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<b>From</b>: Hakikur Rahman <email@hakik.org>
<br><b>To</b>: Michael Gurstein <gurstein@gmail.com>; governance@lists.cpsr.org <governance@lists.cpsr.org>; 'Jean-Louis FULLSACK' <jlfullsack@orange.fr>; 'William Drake' <william.drake@graduateinstitute.ch>
<br><b>Sent</b>: Sat Dec 26 01:40:24 2009<br><b>Subject</b>: RE: [governance] Re: AW: [tt-group] FW: GAID
<br></font><br></div>
Dear Michael,<br><br>
Happy Holidays!<br><br>
Yes, at this point I would agree that many developing nations are clearly
out of focus in spending for this sort of 'service area' (which directly
or indirectly relates to ICT4D), as you have mentioned. Perhaps, lack of
knowledge/expertise at the both levels, policy initiators and
practitioners. Any thoughts or action plans in diminishing these
gaps!<br><br>
Best regards,<br>
Hakik<br><br>
At 06:26 AM 12/24/2009, Michael Gurstein wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><font size=2 color="#0000FF">
Hakik,<br>
</font> <br>
<font size=2 color="#0000FF">The Universal Service Funds I was referring
to were national funds, often set up at the time of privatization of
PTT's. These funds retain a small percentage of overall
telecommunications revenues in national funds generally to be used to
ensure "universal (telecom) service" in otherwise un-serviced
areas.<br>
</font> <br>
<font size=2 color="#0000FF">M<br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd><font face="Tahoma" size=2>-----Original Message-----<br>
<dd>From:</b> Hakikur Rahman
[<a href="mailto:email@hakik.org" eudora="autourl">
mailto:email@hakik.org</a>] <br>
<dd>Sent:</b> Wednesday, December 23, 2009 9:38 PM<br>
<dd>To:</b> Michael Gurstein; governance@lists.cpsr.org; 'Jean-Louis
FULLSACK'; 'William Drake'<br>
<dd>Subject:</b> RE: [governance] Re: AW: [tt-group] FW: GAID<br><br>
</font>
<dd>To me major donor agencies have shifted their prime focus in other
wings, not very specific to ICT4D. Are the Universal Services fund
accessible to developing economies? It will be great to learn about links
providing information on them.<br><br>
<dd>Thanking you,<br>
<dd>Hakik<br><br>
<br>
<dd>At 10:46 PM 12/23/2009, Michael Gurstein wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">
<dd><font size=2 color="#0000FF">The issue is only partially one of lack
of funding for ICT4D projects... In fact, in many cases/places there are
funds available for ICT4D (particularly now with ioncreasingly widespread
mobile and broadband infrastructures) either through donor resources or
from Universal Services funds but there is an overall lack of
knowledge/experience/capacity to spend this money in an appropriate and
useful/effective way.<br>
</font>
<dd> <br>
<dd><font size=2 color="#0000FF">Doing the assessments, building the
knowledge bases, bringing together those with the experience as
developers and end users, developing the multistakeholder issue oriented
dialogues and networks is the role that is currently lacking and has been
lacking since WSIS and before. The GAID said they would do some of this
but they didn't, the IGF dilettantes at the edges but only muddies the
waters, the ITU is too clearly top-down (in current speak
non-multistakeholder...) <br>
</font>
<dd> <br>
<dd><font size=2 color="#0000FF">So where to go from here...<br>
</font>
<dd> <br>
<dd><font size=2 color="#0000FF">Best to all for the season!<br>
</font>
<dd> <br>
<dd><font size=2 color="#0000FF">M</font>
<dl>
<dd><font face="Tahoma" size=2>-----Original Message-----
<dd>From: Jean-Louis FULLSACK [
<a href="mailto:jlfullsack@orange.fr" eudora="autourl">
mailto:jlfullsack@orange.fr</a>]
<dd>Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 7:44 AM
<dd>To: governance@lists.cpsr.org; William Drake
<dd>Subject: re: [governance] Re: AW: [tt-group] FW: GAID<br><br>
</font>
<dd>Hello Bill, Wolfgang and all<br>
<dd>I think there is also another issue to be dealt with very urgently :
financing the ICT4D projects and -first of all- the WSIS Action Plan
objectives. Remember : the two "hot potatoes" of WSIS were
Internet governance and financing for "bridging the digital
divide".<br>
