WSIS Gets a New Dimension by the participation of Grassroots Women
 Grassroots communities participated in the WSIS process for the first time at WSIS PrepCom 2 in February 2005. Four grassroots women who were using various forms of ICTs – video, phone, wireless, internet and radio to help improving lives of people in their communities participated to understand what’s in store for them for the future.
While they managed to understand the various issues through which the WSIS process was spinning around, it became a challenge for them to make the international community understand the gap which existed in terms of what is being proposed and what is actually is required for the formation of information society.
They participated in various discussions and put across their point in relevance to the discussion, though many of them went unanswered.
Grassroots women put across their concerns in the form of their charter of demands to WSIS:
- To ensure that the views, needs and concerns of the grassroots are adequately represented and reflected in the WSIS processes and outcomes, a Grassroots Caucus should be created for the PrepCom II.
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The Information Society charter should take a broader definition of ICTs than at present. In addition to Internet and computer, other technologies, such as community radio, video, phones/mobiles and wireless should be given equal importance, as they are more accessible to the poor.
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Informationand communication in local languages on the Internet should be given top priority so as to enable the people to access information in their local languages. They have a right to access this information available on the Net and elsewhere for their use.
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Any financial mechanism to finance ICT4D should take into account the local ownership and control of ICT4D initiatives. Local communities and governments and private sector should finance these initiatives and outside funding should be confined to specific areas of support and expertise such as training and capacity building. This will ensure that the funding from outside does not come with control and the local people own the process.
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Women, who have traditionally been on the fringes of the technology and its use, should be at the center stage of the Information Society and ICT4D initiatives.
Grassroots Caucus at PrepCom3
Grassroots Caucus through its participation at PreCom3 further emphasised the need
Grassroots Caucus through its participation at PreCom3 further emphasised the need for using new and traditional communication technologies and methods while reaching out to the people. The WSIS process has largely ignored the potential of media like community radio, print media or even the more traditional ones like theatre. While it was certainly important to provide communities with new technologies like the internet, it needs to be done in synergy with traditional media as well, especially those that the community have been using and are comfortable with. In some instances, mobile telephones had successfully been used by illiterate men and women to share information and the tremendous potential of various forms of media cannot be ignored.
Clearly, the WSIS process needs to take these very relevant concerns into account as they move forward with finalizing the documents. The plan of action will have to be based on the premise that the information society will need to address the very real needs of the people who have been largely missing from the decisions taken so far. It is still not too late and is therefore imperative, that grassroots communities be recognized as key stakeholders in the formation of an information society and not just as mere beneficiaries.
Financial constraint was another concern voiced, especially for projects that were working on local content and in local languages. There was a need for the private sector and governments to pro-actively come forward and support such projects if the WSIS process is to have a far reaching impact on the lives of people.
Financial constraint was another concern voiced, especially for projects that were working on local content and in local languages. There was a need for the private sector and governments to pro-actively come forward and support such projects if the WSIS process is to have a far reaching impact on the lives of people.
Clearly, the WSIS process needs to take these very relevant concerns into account as they move forward with finalizing the documents. The plan of action will have to be based on the premise that the information society will need to address the very real needs of the people who have been largely missing from the decisions taken so far. It is still not too late and is therefore imperative, that grassroots communities be recognized as key stakeholders in the formation of an information society and not just as mere beneficiaries.
GRASSROOTS CAUCUS AT WSIS II
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