Historieta Animated

The World summit on the company of information (or SMSI ) is a world forum organized by the International union of telecommunications (UIT), an agency of UNO. It aims at reducing the inequality of the inhabitants of planet with respect to the access to information by the means of new technologies of communication and in particular to the Internet. It adopted a Statement of principles and an Action plan. The first phase took place with Geneva, Suisse, of the 10 to the December 12th 2003. Its second shutter was held with Tunis 16 with the November 18th 2005.

According to the discussions between various the recipients it was concluded to convene another forum with Athens from October 30th to November 2nd, 2006 named Forum on the governorship of the Internet.

Company of information

UNO charged the UIT (International union of telecommunications) with coordinating the development of new technologies of information and the communications in the world. With this intention, she recommended a step different from those OMC (World Trade organization) or G8 (regrouping of the 8 richest countries). The SMSI is a tripartite top, opened with controlling of all the countries, the multinational firms, and the Civil society (governmental organizations, collective citizens, Syndicat S).

Two phases

The top proceeds in two phases. The purpose of the first, was held with Geneva from December 10th to 12th 2003 and was to adopt a statement of principles and an action plan. The second, to Tunis in November 2005, aimed looking further into the topics related to the development and at carrying out a first evaluation of the actions implemented since the Summit of Geneva. This international meeting is to some extent during for the Company of the information of what Rio was with the environment: the starting point of a vast awakening and a debate in a field which, up to that point, was reserved for the national policies. The reduction of the “digital divide”, i.e. of the unequal development of the NTIC (new technologies of information and the communication) in the world, is an objective of the Summit of Geneva.

Report

In 2000, the African continent counted 16 million telephone connections, a figure lower than the number of lines of Manhattan or Tokyo. In Switzerland and Germany, approximately 60% of the population regularly use Internet - about as much as in the United States. In Africa, on the other hand, 1 inhabitant out of 118 has access to Internet. Niger and Burkina have 2 to 4 Mbps (band-width are equivalent to the size of the pipes of data), corresponding to the capacity to communicate of 4 subscribers ADSL (high banc). An ONG, CSDPTT, estimate at 15 billion euros the construction of a intra-African infrastructure, a Panafrican network which would leave African the technological ghetto.

In 2003, 91% of the Net surfers live in the parts of the world who account for 20% of the world population. In other words that means that 80% of the world population are represented by 9% of the Net surfers. One can deduce from it that this population does not have a true access to Internet, from a practical point of view. One of the projects of the SMSI is to reduce this Digital divide but also to reverse this tendency of total inequality of access to the Internet before 2015.

This report shows that there is an urgent need of investment in telecommunications and the access to information in certain countries of the world. This irrefutable fact was given like justification of the presence of the great multinationals to the discussions of Geneva. Two visions clash however, one calling in a “Marshall plan” based on the government aid with the development to achieve the goal, the reduction of the “digital divide”, the other centered on the economic liberalization of all the sectors. Questions such as the education, the Freedom of expression, the respect of the Cultural diversity, the Intellectual property, or the Gouvernance of the Internet were tackled at the time of the first phase, but are absent from final declarations and official first cycle “Geneva 2003”. The same questions were tackled at the time of the second phase, in particular that of the Gouvernance of the Internet.

Exclusion of Reporters without borders

Association Reporters without borders had been prohibited of top because of its exclusion for one year of the authority U.N. specialists following its action against the Libyan president of the commission of the human rights, at the beginning of 2003. She had announced that she would make speak about the infringements of the right of expression by the voice of a radio “Radio not grata” . This one emitted over the site of the top the 9 and on December 10th, 2003 in the morning, since a pirate transmitter located at Ferney-Voltaire with 8km of Geneva. The emission was then stopped by the French authorities.

Again at the time of the second top in November 2005 association denounces the breaches of liberty of expression whose guilty the mode Tunisia N of the president Ben Ali is made.

See too

AfricaComputing
Casic2004
CSDPTT
BPEM
Geneva03
OECD
UIT

External bonds

the World summit on the company of information
Opening of the top, press release of UNO.
Official site of the Summit of Geneva 2003
Documents of the phase of Geneva
Official site of the Summit of Tunis 2005
Diary of Tunis
WSIS WIRE, a service of information specialized on the SMSI 2005

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