The Megaphone
Newsletter of the Public Voice
January 2005
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Table of Contents
[1] Upcoming Public Voice Events
[2] Other Upcoming Civil Society Meeting Opportunities
[3] News
- US Senator Urges Department of Commerce to Retain Oversight of ICANN
- Free Expression Community Issues Concern About Tunisia as a Host for World Summit
- WSIS Preparatory Meeting Approaches
- Electronic Commerce Steering Group to Meet
- UNESCO to Hold Meeting on Online Freedom of Expression
- Africa Civil Society Invites Participation in Online Discussion
- Task Force Report on ICT Financing Mechanisms is Now Online
[4] October-November Civil Society and ICT Policy Related Events
[5] Resources
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[1] Upcoming Public Voice Events
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NEXT PUBLIC VOICE WSIS RELATED TELECONFERENCE

- Date & Time: Friday, February 11th, 2004 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
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[2] Other Upcoming Civil Society Meeting Opportunities
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WSIS PREPCOM II, GENEVA, FEBRUARY 17-25, 2005
There has been discussion of a WSIS civil society meeting to be held
prior to the WSIS PrepCom 2, which will be held in Geneva, February
17-25, 2005.

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[3] News
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US SENATOR URGES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO RETAIN OVERSIGHT
OF ICANN

In his statement of support for the nomination of Carlos Gutierrez as Secretary of
Commerce, Senator Conrad Burns urged the Department to extend their ties to
ICANN beyond the scheduled 2006 expiration. Burns said the US Government
has played a critical role in Internet governance and he feared that ICANN was
in danger of becoming a mini-international organization.

ICANN's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US Dept of Commerce:
http://www.icann.org/general/agreements.htm


FREE EXPRESSION COMMUNITY ISSUES CONCERN ABOUT TUNISIA
AS HOST FOR WORLD SUMMIT

The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) and a group of
experts have issued a statement of concern over the state of freedom of
expression and civil liberties in Tunisia, the site of the upcoming World Summit
on the Information Society. They have just returned from a trip to Tunisia
undertaken to monitor their restrictions on the press, media, publishing and
the internet. Having met with Tunisian writers, publishers, human rights
organizations and government officials and agencies, the monitors remain
seriously concerned about a number of areas including web site blocking,
restrictions on book distribution, surveillance and interception of communications.
The group will issue a full report at the next WSIS preparatory meeting in
Geneva on February 17-25.

IFEX News Release:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/63999/

WPFC News Release:
http://www.wpfc.org/index.jsp?page=News


WSIS PREPARATORY MEETING APPROACHES

The next Preparatory meeting (Prepcom) of the World Summit on
the Information Society will take place on February 17-25, 2005 in
Geneva. Registration has already begun online. The Group of Friends
of the Chair of the World Summit on the Information Society has issued
two texts which will form the basis of discussions. The Working Group on
Internet Governance will meet on February 14-16th.

Register for the Prepcom and Read the Texts:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/pc2/index.html


ELECTRONIC COMMERCE STEERING GROUP TO MEET

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Electronic Commerce
Steering Group will meet in Seoul, South Korea, on February 23-26, 2004.
This will be the 11th meeting of the group, which will discuss APEC's plans
for 2005 work on issues such as privacy and spam.

APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group:
http://www.export.gov/apececommerce/


UNESCO TO HOLD MEETING ON ONLINE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

On February 3-4, 2005, UNESCO will hold an international conference on
"Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace" in Paris. The meeting is being organized
as a forum to discuss the application of universal freedom of expression principles
to cyberspace and ICT development.

More Information:
http://www.unesco.org/cgi-bin/webworld/wsisdirectory/cgi/page.cgi?g=Detailed%2F74.html&d=1


WSIS AFRICA CIVIL SOCIETY INVITES PARTICIPATION IN ONLINE DISCUSSION

African Civil Society for the Information Society has opened an online discussion forum in both English and French on ICT Policy Priorities in Africa and Internet Governance. The discussion will form the basis for contributions by African civil society to the Africa regional Prepcom for WSIS which will take place on February 28, 2005. To participate in the consultation, contact atemtime [at] uneca.org.

Africa Civil Society for the Information Society:
http://www.wsis-cs.org/africa/caucus.shtml


TASK FORCE REPORT ON ICT FINANCING MECHANISMS IS NOW ONLINE

In its first phase, the World Summit on the Information Society called for
a Task Force to evaluate mechanisms financing the information society. The
Task Force has just issued their report.

Read the Report:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/tffm/index.html


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

-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
-February 3: “National Conference on Organized Resistance”, Washington, DC
-February 16-25: APRICOT: Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies, Kyoto, Japan
-February 14-17: UN Working Group on Internet Governance Consultation/Meeting, Geneva
-February 17-25: World Summit on the Information Society 2nd Preparatory Meeting, Geneva

For more civil society and ICT policy related events and links to all, see:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/2004_csonetwork.html
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[5] Resources:
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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/

January 2005