WSIS & GRASSROOTS
World Summit on Information Society has created an opportunity for the international community to agree on a common vision of the Information Society and to develop an action plan aimed at bridging the digital divide and allowing the advent of an Information Society that is balanced and accessible to all
The policy dialogue through WSIS aims to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, besides enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting sustainable development and improving quality of life, premised on the purposes.
While the preparatory process for the second phase of WSIS in Tunis continued, the grassroots community which lie at the core of all these efforts were hardly represented in this policy dialogue. Even if they were represented their concerns were not voiced well enough to find a place in black and white. OWSA conducted a research to understand the senstiviity of grssroots issues in these policy dialogues. The outcomes of a research conducted by OWSA clearly outlaid the following facts with regard to grassroots and the WSIS process
- Grassroots organisations and grassroots people were poorly represented at the policy advocacy forum.
- There is a lack of coordination among the grassroots workers and national consultation.
- Bad connectivity has emerged as an important challenge for poor participation of the grassroots people. The national and international advocacy platform should demand for the IT infrastructure at the grassroots.
- Poor participation of the local issue at the international platform. The issue like poverty, gender and livelihood should also discuss on such platform.
- There is a need to understand how ICT can be useful tool to reflect the local issue at different platform.
- The participation of the grassroots people cannot be ensured until unless they are part of strong network.
- Advocacy for direct consultation with community
- The advocacy through net can generate people voice at the larger level.
- Establish Linkages between grassroots organisation and international organisation
FORMATION OF GRASSROOTS CAUCUS
With due recognition to the efforts behind WSIS process, and the important role civil society has assumed in making the WSIS debate a very inclusive one, there was an equal concern over little or no role played by the representatives of grassroots organisations and the ‘real’ disadvantaged communities at large to the WSIS process.
Recongnising this major gap, OneWorld South Asia initiated the process to mobilise people at the grassroots to play a key role in shaping up the WSIS agenda and the final outcome thereof.
To ensure that the grassroots communities take full advantage of the policies for information society, WSIS Grassroots Caucus was formed.
Grassroots caucus has over 250 grassroots organisations, community based organisations and community knowledge workers who joined together to ensure inclusion of grassroots concerns to the WSIS policy dialogue.
Recommendation from the grassroots members was taken through a email discussions. Recognizing infrastructural constraints of grassroots communities to ICTs and access to internet, members of grassroots caucus also had a face to face discussion through consultations to ensure equal participation from all members. The discussions in these consultations focussed on MDGs and WSIS, the role of ICT enabled knowledge centres at the grassroots, and Issues underpinning WSIS plan of action. Outcomes of these consultations were translated as recommendation to the WSIS plan of action. One of the successes of Grassroots Caucus was member of grassroots caucus was one of the speaker at the UN plenary and expressed her fellow communitie's concerned before the world leaders.
Outcomes of Grassroots Caucus Regional Consultation
Grassroots Caucus Recommendations
