Report (Part 3): Conference on Volunteering and ICTs

Panel Discussion: How to Plan and Coordinate Action for 2003 to 2005

Date: 8 December 2003, 14h00 to 15h00
Moderator:  Mahendranath Busgopaul, Halley Movement
Presenters: Janet Tanburn
Speakers:     

•  Izumi Aizu (Glocom Japon)
• Huang Guo-Jun (Institute for Information Industry)
• Judith Cobeña (18e Conférence mondiale du Volontariat d’IAVE)

Mahendranath Busgopaul (Halley Movement Mauritius, IAVE Africa) presented the action of the Halley Movement. An estimated 50,000 people are today connected to the Internet in Mauritius. They are not only beginning to discover its benefits, but are also facing the dangers that come with the newly gained access to the net. According to Busgopaul, children must not only become Internet literate, but have to be suitably protected from dangers such as pornographic contents. He presented a brief overview of practical advice destined to parents in this respect.

Izumi Aizu (Glocom Japan) provided a brief outline of the process of civil society participation in the WSIS and its preparation. He acknowledged the achievements to date, but regretted that civil society is still playing a marginal role even though it has become an active member in this process. Although a lot of concessions and compromises had to be made with the governments, many of the civil society contributions found their way into the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action. Aizu pointed out that, in order to further improve the involvement of civil society in the official negotiations, the challenge now at hand is to prove the legitimacy and accountability of civil society and NGOs.

Huang Guo-Jun (Institute for Information Industry) stressed that all societies have been going through historical changes ever since the first form of information sharing appeared on Earth. According to Guo-Jun, societies need to restructure in response to the ICT. The transformation can be compared with the situation that arose when agricultural societies started to become industrial societies. Information is omnipresent and transforms the way we live, shaping modern lifestyle. Globalization is a result of this revolution. Similarly to previous revolutions, this entails a risk of exclusion, as occurred at the time of the industrial revolution when social inequalities increased. Guao-Jun stressed that efforts must be undertaken to make ICT a tool for social inclusion rather than social exclusion. Guo-Jun agreed completely with the message from Dakar and affirmed that a digital culture must be build. Humanity is holding its best chance in history to avoid social injustice, as knowledge and information gets available to everybody and volunteers can play an important role in reaching this goal.

Judith Cobeña (IAVE World Conference) presented the upcoming World Volunteer Conference to be held in Barcelona (Spain) from 17 to 21 August 2004. This Conference will make ample use of ICT. Delegates are not only invited to participate in the event, but can already actively contribute to the preparation process thanks to the Internet. The Conference will highlight the value of volunteer work and examine various questions ranging from cultural diversity to environmental and social consciousness. One of the questions addressed will be how volunteers can make better use of ICT. Information is available on the official Conference website: www.iave2004barcelona.org.