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February 21, 2005

Taskforces, Taskforces - And It's Only My First Day Here in Geneva...

The Working Methods Working Group meets in Geneva

It's late afternoon at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, and I've spent the last couple of hours participating in civil society meetings on a variety of issues. My first meeting was the so-called working methods working group, which is civil society speak for "a meeting to figure out how we're gonna conduct meetings." Ramin Kawih and Rik Panganiban chaired the session, in which a dozen or so other people participated. Much of the time was spent on discussing how civil society plenary meetings should be chaired: for example, should there be a rotating chair based on geographic regions, or an ongoing chair who can facilitate the meetings for the rest of the week. There was also discussion on setting up a group of people who could mediate disputes amongst civil society entities.

Following that session, I joined Divina Frau-Meigs for the civil society education taskforce. Over the last week, Dr. Meigs and her colleagues managed to crank out a draft document outlining the taskforce's priorities regarding ICTs in education. The document embraces two broad, but interrelated principles: knowledge sharing and open access. "In a knowledge society, knowledge only exists if it is shared... To be shared, knowedge must be open access."

The document goes on to highlight the importance of professional development for educators when it comes to information and communications technologies, and makes a case for promoting open courseware projects like the one famously pioneered by MIT. Additionally, the document emphasizes the importance of teaching ICT literacy and media literacy; according to the document, students "need to know why, when and how to use [ICT] tools positively, and think critically about the perspective they provide." Lastly, the document encourages a broader perspective on ICT research, going beyond technical research and embracing its cultural implications, user needs, etc. I spent some time talking about the open content initiative Public Library of Science, as well as programs like the E-Rate, which have helped finance telecommunications infrastructure for schools and libraries in the US. I also set up a wiki space for the taskforce, so we could have an online workspace in which all of us could edit and publish freely.

So right now it's around sunset, and I'm sitting in a lounge with a spectacular view of Lake Geneva and the Alps. At some point I hope to explore the grounds here; it's very green with lots of outdoor sculptures and even a few peacocks strutting around. It'll have to wait another day, though, as it's getting dark, and my meetings will continue to at least 8pm tonight. So much for having a relaxing first day... -ac

Posted by acarvin at February 21, 2005 11:51 AM

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