WSIS Knowledge Communities: (Closed) WSIS Forum 2012: open consultation on the thematic aspects and innovations on the format

Mika
224 days ago

Dear WSIS stakeholders,

The next edition of the WSIS Forum will take place from 14 to 18 May in Geneva, Switzerland. In order to ensure openness and inclusiveness of this annual WSIS multistakeholder event, the Forum organizers would like to ask for your feedback on the following:

Thematic focus: What are the key issues that need to be addressed at the WSIS Forum? At the last Forum, the following are discussed at the high-level panels: "social media and social transformation", "social inclusion", "ICT4D in LDCs" and "cyber security";
Innovations on the format: Is there any room for improvement in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of the Forum?

Anil Prasad

Anil Prasad
224 days ago

Hi Mika,

I would like to suggest that "ICT4D in LDCs" in the last forum should be followed by "Inclusive Connectivity; ways to facilitate internet connectivity for essential services in LDCs" in the forthcoming forum.

Warm regards,

Anil

amira zenati

amira zenati
197 days ago

Hi,

I am Amira, from TUnisia,

In my country ICT have made a revolution ,

Still, ICT are not enough able to prepare the society for a real and effective political participation.

I would like, if possible that the next WSIS deals with:

1- The role of ICT in public movements and political events (especially the Arab sprin).

2- The role of ICT in improving participation in the political life.

3- The role of ICT in improving the political participation of women.

Best regards

Amira, 30 , public agent, Tunis, Tunisia.

BAUDOUIN SCHOMBE

BAUDOUIN SCHOMBE
197 days ago

I suggest:
-freedom of expression and cybercrime;
-what are the alternatives against cybercrime?;
-Social networks, freedom of speech and cyber security.

Royal Colle

Royal Colle
197 days ago

There is an important movement in developing nations that focuses on getting universities to be more relevant to the communities around them. Yet, it is very very rare to see universities cooperating with community telecentres (learning centres)where both students and faculty could make a great contribution. And while some international organizations such as UNAPCICT are encouraging the teaching of ICTD in the classroom, there is little attention being paid to getting students directly involved in ICTD activities in the community where they could gain practical experience. Building university involvement in ICTD community activities would be an appropriate and useful topic for the WSIS Forum.

ahmed Eisa

ahmed Eisa
192 days ago

dear friends

i thinks these are themes need to be included in WSIS 2012

1- illiteracy eradication through ICT

2- Include the excluded or connect the unconnected

3- i write for WSIS

4- the millennium development goals

5- poverty eradication

6- role of NGOs in implementation and measurement of WSIS action lines

7- bridging the digital divide in rural communities and empowering women through ICT

ahmed Eisa

ahmed Eisa
192 days ago

dear friends

measuring and monioring the achievement ( progress ) in the MDGs is very essential and it can not be done by the government alone, becuse no government will say we are not working on the MDGs.. so we have to look for tools and the role of NGOs in implementation and measurement of WSIS action lines to achieve the 8 MDGs

Christian Zeininger

Christian Zeininger
192 days ago

Although ICT has an empowerment and social inclusion effect in developed countries, it continues to create a digital divide in a country like Mozambique. And though young people have a positive technology identity going along with the rapid expansion of mobile telecommunication, benefits are mostly limited to phone calls and text messaging.
As a fact, more and more people in Africa have mobile phones (on pre-paid basis) and an increasing number do have the internet at their hand, but not in their mind (http://conmoz.org/mobile-trends/mobile-connectivity/?lang=en). There is little use of the fast growing information available and accessible through internet, increasing the risk of a further digital divide and social exclusiion, as well as underutilised, thus more costly ICT service delivery.
While "classic" public and private ICT training centers continue to offer mostly ICDL-like basic computer courses, they have little or nothing on offer regarding mobile internet and web apps courses suitable for real-life situations in urban or rural contexts.

It is not a question of access, but "use+benefit" in particular sociocultural and socioeconomic real-life contexts. It's rather a question of education and digital literacy.

