Distinguished guests
Dear participants
I am pleased on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and all members of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) team in the Commission to deliver this message, welcome you all to Addis Ababa and wish you a pleasant stay.
We feel particularly delighted to receive you today as we consider Civil Society Organisations (CSO) as one of the key engines in Africa's development.
And in recognizing this we have involved CSO representatives in most of our consultations. We also set up the African Centre for Civil Society under one of our substantive divisions (DMD) to help CSOs actively participate in meeting the development challenges of this continent.
As you are well aware, among these challenges is the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world that is increasing at an alarming rate. Indeed the majority of our people have been so far excluded from the information revolution and the promises it holds for their well-being.
Is this a fatal situation?
Is there a place for our continent in the global information society?
Can we together make a difference and create opportunities for our countries digital inclusion?
With the view to enhancing digital opportunities in Africa, ECA launched the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) in May 1996 - an action framework for the deployment of information and communication technologies in support of Africa's socio-economic development. Through the AISI and thanks to the efforts of our development partners, a proliferation of ICT for development initiatives is visible throughout the continent. One concrete achievement is that there are close to 30 countries that are involved in the development and implementation of National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) policies and strategies. One important aspect of the NICI process is that it calls for a broad-based consultative process with all societal actors, including and particularly CSOs.
By virtue of their proximity to communities and the grassroots, Civil society groups are best positioned to advocate for and raise awareness on the importance of ICTs for development. Equally important is the need for them to galvanize participation in the formulation and implementation of ICT policies and strategies at the national levels.
Given this, and in view of an efficient and inclusive preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society(WSIS), ECA and the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) together with its partner Article 19 decided to organize this forum. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the Open Society Initiatives for West Africa (OSIWA) and Southern Africa (OSISA), as well as other partners such as HIVOS, IDRC, IICD and CTO.
Actually this event is timely for a number of reasons:
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There is need for clear recognition that CSOs have a role to play in moving Africa's digital agenda forward
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CSOs should concern themselves in all the steps of the process, from advocacy, through to the formulation of policies and their implementation
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CSOs involvement could ensure greater equity in people's access to the benefits of the Information Society,
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Participation in global ICT fora is now becoming an imperative. The WSIS is one case in point that requires CSO participation as evidenced during the African Regional preparatory conference, Bamako 2002 held in May this year.
Therefore, your deliberations will contribute significantly to the advancement of the sector. We, at ECA, will take into account the outcomes of these 3 days and convey your recommendations to African decision makers, through our networks, official organs, as well as the NEPAD infrastructure cluster that is dealing with ICTs.
At this point, I would like to suggest some few questions that you may wish to consider:
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What type of measures should be taken in order to ensure or enhance the involvement of CSOs in national and regional activities?
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Should CSOs be involved in all the aspects of the process or would there be specific areas they could focus on?
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Are there particular skills needed that should be created or strengthened in order for CSOs to play a more meaningful role. And in addressing this question, particular attention could be given to lobbying and advocating as well as encouraging community participation?
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What would be expected from regional, international and bilateral development agencies in this regard and what kinds of partnerships could be established?
Dear participants,
It is our suggestion that this meeting should try to build on past and current efforts (not to reinvent the wheel). We invite you to consider in your deliberations, as part of Africa's main challenges, the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We are also expecting you not to concentrate only on the WSIS, but to define linkages with other major networks and initiatives, such as the Africa Stakeholders Network (ASN) of the UN ICT Task Force, or the up coming CODI-3, the Committee On Development Information, that will address the issue of Information and Governance.
Once again, let me assure you that ECA is an ally.
You have been associated with AISI since its inception. We continue to be interested in working with you and in support of the role of CSOs in the ICT for development agenda. Indeed, our AISI Outreach Programme has identified CSOs as one of the five main core groups alongside media, academia, parliamentarians and the private sector for promoting the development of the African information society. I am also happy to announce that we have created a post of RA within DISD to address CSOs participation in this field.
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am confident that the combination of expertise in this meeting will enable us to formulate workable strategies for the way forward. I wish you all a fruitful and productive time.
I thank you.
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