Story

The Megaphone
Newsletter of the Public Voice
December 2004
=====================================================================
Table of Contents
[1] Upcoming Public Voice Events
[2] Other Upcoming Civil Society Meeting Opportunities
[3] News
- EPIC Hosts Electronic Privacy and Public Voice Symposium in South Africa
- UN Document System Now Available Online
- ICANN Contributes Money to UN Working Group on Internet Governance
[4] December-January Civil Society and ICT Policy Related Events
[5] Resources
=====================================================================
[1] Upcoming Public Voice Events
=====================================================================
NEXT PUBLIC VOICE WSIS RELATED TELECONFERENCE

- Date & Time: Friday, January 14th, 2005 at 10am EDT, 1300 GMT/UTC
Public Voice Meeting Page:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/pvwsismeetings/

FOR EVENT UPDATES, SEE:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events
=====================================================================
[2] Other Upcoming Civil Society Meeting Opportunities
=====================================================================

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM, BRAZIL, JANUARY 26-31, 2005
The registrations for the 2005 World Social Forum are now open to all
interested individuals and organizations. The WSF will be held in
Porto Alegre, Brazil from January 26 to 31, 2005.

GENEVA, FEBRUARY
WSIS civil society will hold meetings at the WSIS PrepCom 2,
held in Geneva, February 17-25, 2005.

=====================================================================
[3] News
=====================================================================
EPIC HOSTS ELECTRONIC PRIVACY AND PUBLIC VOICE SYMPOSIUM IN SOUTH AFRICA

On December 6, 2004 EPIC held "The Africa Electronic Privacy
and Public Voice Symposium" in Cape Town, South Africa. The
meeting was held in conjunction with first meeting of the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in South
Africa. The conference featured panel discussions on "Data
Protection and Freedom of Expression in Africa," "Internet Policy
in Africa" and "African Perspectives on Global Internet Governance."

Participants discussed the role of privacy as a foreign concept to
most Africans, both in terms of their culture of community openness
and as only an concern of the elite. Panelists believed privacy is
an important issue for Africa, which does not yet have the salience
of freedom of expression for example in the region. All felt that this
was something that needed to change quickly and there was broad-based
support for considering privacy issues in the contexts of Information
Technology and in the World Summit on the Information Society.

The Association for Progressive Communications demonstrated the
new Africa ICT Policy Monitor, a tool that will allow the public to post
ICT related issues and legislation. Nnenna Nwakanma, a member of the
African Civil Society for the Information Society (ACSIS), spoke about the
role of African civil society and emphasized that "action takes place at the
grassroots level." She outlined several goals, including technical support,
partnerships, information, content, and training.

Africa Electronic Privacy and Public Voice Symposium:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/capetown04/

UN DOCUMENT SYSTEM NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

The United Nations has announced the launch of its Online Document
System (ODS), a full-text web resource for official United Nations
documentation. Comprehensive coverage begins from 1993 and older UN
documents will be added on a daily basis.

ODS Training Guide:
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/train.htm

ICANN CONTRIBUTES MONEY TO UN WORKING GROUP ON INTERNET
GOVERNANCE

The Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) has contributed funds to the UN Working Group on Internet Governance.
The Working Group requires funding to research and prepare a report defining
internet governance and the policy issues involved. ICANN would like to clarify
its role is in Internet governance and is working to improve its global image.

ICANN Announcement:
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-20dec04.htm

FOR PREVIOUS NEWS UPDATES, SEE:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/news
=====================================================================
[4] Events Related to Civil Society and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy
=====================================================================
DECEMBER 2004 - JANUARY 2005

-December 1-5: ICANN Meeting, Cape Town, South Africa »
-December 2-3: "The Future of Public Television" Sponsored by the Cultural Policy Center, University of Chicago, Illinois »
-December 6: Africa Electronic Privacy and Public Voice Symposium, Cape Town, South Africa »
-December 14-17: “International Conference on Intellectual Property Rights, Communication and the Public Domain in the Asia-Pacific Region”, Brisbane, Australia »
-January 26-29: World Social Forum: "Another World is Possible," Porto Alegre, Brazil »
-January 27-28: ITU Thematic Meeting on Social and Economical consecuences of ICT's, Guatemala »

For more civil society and ICT policy related events and links to all, see:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/2004_csonetwork.html
=====================================================================
[5] Resources:
=====================================================================
THE PUBLIC VOICE WSIS SOURCEBOOK: PERSPECTIVES ON THE WORLD SUMMIT ON
THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

The Public Voice WSIS Sourcebook was compiled to further a dialogue on
the issues, the outcomes, and the process of the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS). This publication is intended to promote
understanding of the WSIS and encourage greater civil society
participation in the current phase of the Summit. The WSIS Sourcebook
includes the official UN documents, regional and issue-oriented
perspectives, as well as recommendations and proposals for future
action. The Public Voice WSIS Sourcebook also provides a useful list
of resources and contacts for individuals and organizations that wish
to become more involved in the WSIS process.

EPIC Bookstore:
http://www.epic.org/bookstore/pvsourcebook

LITIGATION UNDER THE FEDERAL OPEN GOVERNMENT LAWS

On September 29, 2004, Freedom of Information Advocates celebrated
"Right to Know Day." The Electronic Privacy Information Center
released the 2004 edition of "Litigation Under the Federal Open
Government Laws." The book is a key resource for individuals pursuing
open government requests in the United States.

EPIC Bookstore:
http://www.epic.org/bookstore/foia2004/

CYBER-RIGHTS & CYBER-LIBERTIES HANDBOOK ON THE CONVENTION ON CYBERCRIME

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties offers online, "An Advocacy Handbook
for the Non Governmental Organizations: The Council of Europe’s
Cyber-Crime Convention 2001." It is a helpful resource for
understanding the Convention on Cybercrime.

Handbook:
http://www.cyber-rights.org/cybercrime/

ASSOCIATION FOR PROGRESSIVE COMMUNICATION'S (APC) "ICT POLICY: A
BEGINNERS HANDBOOK"

This book by APC, edited by Chris Nicol, explains issues of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy, making it
easier and more welcoming for people to participate in ICT policy
processes.

http://www.apc.org/english/capacity/policy/index.shtml

ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT'S (OECD's) "OPEN
GOVERNMENT: FOSTERING DIALOGUE WITH CIVIL SOCIETY"

This book by the OECD examines how to build robust legal,
institutional and policy frameworks for access to information,
consultation and public participation in policy-making.

http://www1.oecd.org/publications/e-book/4203011E.PDF (Note: PDF)

FOR MORE RESOURCES, SEE:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/

December 2004