ngo / civil society survey report -...

Najet Karaborni /Senior Interregional Adviser UNDESA - 20 April 2005 1

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NGO / Civil Society Forum « For an Inclusive, People-Centered, Development Oriented and Knowledgeable Information Society for All»

Tunis, Tunisia, 23-26 April 2005 (1)

(1) In preparation for the ECOSOC High Level Segment 29 June – 1 July 2005 and the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), 16-18 November 2005, Tunis, Tunisia

NGO / Civil Society Survey

Report


NGO/Civil Society Forum “For Inclusive, People-Centered, Development- Oriented and

Knowledgeable Information Society for All”

NGO / Civil Society Survey Report

Information technology….is a powerful force that can and must be harness to our

global mission of peace and development. (Kofi Annan, Secretary General) Introduction 1. In only a few years, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have revolutionized trade, health, education, governance, and, indeed, the very fabric of human communication and exchange. There is no area of human life which has not been affected by the new challenges and opportunities which were brought along with the era of globalization and digital reality. Even though the ICTs are a relatively new reality, they already made the world more interrelated, fast, and mobile. Ultimately, ICTs have the potential to open doors into a more transparent, participatory, equal and ethical world. 2. However, new possibilities demonstrated new threats for development, peace and security, and human rights. The global process of adopting and access to ICTs is not uniform in its outreach and the degree of influence. Digital technology is contributing to the creation of a new civilization – the information society – in which not just anyone can enter. Now one needs to pay for complicated and expensive equipment, or remain isolated. As a result, North and South are separated by the wide electronic gap. In the North, people have equipment and the money to pay for the access. In the South, people are excluded from the new means of communication. Emerging digital gap brings with it the danger of isolating and limiting the development abilities of certain people, in the least developed countries (LDCs) in particular (Chart 1).


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Distribution of ICTs: Digital Gap

daily newspapers radio TV personal computers

Source: The World Bank Group Data and Statistics: The Information Age 2004 3. As Chart 1 demonstrates, the digital gap exists for various types of ICT devices: newspapers, radio, TVs, and personal computers. While 284 persons out of a thousand have access to daily newspapers in high income countries, only 33 people can read newspapers on the daily basis in the Middle Eastern and Caribbean states. The difference in the rates of radio’s ownership is even more striking: while there are 1266 radios per a thousand citizens in high income countries, there are only 122 per 1000 individuals in the South Asian region who can listen to radio programs. The world’s lowest rates of TVs and personal computers’ possession (69 and 0.3 items per 1000 people respectively) have been estimated in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The numbers look particularly low in comparison with 735 TVs and 191 personal computers available for each thousand of high income countries’ citizens.

Chart 1


4. The opportunities provided by the ICTs and access to them have been on the UN agenda for a relatively short time but took an important place among other developmental issues. Several UN agencies deal with the ICT, including the UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, UNESCO, OHCHR, WIPO, etc. The UN ICT Task Force was launched in 2001 with the purpose to lend a truly global dimension to the multitude of efforts to bridge the global digital divide, foster digital opportunity and thus firmly put ICT at the service of development for all. 5. Many United Nations Conferences have focused on information and communication technologies and adopted special measures to support their development, especially with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) which was proposed by the Head of State of Tunisia in 1998. The WSIS is held in two phases, Geneva, 10-12 December 2003 and Tunis, 16-18 November 2005. Two phases united multiple stakeholders from public, private, and civil sectors and UN entities, who shared the broad range of opinions and experiences in the issues related to ICTs.

6. During the phase I of WSIS, governments adopted the Declaration of Principles, entitled “Building the Information Society: a global challenge in the new Millennium,” in which they committed to building a “people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone could create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and people to achieve their full potential in promoting sustainable development and improving quality of life, promised on the purposes and principles of the charter of the UN and respecting fully and upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Right.” 7. Civil society participants greatly contributed to the process of negotiation during the Geneva phase of the WSIS by delivering a statement, which went beyond the governmental declaration. The focus of the Civil Society WSIS Declaration was on two challenges: first, how to correct the existing imbalances, including imbalances in riches, rights, power, and access to ICTs, and second, how to make governments agree on a commitment to basic human rights standards as the basis for the information society. NGOs’ involvement and participation in the WSIS is very significant since it provides a venue where the impact of the new ICT on governance, communication, women’s empowerment, poverty, development, health, education, ethics, human rights and other important issues are discussed. 8. The UN approach to the ICTs is based on the deep belief that they are interconnected with the achievement of sustainable development and better quality of life for all. The ICTs are viewed as a tool to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 in the context of eliminating the information gap, connecting all villages, schools, hospitals and governments and ensuring that half of the world’s people are within reach of ICTs. The eight internationally agreed upon Millennium Development Goals are a test of political will to build stronger partnerships. They are summarized as follows:


Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, Achieve universal primary education, Promote gender equality and empower women, Reduce child mortality, Improve maternal health, Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, Ensure environmental sustainability, Develop a global partnership for development.

9. In 2002 a new UN initiative, the UN Millennium Project, has been launched in order to prepare recommendations for meeting all MDGs’ targets by the year of 2015. The work of the UN Millennium Project is carried out by 10 Millennium Project Task Forces. One of the Task Forces is devoted to Science, Technology and Innovation and has the specific role to diagnose the key constrains to meeting the MDGs and present conclusions about necessary changes in the areas of ICT and science for achieving the time targets. In January 2005, the Task Force - in the report entitled “Poor Countries Must Invest in Science and Technology” - developed special recommendations for the use of infrastructure projects as opportunities for technological learning and methods to foster the achievement of the MDGs:

A society’s ability to adopt new technology is tied to the quality of higher education system

Governments need to promote business activities in science, technology and innovation through government procedures and tax incentives

With support from rich countries, investments must be made in currently under funded research in areas of particular interest to developing countries

International organizations and donors need to focus on science and technology and strengthen their expertise in this area

10. Another UN entity, the UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, was established in ….by… It is a major instrumental force coordinating the creation of the Global Alliance for ICT Policy and Development, an international effort for mobilizing partnership in the ICT area. This task force was created primarily to urge all stakeholders – public, private sectors, and civil society representatives- to work together in order to reduce the digital gap between the world’s rich and poor and eliminate poverty through strategic policy advice and awareness raising. 11. Civil society can play a tremendous role in achieving the MDGs, reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. They have the knowledge and the expertise, they have the networks and they have the linkages to the day-to-day problems of people. Governments should invite, encourage and enable civil society organizations to take the formation and implementation of many ICTs-related issues in their own hands. Only bottom-up approach will lead to sustainable development.


12. The United Nations - Non-governmental Organizations - Informal Regional Network (UN-NGO-IRENE) of the NGO Section/Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in cooperation with the Tunisian Mothers’ Association (ATM), the regional Coordinator of the UN-NGO IRENE/Africa conducted a Survey on civil society role and perspectives in implementing the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the context of an inclusive Information Society for All. The Survey is a part of the preparatory process for the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

13. The findings of this questionnaire will be disclosed at the NGO/Civil Society Forum, which will take place in Tunis, on 23-26 April 2005. They will initiate the discussion on several issues relevant to the WSIS and therefore will reinforce a concrete participation of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC and Civil Society Organizations based on their real needs and experiences. As part of the preparatory process to the ECOSOC High Level Segment in 2005 on the theme: “Achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, as well as implementing the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits: progress made, challenges and opportunities” , and to the Second Phase for the WSIS, the NGO/Civil Society Forum aims to fully and efficiently include NGOs and civil society in the concrete implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs.

14. During the Forum the participants will have the opportunity to express their views on the themes that will be discussed during the ECOSOC High Level Segment and the WSIS of 2005. This will help them to draw out practical and useful recommendations, which will be presented in the Prep COM 3 of the Summit and will be considered in the Summit outcomes and Plan of Actions. The NGO/Civil Society recommendations will also help to reinforce the contribution of NGOs to the ECOSOC substantive work and to be reflected in the report of the United Nations Secretary-General during the 60th session of the General Assembly devoted to the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs.

The present report is composed of three parts as follows: 1. Role of NGOs/Civil Society in Building the Information Society 2. NGOs’ Success Stories 3. NGO Recommendations


I. NGO/CIVIL SOCIETY ROLE IN BUILDING THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

1. NGOs and countries representation

15. The worldwide Survey involved 78 NGOs coming from 44 countries in different level of development. The main criteria used to identify the origin of NGOs is represented by their headquarter location. As shown in the charts 2 and 3 below, 23 NGOs (32%) come from 10 Developed Countries (21%), 14 NGOs (19%) come from 9 countries in transition (20%), 25 NGOs (34%) come from 15 Developing Countries (34%), and the remaining 16 NGOs (15%) come from 11 Least Developed Countries (25%).

