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The WSIS “Volunteer Family” on the move
Volunteers have played and continue to play a key role in the development and the use of new technologies (ICTs).
In February 2003, the International Civil Society Bureau of the WSIS has been created to facilitate the participation of civil society in the Summit, as governments recognize that they need the input of civil society, as well as the private sector to both discuss and implement a global and inclusive information society.
On of the 22 Families which are par to the Bureau is the "Volunteer Family", which brings together organizations working with volunteers both locally and at an international level, as well as volunteers themselves. It includes the following organizations: Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), ATD Quart Monde CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation), the European Volunteer Center (CEV), International Conference Volunteers (ICVolunteers), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and collaborates with the United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV).
The aim of the "Volunteer Family" as such is to provide a channel and opening to bring input from volunteer organizations and volunteers working with new technologies to the World Summit on the Information Society.
Activities of the Volunteer Family include:
- Creation of a web site “Volunteerism and Information Society”. World Wide Volunteer (www.worldwidevolunteer.org) is an on-line library and a platform for dialogue in relation to volunteering and ICTs. Created in view of the Summit, the objective of this platform is to give volunteer organizations from around the world the opportunity to present their projects in relation to the WSIS, to publish articles and to exchange ideas with other organizations working in the same field.
- Organization of several meetings and conferences:
1) International Symposium in Dakar (Senegal) from 23 to 25 October on the theme of “Volunteering and Development of Human Capacity in the Information Society”.
2) European meeting organized by the European Volunteer Center on 10 October 2003 in Brussels (Belgium) of which part will be spent to discuss the WSIS.
3) Two days of workshops from 7 to 8 December 2003, co-organized with IAVE, bringing together at Palexpo in Geneva (Switzerland) specialists working in the field of volunteerism and ICTs.
- Development of a photo exhibition under the title “The Spirit of Making Something out of Nothing”: Volunteerism and the Information Society, Exchange of Views between the North and the South” will be the opportunity to present the digital divide in images. It brings together about 10 artists from Europe, Africa and America.
- Creation of a documentary about the digital divide will provide specific examples of ICT projects carried out in both Mali and Senegal and the lessons that can be learned from it.
- And last, but not least, the release of a publication presenting the results of the various initiatives: texts and photographs for the print version, in addition to multimedia elements for the CD-ROM version.
Wish to Get Involved?
Is your organization interested in becoming part of the "Volunteer Family"? The mailing list volunteer@geneva2003.org provides updates about the WSIS. You can also send your feedback, ideas and projects linked to wsis@icvolunteers.org.International Symposium on Volunteerism and the Development of Human Capacity in the Information Society (ISV 2003)
From 23 to 25 October 2003, International Conference Volunteers (ICVolunteers) is organizing a symposium on volunteerism and human capacity building in Dakar, Senegal. The aim of the Symposium is to focus on innovative ways to reduce the “digital divides”.
To date, several important steps have advanced the preparatory process of the WSIS: the two regional conferences in Bamako in 2000 and 2002, PrepCom 1 and 2, as well as the conference organized for local authorities in Nouakchott (Mauritania) in July 2003.
Today, there is a need to develop models to implement the declarations and action plans brought forward in this process.
The Dakar Symposium examine at the mobilization of volunteers for Projects linked to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), in five specific domains: 1. infrastructure, 2. training, 3. development of Internet contents, 4. partnerships and financing and 5. institutional frameworks.
The conference will welcome approximately 100 to 150 international participants, representatives of African states, civil society and the private sector. These participants are being chosen based on a call for projects.
There will be a particular focus on reinforcing collaborations and partnerships with organizations developing human capacity and sharing of knowledge both locally and internationally will be in the centre of the debate. Models of mutual help through the Internet, internship programs and opportunities for youth are also connected to this discussion.
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Writer Profile
Viola Krebs
I work with International Conference Volunteers (ICVolunteers), an NGO recruiting, training and coordinating volunteers for international projects, in particular social and humanitarian conferences. In the context of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), ICVolunteers is the focal point of the WSIS Civil Society Bureau "Volunteer Family".
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Comments
christopher bernardo | Oct 29th, 2003
nice article. Im Christopher. Pleaso do email me some of your other works. I am also a contributor in TIG. Keep it up, cmli_jc@yahoo.com
ICT Zainul Abedin | Feb 12th, 2008
ICT is reshaping he lifestyle of the peole.Let's make best use o this opporunity.
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