The Hindu Business Line : UN Summit on information draws to a close

THE United Nation's World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) 2005 comes to an end with a set of declarations and agendas, but what it has achieved in real terms to address the issue of digital divide will remain a moot question.

In the past three days, a great deal of discussions took place on how to bring Internet into the lives of the poor, but no real solutions were in sight on the crucial issue of where to find money to bridge the digital gap that exists between the rich and poor.

The Summit came out with a `Tunis Agenda for the Information Society' and a `Tunis Commitment', which reiterated the need — like in the previous edition of WSIS in Geneva in 2003 — to augment efforts to use information and communication technologies to improve the lives of people in poor countries.

Even before the Summit began on November 16 here, the role of the US in administering the Internet stood as the hot topic of the WSIS, eclipsing most other important subjects such as how to deal with cyber crimes.

On the eve of the Summit, participating countries thrashed out an agreement to leave the management of Internet as it was in the past — ICANN would continue to handle domain names and root servers.

Many people, including various global media termed this decision as succumbing to the US and a win for the US in the `fight' to control the Internet. However, many countries such as India hailed the move to create an `Internet Governance Forum' as a first step towards sharing the control over internment between more nations.

Controversies dogged the Summit, which saw around 18,000 attendees from all over the world. Many human rights groups decried alleged human rights violations by Tunisia. The Reporters Sans Frontiers' Chief alleged that he had not been allowed to deplane in Tunis.

One event that caught the fancy of the technology world was the unveiling of the $100 laptop's prototype by the Media Lab of the US-based MIT.

The laptop, which will be distributed free of cost to school children in developing and poor countries - to start with six - is expected to become a reality by 2007.

The Summit also witnessed one of the greatest convergences of civil societies, non-government organisations and corporates at a UN event, pushing to Government representatives to the sideline.

The Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors, chaired by the International Chamber of Commerce called for a technology neutral, competitive marketplace, a strong system of intellectual property protection, transparent Government operations and a commitment to education and training for all.

For Tunisia, and its capital Tunis particularly, WSIS was an opportunity to showcase its development to the world. Many participants travelling first time to this city, it was a surprise to see the modern city of Tunis that looks like a place in Europe than in Africa.

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