World
Summit on the Information Society
PrepCom-2
Geneva,
February 2003
28
February 2003 11:30
WSIS-
Civil Society Working Group on Content and Themes -- Drafting
Committee
Explanatory
Note
This
document is a compilation of comments received by the Drafting
Committee of the Civil Society Working Group on Content and Themes.
These issues are cited in the context of the sections and general
structure of the Action Plan released on 27 February 2003 by the
Working group of sub-committee 2.
We
hope that these issues and viewpoints on them will be taken into
serious consideration by the Working group of sub-committee 2.
Plan
of Action: Civil Society’s Priorities
This
document is a work in progress that gathers proposals drafted by the
various thematic caucuses of the civil society present at Prepcom2.
A
– List of issues
B
– Objectives
Benchmarks
–
One Public access point to the network for each village/large
community by 2005.
–
Access to radio sets by everyone before 2010, to be ensured by
governments in cooperation with the private sector and radio
broadcast coverage of all of the world’s population by 2010
–
Set targets for delegations in all future conference related to ICT
to include at least 30 percent women, including gender and ICT
advocates
C –
Strategies programmes, methods for implementation
The
WSIS Action Plan must take into account and provide support for
existing Action Plans developed by the DOT Force process and the UN
ICT Task Force.
1)
Information and communication infrastructure: financing and
investment, affordability, development, and sustainability
–
An official body must be settled within the UN in charge of proposing
new mechanisms of funding adapted to a society in which international
information flows are one of the main sources of growth.
–
As many developing countries face a drastic shortage of electricity,
renewable and decentralised energy sources must be mobilised and
established as a pre requisite for universal access to network
infrastructures. This priority shall be pursued in reference to the
Johannesburg Summit 2000 (World
Summit on Sustainable Development) goals. A particular
attention must be given to rural and isolated communities.
–
Technology systems should be developed that are appropriate to local
environments to effectively bridge the digital divide, for example
community radio, local newsletters, and other forms of community and
non-profit media shall be privileged.
–
Specific support must be given to the convergence of traditional
community media with other ICTs, for example through community
telecentres which combine community radio with the Internet.
–
Strong public policies should be at the heart of the
information societies, although some steps towards liberalisation,
privatisation and competition, and the removal of excessive levels of
tariffs may play a role in ensuring connectivity. In any case the
latter must not represent the only strategy.
–
To improve efficiency and reduce costs of use of infrastructure in
developing countries, optimise connections between major information
networks by creating regional Internet exchange points and by
extending the capabilities of regional infrastructures.
–
Coordinate intergovernmental action, with participation of civil
society, to negotiate fair prices for Internet traffic that must flow
through major Internet exchanges in the US.
–
Public access points rely to a large extent on the existence of
terrestrial networks, and complementarily on satellites.
Consequently, it is imperative for Africa to rehabilitate and develop
the existing PANAFTEL network, and where necessary, complete it with
new backbones to create extensive African Interconnection Network
(AIN). This network should be completed by
International/Intercontinental access points to the global
telecommunications network. On the other hand, remote regions that
are too distant from terrestrial networks should have priority access
to the satellite services, particularly the RASCOM African satellite.
–
Regarding IP traffic, which is rapidly growing in the short term, a
“ Gateway Internet Exchange ” (GIX)
network must be designed at the regional level as a priority, in
order to keep the intra-African IP traffic within the continent, with
the dual goals of fully leveraging the AIN network and of reducing
the volume of international traffic.
–
Priority must be given to those who have no access and are excluded
from the information society, especially to young people, women, the
elderly and people with disabilities, taking into account their
specific knowledge abilities, needs and facilitating their
participation capabilities.
–
Ensure provision for increased access to ICTs and integration into
programmes that assist with poverty alleviation and the empowerment
of women and men
–
Equitable tariff and quota structures for telecommunication services
(backbone, local access, telecommunication) should be created
–
Link “traditional” media and the Internet for community
access to information “mixed media approach”, as well as
embracing and building on African traditional communication channels
into the information society
–
Community information and communication centres are critical to
ensure inclusive access to information and social services.
