gender Caucus (see Women's GlobalNet #208)
website contains papers produced by and for the Caucus available to
download and read. Most recently, the Gender Caucus has submitted a
Statement to the WSIS Secretariat in preparation for the Second WSIS
Preparatory Committee (PrepCom2) to be held in Geneva from February
17-28, 2003.

The WSIS Gender Caucus has also made submissions to the WSIS Secretariat
as input to the Draft Declaration and Platform of Action and these will
be available on the WSIS site:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/prepcom2/contributions/gender_caucus-en.doc
and will be soon posted on the WSIS gender caucus site:
http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/wsisgc.html

REGIONAL MEETINGS
Asia- Pacific
New Takanawa Prince Hotel (Center City of Tokyo), Japan
13-15 January 2003
Website: www.wsis-japan.jp

A roundtable discussion on "Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in
the Information Society" was held on January 11 and 12, 2003 at the
United Nations University in Tokyo. This activity is one of the
side-events of the Asian WSIS Regional Preparatory Meeting scheduled on
January 13 - 15, 2002. The roundtable discussion aims to provide an
opportunity for a multi-stakeholder discussion on gender issues in the
themes of the WSIS and to develop recommendations to promote gender
equality in the information society as well as women's advancement
through the use of ICT.

This event is being collaboratively initiated by a number of
organizations representing various stakeholders. These include the Asia
Pacific Women's Information Network Centre (APWINC), Association for
Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme
(APCWNSP), UNESCO and UNESCAP. Japan Women's Watch (JAWW) is the local
partner and host. For more information, contact:
Hiroko Hashimoto .

Latin America and the Caribbean
The Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Conference, previously
announced to take place in Santo Domingo from 27 to 30 January 2002,
will now take place in:

Bávaro (Dominican Republic)
from 29 to 31 January 2003.
More information on the official website for this event:
http://www.indotel.org.do/wsis
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