Global Information Society Watch 2007 Report

"The ambitious agreed goal of bridging the 'digital divide' while also respecting human rights, promoting education, public access to information, women's empowerment and economic prosperity, can only be accomplished, according to the Tunis Commitment, through the involvement, cooperation and partnership of governments, the private sector, civil society and international organisations....While we welcome the global commitment to bridge the gap and accept the challenge to contribute to these goals, we have also identified another gap: the gap that still exists between good intentions and actual achievements, between promises and realities, between high sounding principles and concrete actions."

Created in the spirit of the above excerpt, the Global Information Society Watch 2007 Report is the first in a series of yearly reports covering the state of the so-called "information society" from the perspectives of civil society and stakeholders in the global South. The publishers - Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Third World Institute (ITeM), working in partnership with Hivos (Humanist Institute for Development Co-operation) - are motivated by the belief that it is essential for civil society networks to participate in and watch over information and communication technology (ICT) policy processes at the global, regional, and national levels. In short, "Global Information Society Watch" aims to survey the state of the field of ICT policy at the local and global levels; encourage critical debate; and strengthen networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society.

To that end, this resource focuses on the theme of participation. To begin, several commentators explore the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process; a "post-WSIS chart" is also included. Then, a series of overviews of international institutions and regulatory agencies follows. The "Measuring Progress" section includes information and communication technology (ICT) indicators for advocacy, and a chart featuring ICT indices available online. Finally, a series of 22 country reports examine issues of access and participation within a variety of national contexts.