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From the indications that have emerged from the Tunisian WSIS meet, it appears
that instead of discussing issues related to the I-Governance the meet was
handled more as an IT Trade meet. The
Tunis Commitment
does declare the commitment to build a people-centred,
inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, called upon Governments
and the private sector to enhance the capacity of Small, Medium and Micro
Enterprises (SMMEs) etc, no concrete action plan in this regard has emerged.
The
Tunis agenda
focusses more on the "Funding Issue" than specific action plans for bridging the
digital divide. There is going to be no change in the ICANN as the body that
controls the Internet where USA holds the dominating influence. A suggestion has
been made to the UNO to set up an "Internet Governance Forum" which is unlikely
to yield any positive results.
What is important
for our immediate requirement is the "National Agenda" recommended which
states as under.
"At the national level, based on the WSIS
outcomes, we encourage governments, with the participation of all stakeholders
and bearing in mind the importance of an enabling environment, to set up a
national implementation mechanism, in which:
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National
e-strategies, where appropriate, should be an integral part of national
development plans, including Poverty Reduction Strategies, aiming to
contribute to the achievement of internationally-agreed development goals
and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals;
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ICTs should be fully mainstreamed into strategies for
Official Development Assistance (ODA) through more effective
information-sharing and co-ordination among development partners, and
through analysis and sharing of best practices and lessons learned from
experience with ICT for development programmes;
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Existing bilateral and multilateral technical
assistance programmes, including those under the UN Development Assistance
Framework, should be used whenever appropriate to assist governments in
their implementation efforts at the national level;
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Common Country Assessment reports should contain a
component on ICT for development. "
It is now necessary for Governments both at the Central and
State Level to initiate action plans under e-Governance projects keeping the
above in mind.
Naavi.org is interested in setting up a core group to focus
on "WSIS-Next" to deliberate on the action agenda required for the purpose. A
team of interested persons in Bangalore will commence some work on this aspect
shortly. Suggestions and participation interest can be communicated to Naavi
(naavi@vsnl.com). The objective of "WSIS-Next"
is to focus on the national agenda and try to break it up to state level
agenda. Details need to be drawn up by the core group. Constitution of the
core group is to be finalized.
Naavi
November 25, 2005
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