ANNEX II

1999 AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FORUM STATEMENT

ON NGOS IN THE INFORMATION AGE

On 27 October 1999 representatives of civil society, specifically non-governmental and community-based organizations, produced a document entitled NGOs in the Information Age, which gives recommendations aimed at building effective participation of civil society in the information age. The authors of the document, reproduced below, were among 600 participants in the first African Development Forum (ADF), held from 24-28 October 1999 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

The theme of the forum (www.un.org/Depts/eca/adf/adf99m.htm), organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), was The Challenge to Africa of Globalization and the Information Age. The forum brought together experts from governments, civil society, the private sector, and bilateral and multilateral organizations from both within and outside Africa. The goal of the forum was to develop and support African initiatives to build an African information society.

In addition to the forum’s opening plenary, which was concerned with broad issues of the African development challenge, participants also discussed four themes: strengthening Africa’s information infrastructure; Africa and the information economy; information and communication technologies for improved governance; and democratizing access to the information society.

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African Development Forum Statement: Recommendations for Effective Participation of Civil Society in the Information Age

“We, the representatives of civil society, specifically Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs), acknowledge and appreciate this important congregation of governments, international agencies, private sector actors, and civil society. This platform provides a unique opportunity for these diverse organizations to come together and jointly chart a course for the future of the information society and economy in Africa. We are grateful to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and other international actors for the development of the African Development Forum (ADF). We applaud the commitment of government ministers to participate in this forum. We also recognize the important role that has been played and will continue to be played by the private sector and seek enhanced partnership and experience sharing between our two sectors. We seek continued and increased action and cooperation along these lines and with all of the actors represented at the ADF. We further affirm that issues regarding access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are actually issues of equity, social justice and the right to communicate. In many cases, important policy decisions regarding the rollout, access and use of ICTs are being made without the input of civil society. If those who most need access to these technologies (namely people that are marginalized because of race, gender, disability, geographic location, income, class, etc.) are not involved in these decisions, then universal access and a societal structure that supports and makes effective use of that access, will never become a reality. NGOs and CBOs are in a unique position to actively engage these marginalized constituencies on ICT policy matters—developing locally focussed content, distributing that content through appropriate and effective means, and consulting with and aggregating the voices of the people they serve. NGOs and CBOs act as information brokers and intelligent intermediaries because of their closeness to the community, as well as their access to a broader range of actors and information (often through access to ICTs). NGOs and CBOs, especially those that are indigenous, are part of a paradigm of development that is based on the needs and views of local communities, and we seek support for that role by all organizations involved in ICT policy-making. Therefore, we make the following recommendations.

Recommendations for NGOs and CBOs

There are both NGOs and CBOs that use ICTs for development service delivery, and those that conduct policy advocacy for greater access to ICTs. All NGOs and CBOs concerned with these issues need to be better linked so that they can share experiences and ideas, develop consensus, and aggregate their voices and strengths. Currently, NGOs and CBOs often work in relative isolation. They need more effective means to network and coordinate at the local, national, regional and global levels in order to advocate for policies that take their needs into account. NGOs and CBOs must develop expertise and enhance knowledge on how new ICTs, and the policies that are made in regards to those ICTs, affect them. The goal is to strengthen the ability of NGOs and CBOs to make informed decisions and give relevant input to the policy-making process. NGOs and CBOs need training and capacity building on how to effectively advocate in regards to ICT policy issues. In order to increase knowledge of policy issues and help enhance capacity for advocacy, those NGOs and CBOs more experienced in these matters should seek ways to share their knowledge and experiences with those that are less informed. Those NGOs and CBOs particularly knowledgeable in policy areas should monitor global, regional, national and local policy areas, analyze the impact of these policies, and distribute this information in easily understandable terms to their partners. NGOs and CBOs involved with ICT policy advocacy in Africa should utilize ICTs (such as electronic mailing lists and Web sites), as well as opportunities for face-to-face communication (such as the upcoming ICT-related meeting in February 2000 in Bamako) to further plan and cooperate together. In order to support policy monitoring, experience sharing, coordination and the facilitation of ongoing communication, NGOs and CBOs should examine the possibility of creating a formal coordinating organization for ICT policy advocacy in Africa which builds on existing networks. NGOs and CBOs involved in advocating for equitable ICT policy in Africa must recognize both that many of these policies are set at a global level, and that NGOs and CBOs in other regions have relevant experience in these matters. As such, NGOs and CBOs working in Africa must network, share experiences, cooperate, and jointly advocate with NGOs and CBOs operating in support of equitable ICT policy in other regions of the world. Together, NGOs and CBOs around the globe need to be prepared for and involved in the Millennium round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as other international policy-making bodies and events.

Recommendations for Government

Governments should recognize the universal right to communicate, and acknowledge the important and positive effects that policy and regulatory reform in regards to ICT can have on the ability of the currently disenfranchised to communicate effectively. Government should refocus on the ICT needs of civil society and discuss those needs in depth with NGOs and CBOs. Further, they need to turn that consultation into responsive action and policy change. Similarly, international governing bodies such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the WTO, must provide the means for significant NGO input. The ITU has already begun a process to enhance this input, and we support and encourage the completion of this process and the enactment of similar processes by other international governing bodies. Governments should enact policies, regulations, and mechanisms that ensure transparency during the ICT policy-making process, and which encourage effective input on the part of civil society during this process. They should seek to distribute relevant ICT policy information to civil society, and make sure that NGOs, CBOs and citizens have the opportunity and the ability to effect those policies. Concrete government actions could include freedom of information acts, open and participatory hearings, and sufficient time for comment on proposed policy before it is enacted. Governments should take special care to incorporate the views of NGOs and CBOs in the NICI [National Information and Communications Infrastructure] plans that have been given so much attention at this forum. Government, including regulatory bodies, should seek to harmonize ICT and media laws/regulations for the support of civil society. Currently, many are not providing opportunities for NGOs and CBOs to use tools such as community radio to impact on the reach of information to and from communities. Universal access is a responsibility that should not be eschewed by the state. In some cases, governments rely too heavily on civil society or private institutions to ensure universal access. Governments have the responsibility to actively pursue and promote a policy environment that encourages and supports universal access.

Recommendations for Supportive Agencies

Supportive agencies should be aware of the constraints experienced by NGOs and CBOs, especially indigenous NGOs and CBOs, in regards to access to ICTs, and should work in closer partnership with them to overcome these difficulties. International agencies should seek to strengthen the advocacy and monitoring skills of African NGOs and CBOs. These international agencies are welcome partners in the support and enhancement of African organizations in this regard, but they should seek to establish equal partnerships with these indigenous organizations, with the eventual goal of ensuring that African NGOs and CBOs will be able to speak powerfully and effectively for themselves. Supportive agencies should support the development and enhancement of NGO networks for ICT advocacy. UN agencies, and other relevant support organizations, should ensure that they are disseminating policy information to NGOs and CBOs (not just to governments). Furthermore, these agencies should continue to support forums such as the ADF at which information exchange can occur between the private, government and non-governmental sectors. These agencies should also seek to create a more active platform for NGOs and CBOs and enhance the opportunities for them to voice their concerns in such meetings.”

Voices from Africa no. 9