Etienne TSHISHIMBI

Etienne TSHISHIMBI
187 days ago

Thank you for the contributions.

I am now preparing my contribution,

Soon and very soon

MrChase

MrChase
187 days ago

I'd like to see a forum around the issue of pedagogical development insofar as it relates to the deployment of ICT in education.

I'd also like to see a forum on different national and global programs for online and blended learning.

- Zac Chase

guignard catherine

guignard catherine
180 days ago

Dear all,

A forum on pedagogigal issues I also feel is needed as it seems very difficult to ensure a quality of pedagogy for mass education.

I'm currently working on the fusion of Project Based Learning (PBL) developed by the PBL UNESCO chair in Aalborg and serious gaming. It is possible to create virtual classroms where people from all over the world could connect and learn using the same principles as world games such as World of Warcraft where players are engaged in individual or collective quests or problem solving.

Applied to pedagogy the fusion of PBL and serious gaming in my opinion is the best solution to make online courses interactive. I think companies involved in serious gaming which are spreading over the world should be involved in research as much as the impressive UNESCO networks of chairs.

The problem of acces to Internet networks I agree is the priority. In terms of providing electricity to remote areas first in strategic points such as schools could be done via the development of the use of solar energy and panels which are long lasting and cheaper, but the remaining concern is the delivery of the Internet.

However if virtual classromms are not yet feasible on a worldwide scale because of Internet access, it is possible to imagine appropriate sofware being used.

I feel that training people to teach and teaching all sorts of subjects could be reached more efficently that way so I feel strongly that debates and reserach on such issues could be useful.

Best regards,

Catherine

HERIBERTO VALDEZ-BONILLA

HERIBERTO VALDEZ-BONILLA
180 days ago

Dear Mika:

One of my principal concerns about ITC's in education is Ethics. Specially in developing countries, because there is a lack of concensed criteria about how to discriminate quality web contents from "just atractive" contents. Some websites doesn't actualize their information and/or specify the experimental nature of their statements, so, many people believe in what they see in internet whitout comparing it whit another information resources. It's amazing to see that even when we must recognize that e - learning, for example, has it's limitations, some non - ethic websites offer training and certifications following the same scheme of ancient learning by correspondence (I still don't realize how could someone became an electronic engineer only by reading booklets, at least in my country (México)). Educational Resources Developers both for commercial or non commercial porpuoses must develop an ethical code and sacrifice the atractiveness of their presentations in order to offer honest references about the information they present in their websites.

I suggest to stablish a code that enables users to know not only the last actualization date, but the level of specificity of information the website offers. It would be an obligation for specific topics.

All would be discussed in an specific Ethics forum.

Best Regards

Heriberto Valdez Bonilla

Davis Wu

Davis Wu
177 days ago

Dear all:

I am from China,

We are found the http://sociallearnlab.org/

1. How to use the social media to learn or teach;

2.use the social media to connect the world;

3.use the social media to participate and join in the online learning Communities ;

Davis Wu

Davis Wu
177 days ago

Dear all:

I suggest that we Put forward some theme

Ari Katz

Ari Katz
177 days ago

I'd like to suggest "The Public Access Side of the Equation" as a theme, looking at different models for ensuring public access to the internet/information as well as training and awareness strategies. While many governments are promoting open data and transparent governance, often the "how" is left out of the discussion. The information might be out there, but many of those who need it most don't have access to it, or if they do, they don't know it's there or how to use it to improve their lives. There is a lot of space for sharing best practice and new ideas on how libraries, schools and other public information points can fill this gap, with the right approach.

Tomoaki Watanabe

Tomoaki Watanabe
176 days ago

Hello. Something others have not suggested but potentially of interest:

- Evolution of mobile devices and services, and their potential for development/ well-being

- Disaster pareparedness/ response/ recovery and role of ICTs

Diego Spano

Diego Spano
139 days ago

Hi.

I think that these themes may be of interest:

- Information disemination to non connected communities

- Open source as a facilitator/medium for open access.

