Volunteers: an essential building block for a society of shared knowledge

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It was at the African Regional Conference in Bamako in 2002 that the volunteer sector first became involved in the process of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Since then, volunteers and volunteer organizations have actively contributed both to the preparatory process of the WSIS, the Geneva Summit and the Tunis phase. As one of the families of the International Civil Society Bureau, the WSIS Volunteer Family brings together organizations working with volunteers both locally and at an international level (1) , as well as volunteers themselves. In this article, I would like share some of the outcomes of the work and active participation in the WSIS of a sector that is often underestimated, or even overlooked. The concepts presented in this paper synthesize the outcomes of a collaborative effort of the Volunteer Family. They also outline some of the challenges before us for the future of a society of knowledge accessible to all.

Achievements to date

Volunteerism happens at both a formal and informal level. In the information and knowledge society, many of the volunteers work at the local level. Therefore, in the spirit of a bottom-up approach, the WSIS Volunteer Family and the Youth Caucus have strived to get voices heard and projects presented which involve volunteers and youth in ICTs from around the world.

As one of the main outcomes of the work achieved by the Volunteer Family, the Volunteer Action Plan presented to Governments in December 2003 is designed to: (1) strengthen the contributions of volunteering to transform the information society into a society of shared knowledge accessible to all, and (2) improve the way in which volunteers and volunteer organizations make use of these technologies.

Through the creation of a Working Group on Volunteering and ICTs, the development of specific language related to volunteerism was included in the WSIS Plan of Action in which governments acknowledge that "everyone should have the necessary skills to benefit fully from the Information Society." It further states that "volunteering, if conducted in harmony with national policies and local cultures, can be a valuable asset for raising human capacity to make productive use of ICT tools and build a more inclusive Information Society. Activate volunteer programs to provide capacity building on ICT for development, particularly in developing countries." (2) In the Civil Society Declaration, volunteers are mentioned in the context of poverty reduction and human capacity building. (3)

Further, achievement and activities include:

• Organization of several meetings and conferences (Brussels, Dakar, Geneva, Edinburgh, Bogotá, Barcelona, Bamako).
• Creation of an online library on "Volunteerism and the Information Society" and a report titled "Volunteering and ICTs: Establishing the framework for action" (www.worldwidevolunteer.org/wsis2003).
• Creation of a documentary film titled "Something out of Nothing", an inquiry on the role of the Internet in Senegal and Mali and the lessons that can be learned from it.
• Organization of a photo exhibition under the title "Something out of Nothing", Volunteerism and the Information Society, Crossroads between the North and the South", illustrating the digital divide in a concrete manner. The exhibition brought together ten artists from Europe, Africa and America who showed some 80 photographs.

If nothing else, the efforts of the Volunteer Family in the first phase of the WSIS have underscored the tremendous diversity and broad-reaching aspects of information and communication technologies. These technologies have the power not only to affect us globally, but also to touch us locally.

The concept of the information society suggests that there is only ONE such society. It also assumes that we are either part of it or excluded from it. Yet, local communities have each their own culture, language and way of thinking. This is why the notion of a single information society seems somewhat limiting. Volunteers are a key resource and driving factor in empowering communities to use ICTs effectively and sensibly in each of our societies. Volunteers are agents of solidarity all over the world, in the South and in the North, promoting values of mutual help and exchange.