Participating NGOs

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Countries intransitionDeveloping countries

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16. In particular, among Developed Countries, the Survey involved 8 countries belonging to the European Union and 2 from North America. The answers were also received from NGOs in 10 post-socialist and communist countries, including countries in transition and China. In regard to Developing Countries, 7 of them were Landlocked Developing Countries. The replies of Least Developed Countries’ NGOs came from all regions as follows: the members of Southern African Development Community (SADS) (1), Economic Community of West African States (ECWAS) (4), Inter Government Authority of the Greater Horn of Africa (IGAD) (3), League of Arab States (3), Arab Maghreb Union (1), and the Caribbean Community (1). In terms of geographic distribution, responses came from 17 African, 11 Asian, 13 European and 5 American countries (Chart 4).

Chart 2

Participating Countries

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Balanced worldwide NGO representation

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17. Such broad regional representation reflects the increased strengthening of partnership between the United Nations system, NGOs and Civil Society organizations. In this regard, UN-NGO-IRENE of the NGO Section/ECOSOC played a significant role in bringing together NGO representing all countries (developed, developing, least developed and with economies in transition) from the North and South. With such networking, NGOs have an opportunity to discuss common problems through an open dialogue, exchange of experiences and partnerships that were enabled and enhanced by the development of the information and communication technologies. 18. In comparison with the 2004 Survey on NGO/Civil Society involvement in Poverty eradication in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the share of responses received from the NGOs which headquarters are located in countries in transition significantly increased, causing the slight decrease in the relative number of NGOs’ questionnaire replies from the other country groups especially developing countries and LDCs. NGOs from Georgia, Romania and Azerbaijan were especially active. In addition, relatively large number of NGOs from Italy increased the number of answers received from developed countries. 19. Another trend which distinguishes this year survey from the last one is the large number of responses from the francophone world. 29.4% of the responses were filled in French, among which all but 2 replies came from NGOs in developing countries and LDCs. This is a significant indicator of greater NGOs’ involvement in these parts of the world through activities related to ICTs and the MDGs.

Chart 4


20. NGOs both in consultative status with ECOSOC and applying for it or/and willing to contribute to the ECOSOC work towards the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs’ implementation participated in the questionnaire. Among organizations which sent their replies, 77.4 % have consultative status, while 22.6 % do not have a status or have applied and are waiting for it. During the analysis of the survey responses it has been found that generally the NGOs in the process of application for the ECOSOC status provide more detailed information on all questions of the survey as compared with responses of NGOs with and without a consultative status.

2. Areas of NGOs’ Activities

21. Advocacy, followed by Undertaking initiatives in partnership with private sector or/and with government(s), other NGOs/Civil Society Organizations, United Nations system, and Capacity Building/Training are three top priorities among the 10 listed main NGO activities to promote Information Society for All (Chart 5). Creating an enabling political environment for development, Seeking financing for development, Searching for innovation managerial strategies, and Project management as well have been placed on the second level of importance in the replies to the survey. Fight against corruption and Support for micro-finance are following while Macroeconomic constrains is holding the last rank.

Chart 5

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Overall Areas of NGOs Activities Initiatives in partnership

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22. As shown in the graphs below, the general tendency does not identically repeats if participating NGOs are grouped according to the location of their headquarters. Organizations with headquarters based in developing and least developed countries are involved more actively in partnerships for development, demonstrating the commitment to the MDG 8: Developing a global partnership for development. Another distinctive difference between overall responses and the responses from developing world is a higher priority given by NGOs to the fight against corruption (Chart 6).

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Chart 6


23. As demonstrated on Chart 7, NGOs from countries in transition are more involved in capacity building and training along with fostering partnership for development rather than in advocacy (as compared to the general trend), and they are involved in fight against corruption (as compared to responses of NGOs from developing countries). Search of innovative strategies received comparatively higher attention while promoting micro credit and small scale business as well as macroeconomic constrains received very little attention from NGOs in countries in transition.