Thanks

Casey Olugbenga

Casey Olugbenga
139 days ago

WSIS need to look into the issue of Rural Development & ICT. Child Online Protection, Cyber Security and Internet Administration in developing countries.

Steve Vosloo

Steve Vosloo
135 days ago

I would like to suggest the topic of Scaling Up M4D Interventions. How can we increase the scale and effectiveness of mobile technologies used for education, disaster relief, political mobilisation, etc. What kind of partnerships are needed in the mobile ecosystem? Etc.

Thanks,

Steve

Kalinga

Kalinga
134 days ago

I have been doing some media awareness work in labour migration issues. There is a modern system of slavery in operation right across Asia - from the Arab Gulf states to Southeast Asia - where unscrupulous recruitment agents are exploiting poor migrant workers. This issue is not covered properly in the media and governments are not interested to address it either - except in how best to get remittances back home. The poor, especially the rural poor and employers (especially those who employ maids) need to be made aware of the activities of these unsrupulous recruitment agents and public pressure must be mounted on governments to regulate and tightly control the activities of recruitment agents. ICTs in collaboration with traditional media like radio could play a vital role in this. I suggest that we look at how ICTs and traditional cheap-to operate media such as radio can come togther in protecting the human rights of the poor in particular-and create win-win situations where labour migration is concerned.

Etienne TSHISHIMBI

Etienne TSHISHIMBI
134 days ago

Je propose d'échanger et de discuter sur:

1- "La Propriété Intellectuelle à l'heure des nouveaux gTLD".

2- "L'apport des TIC dans l'économie verte pour la réduction de la prauvreté"

I propose to exchange and discuss:

1 - "The Intellectual Property at the time of new gTLDs."

2 - "The use of ICT in the green economy for poverty reduction"

ahmed Eisa

ahmed Eisa
134 days ago

thanks

yes i agree on how to use ICT for poverty eradiction

Iryna Kuchma

Iryna Kuchma
133 days ago

Dear WSIS Forum organizers and stakeholders,

We would like to suggest Open Access policies and practices and their implications for development agenda as the key issues that need to be addressed at the WSIS Forum 2012.

The UN Millennium Development Goals emphasise the urgent need to address problems such as poverty eradication, hunger and malnutrition, child mortality, maternal health, environmental sustainability and combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. It is very clear that without strong scientific platforms built on the widest possible access to research information, these goals will not be met.

The problem that developing countries have always faced with respect to research information is the inability to integrate national research into the global knowledge pool (the South to South, South to North and North to South knowledge gaps). The scholarly knowledge arising from research – critical for the development of appropriate programmes to solve global health and environmental problems such as infectious new diseases, climate change, agricultural security – has been ‘missing’ due to financial restrictions limiting the publication and distribution of national research literature. Moreover, information important for the resolution of health and environmental problems specific to developing countries is not generally published in traditional journals from the developed world.

Open Access seeks to remove price and permission barriers that prevent knowledge from being shared. And it creates an unprecedented opportunity to provide equality of access to essential research information and to raise awareness of national research.

Many research funding institutions already have open access policies and many are thinking about them. [1] The widespread sharing of research results is an essential component of investment in science. Faster and wider sharing of knowledge fuels the advancement of science and, accordingly, the return of health, economic, and social benefits back to the public.

The World Health Report 2012, the biannual flagship report of the World Health Organization (WHO), will focus for the first time in its history on the theme of research for better health. Decisions on healthcare are still made without a solid grounding in research evidence, and an impetus is required for this state of affairs to change. WHO and PLoS (an Open Access publisher committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource) have launched an initiative to encourage researchers to complement and substantiate the key messages in World Health Report 2012 by creating a special WHO/PLoS Collection.[2]

Open Access journals are highlighted in the Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of information and communication technologies in Africa, Education Sector Study report prepared for the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the African Union. [3]

We think it is important to look at the current achievements – Open Access policies and practices – and facilitate a discussion about Open Access implications for development and how Open Access can help to rethink the development agenda.

