RE: [Telecentres] WSIS ignorance!

[Don Cameron]

Hi Hannah, Jacqueline   Whatever the intent the statement is ambiguous and either or both of your interpretations are likely to be correct. I agree with Hannah - the paragraph should be re-written and properly justified if for no other reason than to clarify and substantiate the author’s perspective.   On a similar note – The WSIS Plan of Action (C4,o) states: “Volunteering, if conducted in harmony with national policies and local cultures, can be a valuable asset for raising human capacity to make productive use of ICT tools and build a more inclusive Information Society. Activate volunteer programmes to provide capacity building on ICT for development, particularly in developing countries”   I find this statement more than a little offensive and indicative of a process sorely lacking in civil engagement. Volunteerism is the mainstay of Telecentre operations; an essential component of communal interaction and future sustainability.   Volunteerism should never be limited to (something) “conducted in harmony with national policies”. I agree with a need for cultural empathy, however to preclude all volunteer activities conducted outside, and often for benefits greater than those encompassed by national policy is absurdly counter-productive and indicative of a thorough lack of understanding of the volunteer ethos. The fact this is the only reference to volunteerism in the Plan of Action and altogether omitted from the Declaration of Principles shows just how far WSIS is from understanding the value of true civil involvement.   In the state of South Australia during the year 1999-2000 volunteerism contributed 4.98 billion dollars to the Gross State Product (1). This is more than 10% of the total GSP (43.4 billion) across all industry sectors and much of the volunteer work is associated with ICT initiatives. It is my view that rather than marginalising the value of volunteerism WSIS should be actively engaging volunteers and promoting far greater levels of volunteer input.      (1)     The Economic Value of Volunteering in South Australia. Dr Duncan Ironmonger, Households Research Unit Department of Economics, University of Melbourne 2001)   Rgds, Don

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