Chart 7

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23. As shown on Chart 8 below, NGOs from developed countries are equally involved in capacity building/training and partnership initiatives. Advocacy is following almost at the same level of interest while fight against corruption is receiving much less attention. Political environment for development came in four position and search of innovative strategies in fifth one. The distinctive feature of the responses from developed countries was the lack of interest to dealing with macroeconomic constrains.

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3. Addressing Millennium Development Goals

24. The questionnaire asked NGOs to list, in hierarchical order, the Millennium Development Goals upon which they focus primarily. MDGs addressed by NGOs were organized in order of priority assigning 1 to the goal that receives maximum focus and 8 to the goal that receives the least. 25. The Survey illustrates that the MDG 3 – promote gender equality and empower women- has a premium importance for the NGOs participating in the survey. Indeed, 21 out of the 78 NGOs involved in the questionnaire answered this way. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger as well as to develop global partnership for development (MDGs 1 and 8) have the second priority for NGOs. MDGs 7 and 2 (Ensure environmental sustainability and achieve universal primary education) are third in priorities according to the responses of participating NGOs. However, it is the MDG 6 (Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases) which was overall in relevance to the respondents’ activities. Goals 3 and 8 have a second-largest sum of times being mentioned as shown in Table 1 and Chart 9.

Table 1: NGOs’ Activities by the eight MDGs

Areas of MDGs on which the organization is focused 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 17 5 3 4 3 0 0 4Achieve universal primary education 11 7 4 5 3 3 1 4Promote gender equality and empower women 21 8 5 2 2 2 0 2Reduce child mortality 7 6 5 3 2 5 2 4Improve maternal health 10 3 6 5 3 3 3 2Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 10 4 3 7 5 3 7 8Ensure environmental sustainability 12 6 8 5 2 2 2 4Develop a global partnership for development 17 12 4 1 3 0 2 3


Goal 3 Goal 1 Goal 8 Goal 7 Goal 2 Goal 5 Goal 6 Goal 4

Distribution of NGOs by the first priority MDG

Millennium Development Goals:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Chart 9


4. Filling in the gaps: E-Governance and national development plans

26. One of the survey’s questions was about participation in preparation of durable global E-Strategies and integration of national development plans. The majority of NGOs, which sent their replies, are involved in the process through providing access to the ICTs in a form of equipment and financing of the ICTs in a form of related services. In their efforts to reduce the digital gap and achieve the MDGs some NGOs stated that they cooperate with other stakeholders of the Information Society. Several examples of such partnerships are described below: 27. BlueLink from Bulgaria, developed a national Portal on WSIS – Bulgarian ICT Policy Monitor, a part of the Association for Progressive Communication network’s ICT policy websites. The representatives of the organization took part in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd meetings of the Aarhus Convention Task Force on Electronic Information Tools in Geneva and developed the project “ICTs and implementation of the Aarhus Convention” for the countries of South-Eastern Europe in collaboration with the Dutch organization Milieukontakt Oost-Europe. With its innovative ICT projects for the countries of South-eastern Europe BlueLink became one of nine finalists in the category “Environment” of the Stockholm Challenge Awards 28. Italian International Association for Humanitarian Medicine worked in cooperation with 17 Euro-Mediterranean countries to create coordinated informational mechanisms and unified protocols for the prevention and treatment of regional health problems. IAHM managed the EUMEDIS program on behalf of the European Union. Other partner organizations include the International Federation of Surgical Colleges and the Mediterranean Council on Burns 29. Another Italian NGO, Foundation for the Research on technology Migration and Integration (FORMIT) seeks cooperation with institutions on the national and international levels. It has implemented several projects in cooperation with other NGOs, technical and regulatory bodies, research institutions and universities in order to promote technology development 30. African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) from Kenya is a part of the WSIS-NGO Gender Caucus, which goal is to promote gender integration and women’s rights in the WSIS process 31. Forum of Women’s NGOs of Kyrgyzstan is an organization, actively supporting the partnership for eliminating the digital gap and promoting the MDGs. The organization has participated in the e-Forum launched by UNESCO for discussing comprehensive gender issues. As a network of numerous NGOs the Forum uses ICTs for promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women in a form of ICT training for institutional members. Opening of the ICT center for women’s organizations will present new opportunities for development in Kyrgyzstan


