1. Multimedia Training Kit
Why should Civil Society Organisations care about ICT policy?
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

2. By the end of this session you should…
Be able to explain why CSOs should be involved in ICT policy
Be able to relate ICT policy to your own context
Have some ideas about how to get involved
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

3. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
What are ICTs?
Information Technology:
Computers (process data)
Telecommunication Technology:
Telephone system (include fax and data transmission), radio and TV broadcasting
Networking Technology:
Internet, mobile telephones, VOIP, satellite communications
New ICTs come together and converge to work at the local, regional and global levels. Enable people from all over the world to share and exchange content and information.
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Multimedia Training Kit

4. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
Exercise 1
How does your organization use information and ICTs?
Use as a discussion point in plenary, or as a small group exercises. Try to get participants to think beyond the most obvious uses.
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Multimedia Training Kit

5. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
Strategic use of ICT
Strengthens institutional capacity by improving information flows within the organisation and with constituents
Builds the ability to network effectively
Empowers individuals and CSO staff members to do their work
Improves the organisation's overall ability to achieve its strategic objectives
Link this slide with what participants have said about their own organizations’ use of ICTs.
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

6. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
Exercise 2
How can ICT policies affect your work and your ability to meet your goals and objectives?
Build on the uses that participants have already described.
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Multimedia Training Kit

7. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
Who is Civil Society?
NGOs working in multiple fields
Scientific and academic community
Media and media activists
Trade unions
Educators, librarians
Gender advocates
Indigenous peoples
And many others
There is no agreed definition of civil society – ask participants for their own views.
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Multimedia Training Kit

8. Civil Society Organisations
Organisations - including movements, networks and other entities - which are autonomous from the State, are not intergovernmental and do not represent the private sector, and which in principle are non-profit-making, act locally, nationally and internationally, in defence and promotion of social, economic and cultural interests and for mutual benefit.
Source: WSIS Civil Society Caucus
This definition was agreed upon by/for the WSIS CS virtual plenary.
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

9. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
Exercise 3
Identify specific issues of concern to CS and CSOs in your country
Are ICTs used in the work related to these issues? How?
This exercise can be done in plenary or in groups (which then report back). The main goal is to identify main areas of concern to CSO and individuals participating in the workshop, and to draw links between these areas and ICT and ICT policy.
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
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10. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
CSOs using ICTs (1)
“Before, when information arrived by fax to the local union office, I never knew what was going on. If I made the effort to go into the office, the fax might be on the notice board, but half the time it had fallen off and been put into the bin, or someone had taken it home, etc.
Then we started using in the office and the first thing I used to do when I arrived was look in the computer to see the new s. Now that we are all on the Net, I have a copy of everything that reaches the local office. I can comment on it through the list and we can discuss things before the meetings, which makes them quicker and less boring. Now I get too much information, quite the opposite from before.”
If you are not doing the long versions of exercises, you can present these (or your own) examples to the group.
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11. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
CSOs using ICTs (2)
The international campaign to ban the use of land mines is a pioneering example of the use of the internet to reach a world-wide audience and bring together various NGOs in a coalition. It culminated in 1997 in an international agreement not to use these weapons.
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

12. ICTs and globalisation
“Globalization is a relatively new term used to describe a very old process”: the international exchange of goods and ideas.
ICTs have speeded up this process dramatically
“Global Informational Capitalism”
Global: World system acts as a unit in real-time
Informational: information central to wealth creation in modern economy
Capitalism: system designed to return profit to capital owners
Most productive system ever
Among the most exclusionary (Castells)
How much detail you should go into depends on the group you are working with.
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

13. Why should CSOs get involved?
ICTs are central to contemporary society and CSOs
ICTs are central to a globalised society
This slide should serve as a summary of what has been discussed – summarize the broader discussion.
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14. What should CSOs be concerned with
Promoting universal access
Protecting citizen’s right to privacy
???
“???” should be the policy issues which have come up during the workshop.
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

15. How to get involved in ICT policy
Identify priority issues (e.g. access, freedom of expression, privacy, and intellectual property)
Get involved at local, regional or global levels
Influence the process and evolution of ICT for development
Briefly identify “points of entry” for getting involved at different levels, such as, with Ministry and/or regulator at local/national level; regional organisations (e.g., ATU, NEPAD); and international organizations (e.g., ITU)
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16. Multimedia Training Kit www.itrainonline.org
In summary
ICTs are central to modern society
ICTs policy determines whether, at what cost, how freely and effectively we can use ICTs.
CSOs MUST ACT NOW!
Emphasize that by getting involved CSO ensure that their constituents’ voices are heard in the policy process and can help shape the future of the information society
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

17. Multimedia Training Kit
Why should Civil Society Organisations care about ICT policy?
Saturday, April 13, 2019Saturday, April 13, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit