Studies of the ICT policy situation in twenty-two countries from four regions are featured: Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda); Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the Philippines); Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru); and Eastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania), with one report from a Western European country (Spain).
The report concludes that when it comes to ICTs for development, there are some conspicuous similarities between the countries. Excluding Spain, the other twenty-one countries each show obvious evidence of the “digital divide” which impacts on the majority of people negatively. According to Brazilian authors RITS, the absence of a people-orientated policy framework in Brazil runs the risk of condemning the vast majority of people to “eternal disconnection.” The report also includes provocative, analytical essays on five international institutions (including ICANN and the World Intellectual Property Organisation) questioning the extent to which they allow all stake-holders to participate in their processes. There is a special section on how to measure progress.
The Global Information Society Watch monitors the implementation and follow-up of key international agreements about ICT policies and their relationship to development, including WSIS and other information and communication policy processes at international, regional and national level.
Global Information Society Watch aims at promoting the development of a healthy “institutional ecology” in the information and communication sector (i.e. effective regulators, good policy processes, the participation of consumer groups, civil society, media, research institutions, etc), pursuing the following interrelated goals:
- Survey the state of the field of ICT policy at the local and global levels;
- Encourage critical debate and
- Strengthen networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society.
The Global Information Society 2007 Report is the first in a series of yearly reports covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society and stakeholders in the global South.

Publication date

Year of publication

2007

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