32. Lebanese Friends of Disabled Association collaborates with all levels of organizations. It works in partnership for improving the life of people with disabilities with international institutions from France and Denmark, it participates in national and regional conferences focusing on ICTs, and it disseminates the ICTs-related information among the national organizations of disabled people 33. Slovenian Center for Information Services, Co-Operation and Development of NGOs (CNVOS) is a leading national source of information for NGOs and Civil Society organizations. It disseminates information through weekly relevant e-info packages. CNVOS supports strengthening of democratic trends through managing a free portal which primary purpose is to help NGOs to be more actively involved in the governmental decision-making process. Finally, the organization promotes the usage of open source technologies

II. NGOs’ SUCCESS STORIES 34. In order to share innovative experience and good practices during the Forum and underline the contribution of leading NGOs to the survey, selected success stories in various fields of intervention related to ICTs and Information Society for All, as well as to the MDGs will be summarized and presented below. The aim is to create a knowledge basis from which all NGOs could pick up ideas, exchange their respective experiences, coordinate their on-going and planned activities in the area of information and communication technologies, and promote joint partnership and result oriented initiatives and projects for building an inclusive Information Society for All. 35. 70 percent of the total number of NGOs which replied to the questionnaire sent success stories to share with the Civil Society community. Most of the success stories and programmes are relevant to the MDGs and ICTs. However, some responses did not contain enough information regarding substance details of their initiatives such as quantitative data related to the impact on beneficiaries, used methodology and techniques, timeline, and outcomes of the implemented programmes. This limits the opportunities for assessment of lessons learned and for precise evaluation of NGO contribution to achieve the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs and to promote ICTs. There is an obvious and urgent need for NGO capacity building and training in ICTs and the MDGs in order to enable them to evaluate and formulate the outcomes of implemented programs and initiatives and share them with the NGO community and other stakeholders. 36. Also almost all the success stories are related to the implementation of the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Plan for Action, as well as to the internationally agreed MDGs.

37. All MDGs are interconnected and the efforts to achieve one of them lead to progress toward all eight of them. Given that the ICTs is an enormous tool for development and the promotion of the use of information and knowledge leads to the achievement of MDGs, all success stories are viewed through the lenses of taking ICT-related actions for achievement of the MDGs. WSIS Plan of Actions highlights 11 lines of actions toward improving


connectivity and access in the use of ICTs, including the role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development, information and communication infrastructure, access to information and knowledge, capacity building, building confidence and security in the use of ICTs, enabling environment, ICT applications (including e-government, e-business, e-learning, e-health, e-employment, e-environment, e-agriculture, e-science), cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content, media, ethical dimensions of the Information Society, and international and regional cooperation. Six of these action lines were addressed by NGOs in their replies to the present questionnaire. 38. More specifically the focus of success stories is on the following areas of intervention:

a. Development of information and communication infrastructure

Media equipment distribution Internet cafes and other establishments Creation of specialized computer programmes for people with disabilities

b. Access to information and knowledge

Research on information society and ICTs Establishment of free and affordable access to information (databases,

websites, publications) Collaboration with government to promote use of ICTs

c. Capacity building

Training programs and courses (for teachers, students, government officials, NGOs’ representatives)

Programs to eradicate poverty and illiteracy using ICTs Lifelong learning initiatives Removing gender gap in ICT education and access ICT-based networking Specialized computer skills training for rural communities, LDCs

population)

d. Enabling environment

Assistance in improving management practices Assisting in making public administration more transparent, efficient and

democratic Promoting awareness of the Internet resources Promoting women’s and youth’s participation and learning

e. ICT applications

Promotion of health- and education-related programs ICT-based initiatives for providing medical and humanitarian assistance


E-governance

f. Cultural and linguistic diversity, identity and local content

Computer training in different languages (as well as for minority groups) Software in different languages Programs to promote self-assistant knowledge and skills for nations in

difficult situations

g. International and regional cooperation

Partnership in international cooperation and financial assistance with focus on the use of ICT in development

39. To highlight the outstanding work of NGOs, the most relevant success stories are described below:

a. Development of information and communication infrastructure

40. Six fully assembled computers and other equipment were donated by the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament, with headquarters in Beijing, to the Federation of Mongolian Peace and Friendship Organizations to help upgrade their office equipment. The initiative is truly important because it allows national NGOs to increase productivity and improve connectivity. 41. Club Union Africaine Cote D’Ivoire, addressed multiple areas of concern through its work. To provide people living in distant rural communities in Cote D’Ivoire with Internet access, the organization participated in the establishment of Internet cafes. Its programs also included specialized training courses to enhance media-related skills of women and youth, as well as the information campaign to halve domestic violence within the country. Currently the organization is developing the social marketing campaign to emphasize the importance of women’s participation in the electoral process for good and inclusive governance and development. 42. Italian Associazione Volontari Per il Servizio Internazionale (AVSI) is an organization improving life conditions of people with physical disabilities through the use of ICT tools and applications. Creating appropriate and modern infrastructure for disabled people ensure that they can reach their highest potential for development purposes and also to receive benefits from globalization processes. The establishment of a specialized IT center promotes and facilitates the social integration of people with physical disabilities and improves their educational and occupational opportunities through equal access to IT training, knowledge, information, and skill development.

b. Access to information and knowledge

43. India-based Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation and Research Center in collaboration with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA, has implemented


the School-Based Education Program for teenagers. The ultimate goal of the program was to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in Mumbai urban area. The fundings of the program were evaluated and distributed by email to all interested and involved actors. 44. BlueLink Information Network, a Bulgarian NGO existing as an on-line network, supports free exchange of information between civil society participants to promote democracy, environmental sustainability, support women and youth, and foster community development initiatives. In 2004 BlueLink developed the Information Portal of Bulgarian NGOs (www.bluelink.info) which became the main tool for national civil society to present their activities and campaigns, search for support, and discuss emerging issues. The on-line network resources allow Bulgarian media to receive updated information on the national NGO sector. BlueLink also undertook an initiative to educate NGOs and media about improving and optimizing their work using ICTs. The organization published a manual entitled “Strategic use of Internet for Civil Society Organizations”. 45. The National Assembly of Youth Organizations of the Azerbaijan Republic (NAYORA) is the only national coordinating body for youth "NGOs" which unites almost all independent youth organizations in Azerbaijan. In 2002-2004 NAYORA successfully implemented the following projects in partnership with various multilateral organizations (including Youth and Sport Directories of the Council of Europe, UNICEF, European Youth Foundation) in areas of education, health and human rights (MDGs 2, 5, and 6): seminar “Empowering youth refugees through non-formal education methods”, pilot project “Future in Our Education”, project “Leave no Child Out”, and enlightening campaign on Iron Deficiency Anemia. NAYORA organized two rounds of capacity building meetings to launch the UN-NGO-IRENE in Azerbaijan in partnership with the NGO Section/UNDESA and UNDP office in Azerbaijan, and in the Caspian region (UN-NGO-IRENE/Caucasian/Central Asia) in cooperation with FAY (Fund of Aid for Youth). NAYORA has been chosen as a national coordinator of the UN-NGO-IRENE/Azerbaijan. Regional divisions of the UN-NGO-IRENE are an excellent example of widening partnership for development and broadening the scope of its members’ interests.

c. Capacity building 46. In 2002 Rural Women Environmental Protection Association (RWEPA) with headquarters in Bamenda, Cameroon, organized a summer computer class programme for youth. During each intensive summer session in 2002-2004, RWEPA has been helping 40 young people to become computer literate and enabling them to be integrated into the world of technology and communications. The organization believes that increased funding for computer education is incredibly important in order for developing countries to modernize their economies and upgrade human skills, and to become equal citizens of the “global village”.

47. Another Indian NGO, All India Women’s Education Fund Association (AIWEFA), the national coordinator of the UN-NGO-IRENE /India implemented several capacity

