WSIS: Welcome to the bazaar

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was essentially a big information and communications technology bazaar. Hundreds of organisations and thousands of their representatives all crammed into a big warehouse on the outskirts of Tunis and set up shop in the exhibition area of the summit. Networking and knowledge sharing was the order of the day for those who were there, but for those who weren’t the collective resource might as well not have even existed. Pambazuka News has listed some of the organisations, innovations and publications that were on show so that if you weren’t there you can browse the links, network and learn from what others are doing. View photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fahamu/

Association of Progressive Communications (APC)
www.apc.org
APC is an international network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communications technologies (ICTs).

Base Network Africa
[email protected]
Base Network Africa is a youth led not for profit organisation geared towards guiding rural teenagers using information and communication technology.

Behind the Mask
www.mask.org.za
Behind the Mask aims to empower and support LGBT people throughout Africa – politically, culturally, socially and economically, by the gathering and dissemination of information via the internet.

Centre for International ICT Policies Central and West Africa (Cipaco)
www.cipaco.org
Cipaco is a Panos Institute West Africa project aimed an strengthening the capacity of West and Central African stakeholders for a better participation in international decision-making processes.

Computer Aid International
www.computer-aid.org
Computer Aid international is the world’s largest not-for-profit supplier of quality refurbished Pentiums to schools and community organisations in the developing world.

Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org/
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that offers flexible copyright licenses for creative works

Freedom Toaster
www.freedomtoaster.org
A Freedom Toaster is a conveniently located unit where users bring their own blank CDs and make copies of the FOSS and open content they require, at no cost.

Frontline Defenders
www.frontlinedefenders.org/
Front Line is the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, defending those who champion the Universal Declaration of Human rights.

Gender and ICTs network
www.famafrique.org/regentic/accueil.html
The Gender and ICTs Network promotes gender analysis of the information and communications sector in Senegal and initiates a dialogue between the regulation authorities, women’s organisations and civil society

GenderIT.org
www.GenderIT.org
GenderIT.org is a tool for women’s movements, ICT advocates and policy makers to ensure that ICT policy meets women’s needs and does not infringe on their rights.

Global Knowledge for Development List
www.gkdknowledge.org
The GKD list is a powerful source of high quality expertise and vital information on ICT for development.

Global Knowledge Partnership
www.globalknowledge.org
The GKP is the leading international multi-stakeholder network committed to harnessing the potential of information and communications technologies for sustainable and equitable development

Global Voices Online
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/
Global Voices is an international effort to diversify the conversation taking place online by involving speakers from around the world, and developing tools, institutions and relationships to help make these voices heard.

Human Rights in the Global Information Society
www.mitpress.mit.edu
The contributors to this volume examine the links between information technology and human rights from a range of disciplinary perspectives.

Human Rights Watch: False Freedom – Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa
http://hrw.org/reports/2005/mena1105/
This report looks at the spread of the internet and how governments have moved to crack down on its potential as a tool for freedom of expression.

Kewl.NextGen
www.avoir.uwc.ac.za/kngfiles
KEWL.nextGen (Knowledge Environment for Web Learning, the next generation), is a free software e-learning system from the African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources Project and the University of the Western Cape.

Kubatana
www.kubatana.net
Kubatana is Zimbabwe’s civic and human rights web site incorporating an online directory for the non-profit sector.

Mainstreaming ICTs: Africa lives the information society
www.womensnet.org.za
A handbook for development practitioners that acts as a contribution towards efforts to bridge the “policy-practice” divide. The book is aimed at development practitioners and ICT innovators interested in inventive technology applications.

Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
[email protected]
The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement is an organisation whose mission is to defend the human rights of Africans in America and promote self-determination.

NGO-in-a-box
www.tacticaltech.org/ngoinabox
NGO-in-a-box offers a set of reviewed and selected Free and Open Source software (F/OSS), tailored to the needs of NGO's. It provides them not only with software, but also with implementation scenarios and relevant materials to support this. Its aim is to increase the accessibility of F/OSS to non-profits in developing and transition countries.

Open Knowledge Network
www.openknowledge.net
Open Knowledge Network is an initiative to support the creation and exchange of local content in local languages across the South, supported by a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs)

Panos West Africa
www.panos-ao.org
Panos West Africa informs and communicates a culture of democracy, citizenship and peace in Africa.

Schoolnet Namibia
Schoolnet Namibia provides sustainable, low cost technology solutions and internet access, as well as technical support, training support and rich educational content to schools, community based educational organisations and educational practitioners throughout Namibia.

The Free and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA)
www.fossfa.net
FOSSFA is an organisation that was formed to promote the use of open source software in Africa.

The Information Revolution and Developing Countries
www.mitpress.mit.edu
In this book Ernest Wilson provides a clear, nuanced analysis of the major transformations resulting from the global information revolution.

Ungana Africa
www.ungana-afrika.org
Ungana Africa aims to address the technology capacity crisis by building innovative support programmes and tools that are empowering the development community.

Voices
www.voicesforall.org
Voices was born out of a realization that people’s empowerment through different forms of communication plays a critical and vital role in the process of socio-economic and political change.

Witness
www.witness.org
Witness uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses. By partnering with local organisations around the world, Witness empowers human rights defenders to use video as a tool to shine a light on those most affected by human rights violations.

Women’s statement on the human rights situation in Tunisia
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?w=r&x= 91870

WSIS gender caucus
www.genderwsis.org
The WSIS Gender Caucus is a multi-stakeholder group promoting gender integration and women's rights in the WSIS process.

WSIS youth caucus
http://www.wsisyouth.org/
The Youth Caucus of the WSIS is a loose group of youth who are active leaders in all kinds of areas.

WSIS Draft Civil Society Statement
http://wsis.ecommons.ca/node/view/659