[governance] RE: [bestbits] FW: Broadband Manifesto

[Jean-Louis FULLSACK]

Dear all

Nick wrote :


I fully agree with this statement. And I'd add that "the worm was inside the fruit" when the UNGA decided in December 2001 to give the WSIS leading role to the ITU, as the UN specialized agency for telecommunications. This agency is techno-centric, and it doesn't have any capability nor vocation to launch a societal debate, even in an "information society". In that area, UNESCO could/should be at its place. However, the neoliberal policy that -from the eighties on- imposed deregulation and competition where public utilities and common goods used to prevail, gave the ITU some space in the political area that it zealously used to lay down these neoliberal obligations to the point of the poorest countries in the developing world.
In addition, ITU has always been hostile to CS, even during the WSIS process. The reason was clearly indicated in the interview the Director of ITU-D (and currently SG of the ITU) gave Michel Egger, journalist and Coordinator at Swissaid, reported in Annuaire suisse de politique de developpement, page 113 to 122 and signed Hamadoun Toure. He stated : (...) "we are open to the NGOs, willing to working with them. Simply, in our opinion, for that they needn't to become formal sector members. What we refuse is a politicization of the ITU. We make development, not politics" (sic). Aren't deregulation and dismantling of Public utilities "politics" ?
That's why on behalf of my organization (CSDPTT) I strongly asked for the ITU to open its constituency to CS orgs whose vocation is in the ICT/Telecom or Infocom domain, without any membership fees since they offer their capabilities and cooperation. But unfortunately my proposal never reached the majority of the CS Plenary. Nevertheless, I still prefer this objective -a plain place for CS at equal footing with its sector members- inside of the ITU, to Nick's proposal for national level devised action plans. 

Best greetings
Jean-Louis Fullsack
> Message du 02/12/13 01:37
> De : "michael gurstein" 
> A : nashton at consensus.pro, governance at lists.igcaucus.org, "'bestbits'" 
> Copie à : 
> Objet : [governance] RE: [bestbits] FW: Broadband Manifesto
> 
> 
+1

M

From: nashton at consensus.pro [mailto:nashton at consensus.pro] 
> Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 4:05 PM
> To: michael gurstein; governance at lists.igcaucus.org; bestbits
> Subject: Re: [bestbits] FW: Broadband Manifesto

> The merits of the report aside, your point, Michael, is one I believe strongly to be true: the whole WSIS follow-up system is top-down, because the ITU took control of it. What's needed is national-level action plans, drawn up by all stakeholders, which can then be compared like-for-like as to results internationally so countries can learn from what works in other countries. The irony is that this model is how "Agenda 21" the climate change process from the first Rio conference works; sadly WSIS didn't pick this up despite it postdating Rio by more than a decade.
> In the WSIS review, we should fix this. The digital divide is not going to be met in Geneva at one-annual "WSIS review" meetings where INGOs (however well-meaning) compare notes and report cards - it will be met at the grassroots level, with buyin from that level.

michael gurstein  wrote:
Anyone wondering why a grassroots/community informatics perspective is necessary in the WSIS and related ICT4D venues should take a close look at this corporate driven top-down techno-fantasy of what could/should be done with no attention being given to how it might actually be accomplished on the ground even after almost twenty years of similar pronouncements and failed (and hugely wasteful) similarly top down initiatives.
> 
M
> 
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2013/67.asp
> 
Broadband infrastructure, applications and services have become critical to driving growth, delivering social services, improving environmental management, and transforming people’s lives, according to a new Manifesto released by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development and signed by 48 members of the Commission, along with other prominent figures from industry, civil society and the United Nations. “Overcoming the digital divide makes sense not only on the basis of principles of fairness and justice; connecting the world makes soun d commercial sense,” the Manifesto reads. “The vital role of broadband needs to be acknowledged at the core of any post-2015 sustainable development framework, to ensure that all countries – developed and developing alike – are empowered to participate in the global digital economy.”
> 
Supporting Document
> 
http://www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/working-groups/bb-wg-taskforce-report.pdf
> 

> -- 
> Sent from Kaiten Mail. Please excuse my brevity.



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