The Megaphone
Newsletter of the Public Voice
February 2005
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Table of Contents
[1] Upcoming Public Voice Events
[2] Other Upcoming Civil Society Meeting Opportunities
[3] News
- The Public Voice Posts Updates from the WSIS Prepcom II
- WSIS Group of Friends of the Chair Issues Report on Implementation
- Civil Society Issues Responses to WSIS Implementation Report
- Working Group on Internet Governance Issues Preliminary Report
- Civil Society Caucuses Issue Statements Regarding the WGIG, Internet Governance and
Human Rights
- Fact Finding Mission to Tunisia Issues Recommendations
- WSIS Human Rights Caucus Issues Petition in Support of Chinese Human Rights Group
- UN Working Group on Internet Governance Issue Papers Now Online, Consultation Webcast
- Public Comments Requested on Data Protection in Relation to Intellectual Property and to RFID
- UN ICT Task Force Proposes a Global Alliance for ICT Policy and Development
[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, March 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
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2nd Preparatory
Meeting, Geneva, February 17-25, 2005 This is the second Preparatory meeting
(PrepCom) of the second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society.
The 3rd and final meeting before the Summit will take place in September 2005
in Tunisia.
http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/pc2/index.html

 

ICANN MEETING, ARGENTINA, APRIL 4-8, 2005
The next meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
will be held in Mar Del Plata, Argentina during the first week of April.
http://www.icannmardelplata.com

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[3] News
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THE PUBLIC VOICE POSTS UPDATES FROM WSIS PREPCOM II, GENEVA, FEBRUARY 2005

The Public Voice is posting ongoing updates from the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) Prepcom II in Geneva from February 14-25, 2005.

Public Voice Prepcom II Update Page:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/news/2005_prepcomupdate.html


WSIS GROUP OF FRIENDS OF THE CHAIR ISSUES REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION

The WSIS Group of Friends of the Chair (GFC) has issued their report for Prepcom II
on Implementation. The report contains plans for post-WSIS follow-up including a
proposed "team of stakeholders" to work on implementation.

Read the Report:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/doc_multi.asp?lang=en&id=1397|0


CIVIL SOCIETY ISSUES RESPONSES TO WSIS IMPLEMENTATION REPORT

WSIS civil society caucuses have drafted statements in response to the Group of
Friends of the Chair Implementation report. Members of the European Regional
Caucus, the Gender Caucus, the CRIS Campaign, and the Community Media
Working Group among others have made various interventions on WSIS Implementation
during the Plenary sessions of Prepcom II.

Read the Statements:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/news/2005_prepcomupdate.html


WORKING GROUP ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE ISSUES PRELIMINARY REPORT

The Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) has issued a final version of
their Preliminary Report in response to the comments submitted. Public comments
submitted on the WGIG Issue Papers remain posted online. The next meeting
of the WGIG will be held in Geneva on April 18-20, 2005.

WGIG Preliminary Report:
http://www.wgig.org/docs/WGIGpreliminary-report-final.pdf

Comments Submitted to the WGIG:
http://www.wgig.org/Comments-Papers.html


CIVIL SOCIETY CAUCUSES ISSUE STATEMENTS REGARDING THE WGIG,
INTERNET GOVERANCE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Civil society caucuses have issued statements regarding the WGIG, Internet Governance and
Human Rights. During the Governmental Plenary Session focusing on the Working Group
on Internet Governance, the Internet Governance, Human Rights and Privacy and Security
caucuses all presented statements. The Civil Society Human Rights Caucus also held a panel
discussion to highlight that human rights are seen as central to democracy, the rule of law
and sustainable development. Civil society is working to ensure that governments live up to
the commitments they made to human rights and development goals, that the human rights
principles are actually implemented and enforced.

Read the Statements:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/news/2005_prepcom_pln_cswgig.html


FACT FINDING MISSION TO TUNISIA ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS

A coalition of human rights organizations that visited Tunisia on a fact finding
mission has issued recommendations for the Tunisian government to follow
in order to improve its human rights record ahead of the November 2005
Summit. The report by the by the International Freedom of
Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group was issued in both
English and French.

Report in English:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/64665/

Report in French:
http://www.ifex.org/fr/content/view/full/64664/


HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS ISSUES PETITION IN SUPPORT OF CHINESE HUMAN
RIGHTS GROUP

Human Rights in China (HRIC) was denied NGO accreditation for the second
time to the WSIS due to concerns expressed by the Mission of the People's
Republic of China. HRIC is an international monitoring and advocacy
non-governmental organization based in New York and Hong Kong. The
WSIS Civil Society Human Rights Caucus has issued a petition and request
NGOs to sign on in support of HRIC accreditation and fair accreditation procedures.

Read and Sign the Petition:
http://www.iris.sgdg.org/actions/smsi/hr-wsis/petition-hric-en.html


UN WORKING GROUP ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE ISSUE PAPERS POSTED
ONLINE, PUBLIC CONSULTATION TO BE WEBCAST

The UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) has published a
set of issue papers. They are the first of a series of 'draft working papers'
prepared by WGIG members, reflecting the preliminary findings of various
drafting teams. They papers are published to show the ongoing work of the
Working Group and in order to seek public comment. Any interested stakeholders
may comment using the template available at the working group site.

Read the Issue Papers:
http://www.wgig.org/working-papers.html

WGIG Meeting Webcast:
http://streaming.polito.it/wgig-meeting


PUBLIC COMMENTS REQUESTED ON DATA PROTECTION IN RELATION TO
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TO RFID

The European Commission's Article 29 Working Party on Data Protection
has adopted one working document on data protection issues related to
intellectual property rights and another working document on data protection
issues related to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). They have launched
a public consultation calling for comments on each of the documents until
March 31, 2005. The documents are available at the Article 29 Working
Party web site and comments should be submitted
to markt-privacy-consultations@cec.eu.int.

Read the Article 29 Documents:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/privacy/workingroup/wp2005/wpdocs05_en.htm#wp104


UN ICT TASK FORCE PROPOSES A GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR ICT POLICY
AND DEVELOPMENT

The UN ICT Task Force has proposed the concept of a Global Alliance for ICT Policy
and Development. There was an open consultation on the Global Alliance on Monday,
February 21 in Geneva.

Global Alliance Proposal:
http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/documents.pl?id=1443

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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FEBRUARY - MARCH 2005

-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
-March 1-3: SANGONeT "ICTs and Civil Society" Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa
-March 10: 2005 Politics Online Conference, Washington, DC »
-March 18-20: WOMEN & the MEDIA: Taking Our Place in the Public Conversation, MIT, Cambridge, MA »
-March 23-25: National Nonprofit Technology Conference, Chicago, Illinois »
-March 30-31: F2C: Freedom to Connect, Washington, DC

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/

February 2005