ICC BASIS intervention at WSIS action lines facilitators meeting

Thank you Chair and thanks to the hosts. My name is Ayesha Hassan, and I appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments on behalf of the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC and its BASIS initiative, Business Action to Support the information society. ICC has actively contributed to the WSIS process through the CCBI throughout the WSIS Geneva and Tunis events, and now through BASIS in the post-WSIS activities.

We are pleased to have participated in the WSIS action lines Forum 2010.

ICC BASIS had submitted comments in the preparatory process for this event stressing the importance of focusing sessions on concrete initiatives that demonstrate the efforts of all stakeholders to implement the goals of the WSIS action lines.

There were some sessions that did provide real examples of such concrete projects such as the ICT 4D Bangladesh thematic workshop and the community media session; these sessions provided excellent examples of initiatives being taken by a range of stakeholders to fulfill the goals of the action lines, they were informative and inspiring.

We would encourage the WSIS action lines forum and facilitation process to build on such sessions and ensure that a broader range of stakeholder activities are highlighted in future events.

In response to a call for cooperative efforts among the action lines facilitators, we were pleased to see the cooperation of ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD and encourage all to build on this effort in the future; We would like to hear more about the activities of all of the facilitators to facilitate the action lines and more about all stakeholders’ activities.

The hosting of the WSIS action lines forum by multiple hosts is important.

We applaud the improvement of consolidation for the May WSIS related meetings from 3 weeks to 2 weeks this year. Business, UN orgs, and other stakeholders have participated in the IGF preparatory meetings, the WSIS action lines Forum this week which unfortunately collided, but the fact that they were held in the same week made it more feasible for stakeholders to participate. As we have said many times in the past, remaining sensitive to time, financial and human resources available to all stakeholders is critical, and we would encourage consideration of having the WSIS action lines Forum take place over 3 days and the IGF preparatory meetings over 3 days in the same week to facilitate participation and remain sensitive to resources, with only 1 day of overlap.

We would also like to recognize the consolidation of all the action lines events in the booklet provided, this brought all the events related to all the action lines together in an easy resource to consult.

So many activities that are related to the spirit of the WSIS and inspired by the action lines are going on all around the globe, in all regions and motivated by all stakeholders in so many countries. It is important to recognize that many stakeholders work each day on activities, initiatives, projects and partnerships that are fulfilling the objectives of the action lines everyday. Not all of them may be captured but it is important to recognize.

Thank you