Language on Volunteering in Official WSIS Documents

WSIS Plan of Action

While earlier versions of the Declaration of Principles had made mention of volunteers, some disagreement among governments led to the decision of keeping the mention only in the Plan of Action, under the chapter on capacity building:

C4. Capacity Building

11. Everyone should have the necessary skills to benefit fully from the Information Society. Therefore capacity building and ICT literacy are essential. ICTs can contribute to achieving universal education worldwide, through delivery of education and training of teachers, and offering improved conditions for lifelong learning, encompassing people that are outside the formal education process, and improving professional skills.

o) 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 programmes to provide capacity building on ICT for development, particularly in developing countries.

Full text of the Action Plan: PDF version  DOC version