http://www.bluelink.info/


building-projects, with relation to ICTs. The most successful projects include computer classes in five New Delhi Municipal Council schools, computer classes for Afghani refugees, with a particular focus on women and children in Laxmi Nagar center, New Delhi, computer awareness programme and adult literacy classes for villagers, especially women and youth in Daboda, Tirpari and Pataudi. These initiatives aim to promote e-literacy skills for all, regardless of gender, age, location or nationality. The attention to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups is especially important in building the Information Society for All. 48. Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (MBC) contributes to ICT-related capacity building and achievement of the MDGs (especially MDG 4, 5,and 6) by investing in the following initiatives: providing scholarships to promising doctors and nurses, demonstrating community-oriented films, videos and distributing posters for accident prevention, producing publications aimed to halve maternal and child mortality, organizing training and disseminating information regarding the above programmes. 49. The Black Sea University Foundation, a Romanian NGO, successfully implemented a project entitled “Computer Training for Disabled Children”. The programme addressed teachers from schools for children with special needs. Using the computer in the educational process has become an obvious necessity for teachers working with disabled children. The education and research department in the Romania Government’s policy needs to provide all schools with computers and Internet access. The governmental programs are geared toward eliminating a general gap in teachers’ computer skills, failing to address the special issues of working with disabled children. Additionally, the Black Sea Foundation has developed the educational software targeting special learning needs of children with disabilities in Romanian language. This initiative links providing training programs to professionals with special educational needs with the capacity building process among Romanian population with disabilities.

d. Enabling Environment

50. Macedonian Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI) developed and implemented a twelve months training programme for approximately a thousand representatives from local government, judiciary, private sector, civil society organizations, and also unemployed individuals. The programme provided courses in computer literacy which enabled them to increase competitiveness at work while helping the unemployed to increase their job marketability and chances of self-employment. 51. South Asian Foundation for Human Initiatives (SAFHI), located in Calcutta, India, trained more than 100 representatives of the urban poor to map HIV/AIDS risk areas in various states of India. This training targeted local service providers to help improve programme management.

e. ICT application: E-government

52. South Asian Foundation for Human Initiatives (SAFHI) was also one of the key


members in the partnership for development and implementation of the Computerized Management Information System/Services (CMIS) for the National AIDS Control Organization launched by the Government of India. It is the world’s largest AIDS CMIS in operation. SAFHI was the first NGO to map high risk behavior on the comprehensive GIS (Geographic Information System) Platform. This initiative is a part of SAFHI contribution to fostering good governance and human development in India. CMIS is a management strategy. It helps provide past, present and projected information. It can include software that helps in decision making, data resources such as databases, the hardware resources of a system, decision support systems, and people. 53. Foundation for the Research on Technology, Migration and Integration (FORMIT) is an Italian NGO, which actively acts as a global partner for development. FORMIT’ s latest successful initiative, “International Programme for Non-G8 countries on the Management of Public Procurement of Technologies in the ICT and Healthcare Areas”, was offered to non-G8 countries’ governmental officials in charge of technology as a way of procurement for innovation in areas of collective interest. 63 participants from 30 non-G8 countries took part in three modules concerning contractual, technological, and healthcare issues. The initiative allowed the discussion of issues and opportunities for solutions, and provided independent support to technology innovation and technology transfer for socioeconomic development of non-G8 countries.

f. Cultural and linguistic diversity, identity and local content 54. In 2002 Al-Khoei Foundation, an organization with headquarters in England supported the establishment of Internet communications in Najaf, Iraq. This ICT-related project helped civil society in post-conflict scenarios by rebuilding a sense of community, promoting self-help and sustainable development. The free access to Internet creates conditions for faster and more efficient reconstruction by opening up the world. It also helps nations to increase cultural diversity of the on-line community. 55. Romanian Foundation Partners for Local Development (FPDL) designed and implemented nation-wide programmes, addressing local governments, civil society and local community needs through training and consultative services. One of such projects provided support to the national strategy on improvement leaving conditions of Roma people. The training component of the program included training and technical assistance for 50 Roma women from all Romanian counties.

g. International and regional cooperation 56. In collaboration with Australian, American and Japanese partners Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (CAFIU) successfully developed and implemented projects including small credit loans, building schools, water tanks, and carrying out teachers’ training in Binxian County, Shaanxi Province.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/software.html

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/database.html

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/hardware.html

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/decision_support_system.html


III. NGO RECOMMENDATIONS 57. The analysis of the questionnaires revealed that all NGOs acting as national sub-regional and regional coordinators of the UN-NGO-IRENE provided relevant recommendations on how to enhance the implementation of MDGs through improving access to and quality of ICTs despite the fact that 36 percent of the NGO responses did not contain any recommendations. 58. The recommendations of NGOs are summarized as follows:

