TeleCommunities Canada
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Talking about social change in a digital age
TC advocates for control of open broadband networks as a local responsibility. But, in thinking about how to support public dialogue about that responsibility, we are lead to raise a broader question first - a very basic question that Canadians generally seem to be avoiding:
IN OUR DIGITAL AGE, WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY DO WE WANT?
Nolan Bowie, in an article titled Education for the long term, states:
"The critical question is not just an issue of technology, but raises the underlying issue, What kind of society do we want? When the question is phrased in this manner, it becomes clear that long-term public policy about information technology inherently involves society's core values concerning power and politics, philosophy, sociology, economics and justice. Therefore, the answer ought to come from "we the people " ourselves, after necessary public discussions, debates, teach-ins, arguments, and democratic conversations in open, public arenas and forums." The Boston Globe, July 2, 2007.
Although still rare, participatory forums to address this question are beginning to occur at the community-level. In the hope of seeding more of them, we intend to use these web pages to share some examples:
- GETTING TO DIALOGUE ON ONTARIO BROADBAND STRATEGY
- ACHIEVING DIGITAL EXCELLENCE IN CHICAGO
- A DIGITAL INCLUSION ADVOCACY TOOLKIT: Bridging the Digital Divide by Winning Community Benefits in Municipal Broadband Projects. Oakland, California, Media Alliance, August 2007. This toolkit is a resource for community members who want to advance digital inclusion in their city, town, or county that is exploring a broadband/ high- speed Internet initiative. PDF
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS IN
ICTS FOR DEVELOPMENT: A GUIDE FOR NATIONAL ICT POLICY ANIMATORS.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC), September 2007.
This guide seeks to contribute to the existing body of knowledge and experience on multi-stakeholder processes in ICT policy. Drawing on the practical experiences encountered during the three-year CATIA (Catalyzing Access to ICTs in Africa) programme on ICT policy advocacy, it presents guidelines that may assist national ICT policy facilitators in coming to grips with the complexities of multi-stake- holder relationships and the attainment of common goals and objectives. It also considers practical issues for the establishment of a multi-stakeholder process for ICT policy and looks at how multi- stakeholder partnerships work, what has been successful and what has not, and offers some practical suggestions on how to make them more effective.
Partnerships between the public sector, the private sector and particularly civil society in promoting information and communication technology (ICT) policy are still relatively new and not always fully understood. Because of this guide´s insistence on engaging with the "voices of the commons" in developing ICT use policy, it is a useful compendium in addressing a significant gap in conventional Public - Private Partnerships (P3's). In effect, it takes P3s and makes them "P4's" (Public - Private - People Partnerships). It notes, "civil society-driven partnership models fair better than public sector models." (p.7).
