WSIS African Regional Preparatory Conference for the WSIS

General Introduction

The African Regional Preparatory Conference for the WSIS,in Accra, with the theme "Access? Africa's key to an inclusive Information Society" will prepare Africa for an effective participation in the second phase of the WSIS to ensure a strategic and interdependent digital partnership that will promote economic growth and human development of the continent. The conference will bring together all stakeholders, ranging from Government to civil society, the private sector and academia, parliamentarians, local authorities, African regional institutions, development partners and international organizations.

Meeting of the working group on volunteering and ICTs

Agenda: National strategy of volunteers in relation to WSIS

This meeting was chaired by Viola Krebs. After initial presentations, participants noted the following points:

The Volunteer Family in order to take an active part in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Two main questions are at stake: what can volunteers bring to information and communication technologies (ICTs)? And what can ICTs bring to the volunteers?

1. Reinforce the network linked to volunteering and ICTs (events, seminars, awareness raising campaign). Create within the various countries multistakholder working groups and involving the public and private sectors. Adopt a national plan related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To do so, there is a need to organize national meetings, to raise awareness within communities, to designate national focal points who have the time, network and dedication to work on the national campaigns.
2. Identify national specificities: create an inventory of what exists in the field of ICTs and volunteerism in the country and make it visible. National focal points take on the task of creating a report on the activities around volunteering and ICTs in their respective countries. This report will be integrated into the international report in view of WSIS. The deadline for submissions is 15 August 2005 at wsis@icvolunteers.org, as well as volunteer@wsis-cs.org, the mailing list of the volunteer family.
3. Raise awareness on the role of volunteers in the information society at all levels.
4. Realize certain specific projects within the various countries.

The action plan on volunteering and ICTs is available at www.worldwidevolunteer.org/wsis2003
As to the national strategy documents, you will be able to download them from www.worldwidevolutneer.org/wsis2005

Participants made the following proposals regarding activities to be carried out in the various countries:

Congo:

• Put together a short video about the work of volunteers or write a document which makes visible initiatives in this sector.
• Launch a leadership program on volunteerism and young women, with a specific module on ICTs.

RDC:

• Created a national platform of Congolese volunteers for ICTs.
• Train trainers in the field of ICTs.
• Install proximity libraries in 10 provinces.
• Train women about democratic governance.

Centrafrique:

• Created a national platform of Centrafican volunteers for ICTs.
• Train trainers in the field of ICTs.
• Train women volunteers on democratic governance.
• Create ICT centres in secondary schools and in high schools

A common activity was retained for Congo, the RDC and Centrafirca: the organization of a video conference on ICTs and volunteerism. Participants were not entirely in agreement about the main purpose and framework of this initiative.

Participants also addressed the issue about the international report on volunteerism and ICTs to be presented at WSIS in Tunis in November 2005. It was suggested that this report could be written in a transversal manner or according to national specificities. It will be based on national reports submitted by 15 August 2005 to wsis@icvolunteers.org, as well as to the volunteer family mailing list volunteer@wsis-cs.org.

Participants:

1. Viola Krebs, Director of ICVolunteers (Switzerland), international focal point, viola@icvolunteers.org
2. Sylvie Niombo, President of AZUR Développement (Congo), sniombo@yahoo.fr
3. Baudoin Schombe, Coordinator of CAFEC (RDC), cafec3m@yahoo.fr
4. Oyebisi Oluseyi, Nigeria Network of NGO's (Nigeria), oyebisius@yahoo.com
5. Philomène Bia, NGO of women (Centrafrique), bata_gbako@yahoo.fr

Written in Accra on 2 February 2005, Secretary of the meeting: Sylvie Niombo
English translation: Viola Krebs