<dd>The fisrt one was (partly) resolved by setting-up the IGF. Therefore
I was asking for a "Financing Mechanisms Forum (FMF)" since the
beginning of the WSIS follow-up process. Without any success. <br>
<dd>During the the last (or better : the "first") WSIS Forum
held in May my proposal didn't recieve any support from the CS side
(except from some African grassroot orgs). Therefore I submitted a
personal request to the ITU SG for this demand to be taken in
consideration, in June after recovering from my heart attack. I was told
by a person of ITU to present this proposal as a contribution to the
September meeting, convened bu the UNGIS and the ITU, whose topic was
precisely the financing mechanisms for ICT4D. But unfortunately I
couldn't go to Geneva, my surgeon having advised me against, for medical
reasons. That's why my "FMF" proposal is still
pending.<br><br>
<dd>As Wolfgang mentions, in 2010 we are at the halfway between Tunis and
the deadline of the WSIS Action Plan. We should take profit of this
opportunity to push this proposal in the foreground of our demand. <br>
<dd>With my best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful
New Year to all of you<br>
<dd>Jean-Louis Fullsack
<dl>
<dd>> Message du 23/12/09 15:31
<dd>> De : "William Drake"
<dd>> A : "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang"
<dd>> Copie à : "Tim Unwin" , "George Sadowsky" ,
"Michael Gurstein" ,
"tt-group@vancouvercommunity.net" ,
"governance@lists.cpsr.org"
<dd>> Objet : [governance] Re: AW: [tt-group] FW: GAID
<dd>>
<dd>>
<dd>> Hello
<dd>>
<dd>> I understand George's perspective, it's hard not to be
frustrated and
<dd>> a bit cynical about the way things played out with GAID,
although to
<dd>> me it's more a matter of missed opprtunities to have a useful
and
<dd>> inclusive space in the UN for ICT4D than of wasted resources
(costs
<dd>> were a drop in the bucket, really). The fact that per Michael we
<dd>> can't really know what's going on within the UN with the next
(if any)
<dd>> steps is symptomatic of the long standing problems. Re:
Wolfgang's
<dd>> suggestion, I would be rather surprised if the ITU were to
accept
<dd>> making it's "forum" an open multistakeholder process
rather than a
<dd>> showpiece for itself, they could have done this already and have
<dd>> showed no inclination. And It might be risky given the stuff
with IGF
<dd>> etc. But perhaps it'd be a good way to call their bluff and feed
into
<dd>> the Plenipot discussion...?
<dd>>
<dd>> Bill
<dd>>
<dd>> Sent from my iPhone
<dd>>
<dd>>
<dd>> On Dec 23, 2009, at 3:54, "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang"
<dd>> e> wrote:
<dd>>
<dd>> > Dear list
<dd>> >
<dd>> > one opportunity to have a more strategic brainstorming
around a
<dd>> > reasonable Follow up of GAID could be the IGF consultations
in
<dd>> > February in Geneva. I propose to have on Wednesday,
February, 10,
<dd>> > 2010, over lunch (1315 - 1500) a meeting of people present
in
<dd>> > Geneva. We had a similar meeting last year (in the ITU
Montbrillant
<dd>> > Building) where we identified an "identity crisis of
GAID" with no
<dd>> > consequences after the meeting. The meeting was chaired by
Bill and
<dd>> > Sarbulan was online from NY.
<dd>> >
<dd>> > Any proposal?
<dd>> >
<dd>> > BTW I could imagine to move the "WSIS Forum",
which is emerging from
<dd>> > the annual meetings of the Actions Lines, into something
which could
<dd>> > absorb previous UNICTTF/GAID activities. My impression is
that so
<dd>> > far the "WSIS Forum" is mainly in the hand of the
ITU and other
<dd>> > IGOs, having the lead position in the Action Lines. The
WSIS Forum
<dd>> > could be further "multistakeholderised" and the
responsibility to
<dd>> > organoze the meeting - convened by the
UN/ITU/UNESCO/FAO/ILO - could
<dd>> > go to a MAG like group. Do not forget that 2010 makrs half
way
<dd>> > towards 2015m the dateline for the Geneva and Tunis
Commitments.
<dd>> >
<dd>> > Wolfgang
<dd>> >
<dd>> ____________________________________________________________
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<dd>>
<dd>> <br><br>
</dl>
</dl>
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