A crucial preparatory meeting (PrepCom I) for the Tunis phase of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) is under way in Hammamet, Tunisia.
PrepCom I has been called to shape the focus and output of the second phase of the WSIS, while building on the momentum gained in the first phase in Geneva. The aim is to create the framework for an inclusive Information Society.
To this end, 900 delegates are expected at the event, representing governments, international organisations, business and civil society.
The session will centre on issues related to the Information Society in the follow up to the WSIS Plan of Action and is expected to agree on the organisational structure of the preparatory process leading up to the WSIS summit in Tunis in November 2005.
One area that is being stressed is the need to follow up on the promotion of partnerships between stakeholders with proposed public-private partnership mechanisms, while there are also several proposals that are aimed at engaging civil society, business and the media in a more comprehensive way.
The role of the various stakeholders in the construction of the Information Society and specific proposals on how each can contribute to it by the agreed deadline of 2015 are seen as essential by the majority of the participants.
Encouraging private sector participation, with a special focus on building partnerships around ICT applications needed to bridge the digital divide, is another issue that is considered to be of utmost importance to the second phase.
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