http://funredes.org/mistica

MISTICA: Re: CMSI: reunion regional en Dominicana

From: Paulo Protasio ([email protected])
Date: Thu Nov 21 2002 - 12:59:48 AST

Cc: "Martin Hilbert" <[email protected]>,
         "Jorge Katz" <[email protected]>,
         "Victor van Oeyen" <[email protected]>

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for your e-mail on the Regional Conference. I agree with your
suggestion to send to CEPAL the document de la " visi�n social de la
Internet".

As you know I am very interest in following up the purpose of the various
stages of the World Summit. I am particularly worried on the Regional
Conference of Santo Domingo. My point is in reference to the invitation sent
by the Host Country to the US and the Canadian governments. This attitude
creates a very critical environment - opening space for conflicts from the
floor by all players - for the governments, the civil society and to the
private sector.

My understanding is that the WSIS regional meeting for Canada and the United
States was the one in Bucharest. Although it was called a "Pan European"
meeting, it included Canada and the United States.

I would like to have the attention of Mistic@s, to express, as an Latin
American, my great concern in relation to the steps that are being taken by
the organizers of the Regional Conference next January. We need to create an
environment that attracts investment in Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) and the knowledge economy, and the critical experiences
and impediments to stimulating local entrepreneurship at this most important
regional meeting for the World Summit on the Information Society.

The design of a Regional Conference is very important for the WSIS process.
The propose is that the 'Summit planners should take a "back to basics"
approach and, in so doing, prioritize the need for investment-inviting
environments to assure needed deployment and
modernization of public communications infrastructure facilities". To do
that we need to have decisions taken by the actors - region per region - and
make this bottom-up. With inadequate infrastructure, and without capable
infrastructure there will be no basis for an advanced 'information
society.'"

It is our interest in the region to emphasize the continuing need to
convince policy makers of the "incontrovertible link" between ICT
investments and national economic growth. This is something that must be
understood at the same time that our "information society" is being
conceived by the regional physical integration. This is an essential
condition for the sustained development of the region.

Is important, in order to the information society grow harmonically in the
Latin American and the Caribbean region, that we understand the sub-regions
and their integration process. What I am saying is that South and Central
America must be seeing and considered as single geo-economic regions as well
as the Caribbean. The countries in the region are in the process of
integrating their economies, trying to increase the exchange of trade,
financial resources and technology within the region and with the rest of
the world with different plans and political agreements.

As an example I exhort you to pay a visit to the www.iirsa.org site that
explains the origin and current situation of the Initiative for the
Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America. The formulation
of this plan to provide the subcontinent with an efficient and modern
infrastructure, suggests assuming south american territory as a role area
of reference for planning, which consequently leads to the adoption of the
concept of integration and development zones or axes. The adoption of this
concept presumes the implementation of sustained development strategy,
reference by economic, social, institutional, environmental and
technological dimensions.

Bringing the Canada and the US representatives to the table at this moment
is to bring the spirit of the FTAA process and eliminate the Latin American
and the Caribbean communities involved "in the most meaningful and
independent way, in the processes leading to and culminating in the Summit".
The regional proposal must be create from the inside of their original
groups and must come out with the acceptance of there citizenship and
private sector validation. This north american participation is not in the
interest of the World Summit.

Since the beginning there was not a North American regional meeting nor an
Americas regional meeting. If that is the case, then Canada and the United
States should not enjoy more than observer status at the Latin American and
Caribbean Regional Conference.

Otherwise, the distinctive and unique requirements, aspirations, and
dynamics of the different regions of the world will not be revealed as
completely as they should be by the different regional conferences, and, in
the end, we will run the risk of adopting one-size-fits-all prescriptions
for everybody everywhere in the world. This is unworkable.

I think that the Civil Society organizations as well the business
representatives would be making a very important and appropriate move if
impress this view upon the executive secretariat of the WSIS, to CEPAL and
their Official representatives.

Best regards,
Paulo Manoel Lenz Cesar Protasio

Nota de la moderaci�n: Paulo Potassio hab�a levantado una cuesti�n clave hace
varios d�as acerca de la participaci�n de America del Norte en la reuni�n
regional de America latina y el Caribe. Su inquietud qued� sin repuesta.
Ver su nota en
http://www.funredes.org/mistica/castellano/emec/produccion/memoria6/1434.html

Este archivo fue generado por hypermail 2.1.3 : Mon Mar 08 2004 - 12:18:15 AST