References
[1] ROARMAP: Registry of Open Access Repositories Mandatory Archiving Policies
[2] World Health Report 2012: No Health Without Research
[3] Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of information and communication technologies in Africa, Education Sector Study report, prepared for the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the African Union by: Dr Lishan Adam, Neil Butcher, Dr F. F. Tusubira, and Claire Sibthorpe; project coordination and editing by Claire Sibthorpe and David Souter, December 2011

With best wishes,

Iryna Kuchma

EIFL Open Access Programme Manager

Anar Rustemov

Anar Rustemov
133 days ago

Dear Friends

As I see, there are a lot of new ideas regarding the format of the forum to be held 14 to 18 May in Geneva, Switzerland

I'd like suggest as main direction of the forum to focus on education of ICT in Higher Educations. Because a human resource development is the main problem in developing countries. In order to wide horizon of student in state of the art and future technologies, we should mainly focus on training.

As innovation it would be better to invite some higher education institutions to the forum. To prepare new relevant material for education in higher education instituions or update existing course materials. UNESCO already has material repository. But I think it is time to inspire universities to open such courses in their countries.

In Azerbaijan, Qafqaz University is commencing ICT development course for bachelor students from different universities. Our aim to enhance ICT knowlegde in different disciplines among bachelor students.

Best Regards

Anar Rustamov

BAUDOUIN SCHOMBE

BAUDOUIN SCHOMBE
133 days ago

Hi all,

I propose at this stage, the moderator makes us a summary of all proposals and that we can evaluate them in relation to our interests and the realities that exist in our communities. There may be converging ideas, problems to reframe or rephrase.
There are full of interesting proposals. But we must make choices.

Harold Tor

Harold Tor
132 days ago

Hi,

I am the Education and Employment coordinator at Education International. I would like to make the following suggestions for the Summit.

1) Thematic focus: ICT in Education

Covering the following areas:

•   What is the reason for promoting the use of ICT in education? Is it more of an empowerment tool for students, or more of a cost-cutting alternative for policymakers?

•   Should one impose the use of ICT on all subjects? ICT has a proven record of assisting in learning and teaching of STEM subjects. What about humanities and civic education?

•   When one speaks about education, particularly when talking about the issue of ICT in education, it is crucial to highlight the difference between self-learning and education. Self-learning is a part of the education process, but it cannot be taken as education itself. It is also important to make clarify which levels of education one is talking about: basic education requires very different pedagogical methodologies from university education, for example.

•   Who are the crucial participants in the integration of ICT tools in the education process? Policymakers, school leaders, teachers and teacher unions, pedagogical experts, parents and students. Technical support for both teachers and students at school and after-school, pre- and in-service teacher training as well as continuous maintenance and upgrading of both hard- and softwares.

•   ICT is not only a tool for teaching and learning, it can also be used in other aspects of education such as the elimination of discriminations, gender equality, sexual diversity, racial harmony etc. The increased use of ICT also creates other dimensions to the existing challenges that schools, teachers and parents face, such as cyber-bullying and the increase in school violence due to violent video or online games. How do and should education stakeholders take these aspects into consideration when they advocate for the increased use of ICT in education?

2) Format

I appreciate the format used last year, in the form of a panel and an audience, but such a format has restrictions on free participation of the audience and most importantly, it inhibits the possibility of a free discussion.

May I suggest that:
1) While the umbrella theme of a session is there, a list of sub-themes be made known at the start of a session. The experts on the panel are also chosen according to the sub-themes.
2) Experts do not made any presentations, only respond to questions.
3) The chairperson's role is to manage the discussions, keep them in focus.

The idea is to capture the different angles, aspects of and suggestions for the topic.

Best regards,

Harold Tor

BAUDOUIN SCHOMBE

BAUDOUIN SCHOMBE
132 days ago

This is an interesting approach that deserves to be discussed.

This discussion is closed.