Report (Part 1): Conference on Volunteering and ICTs

Opening and Welcome Speeches

Date: 7 December 2003, 9 to 9h30
Moderator: Viola Krebs of ICVolunteers and Focal Point of the WSIS Volunteer Family
Reporters: Laila Petrone, Cornelia Rauchberger
Speakers: Liz Burns, IAVE, Alain Clerc, Civil society division of the WSIS

Liz Burns of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) spoke about the importance of volunteering and the influence of civil society on technological development. In her welcome speech, Liz Burns paid tribute to science fiction writers who have warned us of technology taking over. “It is critical for us to not forget humanity in the issue”, she underlined.

Alain Clerc of the WSIS Civil Society Division provided a brief introduction on the origins of this World Summit. Key actors involved in the preparation and implementation of the Geneva phase of the WSIS were the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), other UN agencies, governments, but also civil society and the private sector. Clerc underlined that in his view the WSIS set of conferences is different from previous ones, in that it is based on a multi-actor approach and held in two phases. Starting with the African regional conference in May 2002, it provides an opportunity to build a shared new vision of the future, a long-term projection of the technological society. Clerc went on to point out that civil society has a fundamental role to play in helping governments build this vision and that volunteers have an important role to play. He then explained that he had learned a lot more about the importance of volunteers for the information society. Indeed, while at first skeptical of the inclusion of the Volunteer Family in the International Civil Society Bureau, with time, he had learned how critical volunteers really are in creating a more inclusive and open information society.