(AMARC/IPA/IFEX) – The following is a 10 November 2005 press release circulated by AMARC and IPA on behalf of the Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society: Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS) Tunis, November 16-18, 2005 CSIS Press release – November 10th, 2005 Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society launches website and calls for […]
(AMARC/IPA/IFEX) – The following is a 10 November 2005 press release circulated by AMARC and IPA on behalf of the Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society:
Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS)
Tunis, November 16-18, 2005
CSIS Press release – November 10th, 2005
Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society launches website and calls for support in the face of political pressure
The Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS), to be held in Tunis, on November 16-18, 2005, launched its website today with a call for solidarity and support. The CSIS is planned as a civil society side event of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) but it is facing repeated obstructions in its efforts to secure a suitable venue in Tunisia.
The CSIS builds on a long tradition of civil society events linked to United Nations conferences. More than 80 international civil society organizations and coalitions have pledged their support and plan to take part in the three-day Citizens Summit, but a venue previously confirmed for the event was withdrawn at the last minute for reasons that CSIS organisers believe to be in response to political pressure from the Tunisian government.
While efforts continue to secure a venue for the main event, the CSIS organisers are inviting civil society organisations to hold their own complementary activities and events under the CSIS banner. These activities may be held elsewhere in Tunis, in other Tunisian cities, in other countries, or may even be virtually organized on the Internet. These activities may take various forms, such as panels, conferences and campaigns. They may be held inside or outside the official WSIS site and may therefore include already planned WSIS parallel events.
Registering an activity under the CSIS banner is a simple way to show solidarity with the CSIS and its objectives, even for people and organizations that cannot be present in Tunis during WSIS. Activities under the CSIS banner will be announced on the CSIS website where event organizers can find all the relevant information needed to register their event. The website will also carry further news on the location and venue for the main CSIS event.
Contact:
Expressions of support, registration of activities: support@citizens-summit.org
Press enquiries: press@citizens-summit.org
General contact, questions: contact@citizens-summit.org
Website: htpp://www.citizens-summit.org
A preliminary list of CSIS supporters is available at: http://www.citizens-summit.org/support.html