1. Role of Government and All Stakeholders

1.1 To encourage national governments to create incentives for the corporate and private sector to assist in implementing the MDGs such as tax incentives/rebates

1.2 To involve governmental agencies in converging technology innovation in society 2. Development of Information and Communication Infrastructure

2.1 To provide ICT-related training to regional and local coordinators of UN-NGO-IRENE and governmental officials, as well as to SMME representatives in order to support government initiatives related to service delivery

2.2 To disseminate information about the work and experience of local and regional UN-NGO-IRENE coordinators to young people and youth NGOs through TV programmes and teleconferences between member countries in order to achieve greater community involvement

2.3 To make actions to reduce gender gap in access to ICT resources by creating specialized ICT centers for women, increasing availability of and access to computer skills training and ICT information

3. Access to Information and Knowledge

3.1 To decrease the cost of software, promote long-distance learning and improve the Internet access in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

3.2 To ensure equal participation of people with disabilities in ICT-related activities by promoting computer literacy among people with disabilities (through training courses for people with disabilities and their families, as well as through maximum discounts on hardware and software purchased by them) and by developing local ICT technology to facilitate better life quality for people with severe disabilities, including Independent Living ICT Support systems

3.3 To foster unrestricted exchange of information between academia, industries, and civil society


3.4 To involve individual NGOs’ publications and/or websites to disseminate information about the outcomes of WSIS Geneva 2003 –Tunis 2005

3.5 To launch the international campaign to raise awareness about the WSIS outcomes for various groups of stakeholders

3.6 To promote the information about positive effects of globalization, but also point out its negative effects

4. Capacity building

4.1 To pay special attention to conflict and post-conflict societies, as well as to conflict prevention scenarios

4.2 To foster narrowing the scientific, technological and informational gap between developed and developing countries

4.3 To make computer education compulsory in schools

5. Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs

5.1 To ensure human rights protection through better availability and security of information

5.2 To enforce stricter national laws for cyber-crime and misuse of ICTs

5.3 To develop strict guidelines of the uniform code for selecting and recruiting knowledgeable and committed employees in order to bust human resources development

6. Creating enabling environment

6.1 To incorporate the results and methods used by NGOs into formulation of national policies and programmes

6.2 To use lobbing on the national level as a mechanism for improving implementation of recommendations

6.3 To increase women’s participation in decision-making processes in all areas related to ICTs

6.4 To ensure the collection of more detailed oriented and updated information regarding ICTs


7. Cultural, linguistic and ethnical diversity, identity and local content

7.1 To expand all websites capacities to display information in languages other than English. The availability of information only in English is a barrier to non-English speakers who are willing to exchange information, ideas and knowledge with others. Such limitation creates biased perception of the level of certain information’s reliability

7.2 To increase UN recruitment of researchers and scientists from developing countries support the publication of their work and facilitate NGO access to local, regional, and national information

7.3 To include ethnical component in implementation of the WSIS outcomes in order to promote greater awareness among culturally diverse communities

8. International and regional cooperation

8.1 To encourage governments and UN system to take a further step in recognizing and supporting sound practices and work of NGOs working in the areas of education and ICTs

9. Creating alternative financial mechanisms

9.1 To create an interactive network between academic institutions, research, medical, and cultural centers, municipal, regional and national government authorities, NGOs and private sector, with the major purpose of avoiding the duplication of services

10. Creating alternative implementation mechanisms

10.1 To act through the following chain for the implementation of the WSIS outcomes: UN - local representative - Community - UN-NGO-IRENE: UN local representatives in each country.

Another variant: local networks of NGOs should be connected with regional, regional with national, and national should be represented in the international forum

10.2 To create a micro-level information and information dissemination system in form of SMME

10.3 To promote ICTs and MDGs-related information through art and social marketing

10.4 To provide enhanced feedback to accredited organizations in order to foster exchange of ideas and experiences among all stakeholders


10.5 To use culture-specific methodologies, especially in relation to ensuring gender equality in access to and the use of ICTs

10.6 To make available technical, organizational and legal expertise on specific issues of concern for non-G8 countries to support them in the process of technology recruitment for socioeconomic development and to implement mechanisms to support negotiations of non-G8 countries with multinational technology providers

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ngo / civil society survey report -...

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