| The
Preparatory Committee (PrepCom-2) Meeting for Phase
2 of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
got underway in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday, 17
February, with a special focus on sourcing financing
and the utilisation of ICTs for the economic and social
development.
The issue of financing an information society topped
discussions on the first day of the weeklong meeting,
where participants felt that the forum should be used
as a mechanism for advancing the development of ICTs.
To this end, they expressed hope that upcoming high-level
meetings regarding ICTs will be used to seek assistance
for developing countries to meet the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) as set out by the United Nations (UN)
and also promote the elimination of hunger and poverty.
With regard to financing, the WSIS (PrepCom-2) has
affirmed that funds acquired for the development of
ICTs should be distributed equitably among countries,
and has highlighted the need for developing countries
to derive tangible benefits from multi-lateral trade
arrangements and partnerships. There was also much
debate on financing mechanisms for the WSIS, which
was presented by the Task Force on Financing Mechanisms
(TFFM). The Task Force called for increased international
co-operation and assistance that is constant and secure.
As a tangible gesture, the Government of Trinidad
and Tobago has stepped up to the plate by donating
US$5000.00 towards the Digital Solidarity Fund.
The
PrepCom-2 Meeting was preceded by a meeting of the
Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), which
examined a wide range of issues pertaining to Internet
Governance and sought to generate comments form the
first draft of the report from the WGIG. Important
issues raised at that meeting included the need for
a definition of Internet Governance, Authentication,
Next Generation Networks (NGN), Governance Mechanisms
(public policy / Internet policy), Spam, Cyber Security,
Preserving the 'openness' of the Internet and the
Freedom of Information versus the Freedom of Expression.
The meeting of the (WGIG) agreed that Internet Governance
must be inclusive and democratic, and that the mandate
of the WGIG needed to be re- examined and kept in
context, as some of the foregoing issues may already
be the mandate of existing working groups and committees.
The Region is being represented at the Meeting by
a number of Member States and the CARICOM Secretariat,
which will co-ordinate the regional participation
and involvement in Phase 2 of WSIS scheduled for Tunis
in November 2005.
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