Universal access policies shall promote the
best possible level of connectivity at a reasonable cost for all
under-served rural, urban, and regional areas. Technological
convergence must be monitored with a view to integrating traditional
and new ICTs in order to create alternative forms of access that can
help narrow the digital divide. The creation and provision of
low-cost access equipment and multi-purpose community access points
shall be an integral part of the agenda for reducing the digital
divide.
–
Public funding should be made available to ensure Internet access in
public institutions such as schools, libraries, and community
centres.
–
To save large investment and operation costs, a common use of
infrastructure is recommended for both telecommunication and radio/TV
information transport and distribution.
2)
Access to information and knowledge
–
Compilation work done in building databases and non-creative works
shall not be protected under copyright law.
–
The right of Internet hyperlinking, framing and mirroring shall not
be restricted, under the provision that the name and URL of the
original site is properly indicated and acknowledged.
–
Free modification and adaptation of a copyrighted web page shall be
permitted for personal non-commercial use as a means of free speech.
–
Rules of loans existing in traditional libraries must be extended
without hindrance to digital media belonging to online libraries
–
Use of Peer to Peer technology shall be promoted to share public
domain information.
–
Authors must be encouraged to retain ownership of their copyrights
and not to automatically transfer copyrights to publishers or other
intermediaries.
–
Non-commercial use and private copy of digital contents should be
regarded and protected as fair use.
–
Computer software has different characteristics from other creative
works in that it is functional/technical works and has no meaning as
a public domain after the protection period. So, computer software
should not be protected by copyright, or at least, the protection
period of computer software should be shortened.
–
Open Source/Free Software shall be adopted by all public authorities
and bodies.
–
Developing countries should investigate how to leverage the
opportunities presented by the emergence of Open Source/Free software
in the context of limited financial resources and expertise.
–
Change current intellectual property regimes so that all information
and knowledge produced with the aid of public resources, for example
the outputs of publicly funded educational and research institutions,
are automatically released as open content and made available and
accessible at no cost into the public domain.
–
Software shall not be patentable, in principle.
–
Business model (or method) patent should not be allowed.
–
A first-to-invent instead a first-to-file patent application rule
shall be adopted, in order to better preserve the rights of academic
scientists and low-income inventors.
–
The purpose of patent is to develop technology
and thus to promote the quality of life such as health, etc. In line
with it, national policy to limit patent holders right for public
health such as compulsory licensing and parallel importation should
be allowed without interference of other countries as addressed in
the declaration on TRIPS agreement and public health adopted in Doha
WTO ministerial conference.
–
Web pages of all public bodies should be fully accessible with any
kind of browsers, including the free software browsers such as
Mozilla.
–
The need for a legal protection of traditional knowledge must be
implemented
–
Generic domain names shall not be subject, in any way, to
trademarks laws.
–
A specific status concerning transition and developing
countries shall be recognised in regards to Intellectual
Property Rights.

–
Recognition of and support for community and non-profit media as the
major platform for the public to both access and contribute to global
knowledge and information must be ensured.
–
Public service values in the Information Society should be
encouraged, including genuine public service broadcasting.
State-controlled media should be transformed into editorially
independent public service media organisations.
–
Availability of both traditional and newer technologies should
be guaranteed to promote equitable access to information at all
levels of the information society.
–
Ensure free access to all scientific and engineering data and
information that are available in archives, libraries and research
institutions.

–
Promote and guarantee access for all starting from the community
level. While that access should be affordable and premised on
effective use of information and communication technologies,
recognition should also be made that this requires not only
infrastructure and technology but also meaningful content, capacity
building and an enabling environment that encompasses the needs based
on gender, lack or total absence of literacy, ethno-cultural
diversity and political plurality.
–
Information and communication technologies should foster the flow and
exchange of information; maximise access and participation of remote
areas and marginalized groups.