This afternoon I hosted an informal gathering to discuss the possibility of forming an interdisciplinary telecenter taskforce within civil society’s WSIS-related activities. The session started with some confusion, as the room for the event changed three times on the illuminated signs advertising its location. Despite these initial difficulties, we had representatives from civil society, government and the private sector, hailing from France, Canada, Bangladesh, Guinea-Conakry, Taiwan, Denmark and the United States.
In the meeting, I gave a brief overview of discussions that had occurred at the Community Technology Centers Network (CTCNet) conference in Seattle two weeks ago. Given the interdisciplinary nature of telecenters, working in fields ranging from Internet access and education to content and human rights, their interests are spread out amongst the current working groups within civil society; therefore, some of the overarching goals of the telecenter movement might accidentally fall through the cracks, as different groups work to identify their particular work priorities.
We therefore decided to create a discussion list over the course of the next several weeks, allowing people ample time to join the list prior to the start of discussion. Discussions would occur in English, French and Spanish, utilizing translation software to assist the conversation. We would try to identify potential stakeholders within governments, civil society, the private sector, international agencies and donors with an interest in promoting successful, sustainable telecenters as a tool for reaching the Millennium Development Goals. The group would then brainstorm to identify specific projects that could serve the WSIS process, such as an international thematic conference; identifying networks of telecenters at the local, national and regional level in order to forge greater connections between them; collecting and disseminating case studies that demonstrate the rich diversity of telecenters, including programs run by libraries and community networks; and sharing of best practices and telecenter tools, translated for cultural and linguistic appropriateness.
Over the remaining time here at the Prepcom, I’ll continue having conversations with people on this issue; then in the coming weeks we’ll be able to start organizing more formal discussions via the Internet. Please stay tuned for a formal announcement on the launch of the discussion list and how to participate.