Dear GKD Colleagues, You may find of interest the summary report (below) of a consultation meeting the Gateway staff held with a group of South African civil society organisations (CSOs) on February 15, 2001, in Johannesburg, which allowed for a substantive and candid exchange of views on the Gateway. We thank SANGONeT of South Africa for having hosted this meeting at our request. Many thanks, Development Gateway Civil Society Team ___________ DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY CONSULTATION MEETING WITH SOUTH AFRICAN CSOs February 15, 2001 Meeting Notes A consultation meeting on the Development Gateway was held in Johannesburg, South Africa on February 15. The meeting was hosted by SANGONeT, at the request of the Gateway, and brought together representatives from some 15 South African CSOs (complete list provided at the end of this document). The meeting was held at the office of SANGONeT in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. SANGONeT made an introductory presentation on its work with information technology in South Africa. It also described how it is in the process of shifting its focus from being a South African NGO facilitator of communication, providing e-mails and Internet connection, to focus more regionally, as an information service provider. In its new role, SANGONeT will undertake a series of innovative ICT services for its members, which include: * Setting up information suites that are aimed at improving Internet access with a view to promoting on-line publishing of indigenous knowledge as well as providing radio-ready information via the Internet to community radios. * Operating Africapulse, a network of afrocentric information and experiences. * Establishing a regional civil society portal linking local and international NGO's as well as a funding platform linking funders to those CSOs in need. This was followed by a presentation on the Development Gateway, which included a demonstration of the new pilot site. The Gateway representative, Monika Quigley, was accompanied by Happy Nkhome of the Bank's Pretoria Office. Monika explained that she was visiting the country at the invitation of the government of South Africa which has demonstrated interest in learning more about the Development Gateway initiative. Monika also explained that the Gateway is still in its prototype phase and that the team is actively seeking feedback and input from civil society organizations. For this reason, she decided to take advantage of the trip to South Africa by also holding meetings with civil society organizations and private sector companies. Given SANGONeT's leadership in the ICT field in South Africa, the Gateway asked that they host a meeting with leading CSOs. Monika indicated that the private sector groups visited during the trip included: Black Business Council, Ikageng Community Trust, National Federated Chamber of Commerce (NAFCOC), Mbendi Company, and South African Chamber of Business (SACOB). The bulk of the meeting was spent in a lively and substantive question-and-answer session on the Gateway, as well on information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general. Much of the discussion centered on the concerns many of the meeting participants have about the nature, origins, and potential impact of the Gateway and particularly its association with the World Bank. At the outset of the meeting, the labor union representatives present went on record to state that while they were attending the presentation because greater knowledge of ICT initiatives such as the Gateway could possibly benefit their membership, they would not, in principle, support any initiative established by the World Bank. The SANGONeT representatives also made clear the fact that their agreement to host the consultation meeting did not imply their endorsement of the Gateway. Below are the major points raised and replies (marked by <>) provided by Monika Quigley at the meeting. * Several participants expressed their concern that the Gateway will compete and possibly hinder similar local ICT initiatives operated by civil society organizations. Further, they inquired as to why the Gateway or The World Bank do not simply fund existing ICT initiatives rather than establishing its own platform and the Country Gateways. <The Gateway does not intend to compete, but rather to complement the existing civil society ICT initiatives (web pages, e-networks, ISP servers, etc.). It is hoped that the Gateway will be a platform built on locally generated knowledge and information, particularly from civil society. For this reason, the Gateway is being built using open-source software, and made available to development communities using a decentralized approach to permit synergistic flow between the local, national, and global realms. Further, there is a proposal for the establishment of an independent, not-for profit Gateway Foundation, which will have a broader agenda to fund ICT initiatives around the world, in addition to overseeing the Gateway portal.> * Others inquired if the Gateway is still in its pilot stage, or if it is a train already in motion and the last stop is Africa? Will there be some sort of stoppage mechanism if it is found to be ineffective or harmful to existing ICT initiatives? <The World Bank, other donors, governments, and some CSOs are supporting the establishment of the Gateway as a pilot initiative, to harness the power of information-sharing via the Internet in order to promote sustainable development and poverty alleviation. If the Gateway is deemed ineffective or harmful of existing civil society ICT initiatives in the future, the partner organizations will take steps to address the problems raised. The more involvement the Gateway has from leading ICT CSOs, the stronger the possibility that mistakes in its design and knowledge-management approaches can be avoided.> * It was pointed out that the Gateway is a web-based information platform intended to help reduce poverty, but most poor people don't have access to the Internet. Several participants asked if the Gateway will also funding local connectivity and other initiatives geared to reducing the "digital divide". <Those working on the Gateway are very aware and concerned about the issues related to the digital divide. For this reason the Gateway is associated with several initiatives, such as the World Bank's infoDev, which funds civil society connectivity, information-knowledge, and e-networking initiatives. As mentioned previously, once the Gateway Foundation is established it will have a funding component to address the digital divide. A priority for the Gateway is to use the Internet for community and capacity building around information and knowledge-sharing, focusing on specific development issues at the country and community levels.> * The World Bank wants to become a knowledge institution, but which kinds of information and views will it promote? Will the Bank also acknowledge the hardship it has caused in developing countries? <The Gateway is intended to become an independent, multi-stakeholder platform that brings together key actors from government, civil society, and the private sector to share knowledge, build partnerships, promote debate, and channel resources. Thus the Gateway will not present one point of view or source of knowledge, and conflicting views will be featured on the platform. This exchange of information is one of the principle guiding features of the Gateway - the promotion of an open and constructive dialogue on development issues.> * Several participants inquired as to the Gateway's editorial policies, in particular with regard to the autonomy that Country Gateways would have to establish their own editorial standards. What if a Country Gateway's editorial policy prohibited publishing certain types of information, but the global Gateway allowed it, would this not undermine the legitimacy of Country Gateways? <The Development Gateway's editorial policy is posted on the Gateway site. It realizes that there are many viewpoints and perspectives regarding the best way to promote sustainable development and poverty reduction. Thus the editorial policy will assure that these many positions be present on the platform and that they be presented in such a way to promote dialogue and consensus-building. The only types of information the Gateway will prohibit are those that advocate violence or intolerance, as well as pornography.> * The Gateway is a good idea, in principle, but it will get tarnished by the World Bank's negative image. <The Gateway has been proposed by the World Bank as an instrument for all involved in development to reach out to diverse stakeholders, particularly within civil society, in order to promote greater transparency, debate, and partnerships. Thus it would seem that those who traditionally oppose World Bank policies and programs for being too closed or top-down, would welcome this and other similar reform-minded initiatives.> * The SANGONeT representative informed that their organization had participated in a Gateway consultation meeting held in London in July 2000, but that several important recommendations made at that time were ignored. These included the suspension of the Gateway building process since there was not yet a consultation plan in place for Asia and Africa; that there be a formal and transparent process of electing the Gateway board and not a unilateral appointment by the World Bank; that the Bank provided funding to existing civil society ICT and digital divide initiatives rather than spending on a new expensive initiative such as the Gateway. For this reason, SANGONeT feels that these consultation meetings may be pointless and that evaluating the Gateway ex-post will be ineffective. <The Gateway representative stated that she was not present at that particular meeting, but that the report on the meeting proceedings were posted on the Gateway site. The Gateway has held over a dozen consultation meetings during 2000 and has attempted to not only carefully listen but adapt many of the recommendations made concerning editorial policy, governance, and technology. Some examples of features which have been adopted include establishing standards for information sharing (XML), decentralized publishing and community tools, multiple topic guide models including institutional guides, and establishing an editorial advisory committee. These and other adaptations are detailed on the Gateway site and future ones will be featured on the monthly "Development Gateway Update" newsletters which are circulated widely.> * In closing, several participants requested that the Gateway staff share the revised Business Plan and other key documents regarding the latest plans for the Gateway and how and who they intend to appoint to its Board of Directors. <The Gateway has posted the revised Business Plan on the site (under "About Us", "Key Documents"), and will share information about the selection process of the Gateway's Foundation Board of Directors. Currently, the Gateway is in the process of identifying and selecting members for its Editorial Advisory Committee, for which it is seeking nominations for experienced and well-known civil society leaders. The Terms of Reference for these nominations were circulated widely last December, and the Gateway hopes to make the final selection in the coming months.> Overall, there was an informal and frank exchange of views in the meeting. Participants identified many of the same concerns expressed in consultation meetings held in Latin America, Europe, and North America, but this meeting was very useful as it reflected the Southern African perspective. The Gateway team appreciated the opportunity to hear both the negative and positive feedback of key civil society actors, and is attempting to address their critiques and incorporate their suggestions to the greatest extent possible. Meeting Participants: *Civil Society* SANGONeT Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) Link Center - Wits University Nicro Women'sNet - project of SANGONeT National Clearinghouse on Youth Employment (NCYE) Women's Health Project (WHP) South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) GCIS Transparency South Africa NEHAWU Micro Enterprise Alliance (MEA) Development Resources Centre (DRC) National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) Open Society Institute South Africa (OSISA) *World Bank* Development Gateway (Washington) South Africa Program (Pretoria Office) ------------ ***GKD is an initiative of the Global Knowledge Partnership*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.globalknowledge.org>
