LibrarianActivist.org

In May, a group of 200 people representing Canadian Civil Society, got together to propose a consensus statement for the World Summit on the Information Society (phase II is taking place in Tunis this fall). The statement can be found here. Here are some good excerpts:

On Free Speech:

Governments should not harass, threaten, or imprison individuals who exercise their fundamental right to freedom of expression. Individuals and organizations that defend human rights should have access to Summit activities, the right to speak, and unfettered access to the Internet.

As an aside, this is very interesting given that the Canadian government in June of this year denied an entry visa to “Dr. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, the Ethiopian government’s chief expert and its representative to the Montreal-based UN Convention on Biological Diversity”, preventing him from attending a vital Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety meeting in Montreal. (link)

On Open Access and Open Government:

The Canadian government through its policies, programs and the working principles of its bodies and agencies, should provide example of no-cost, open and usable access to data, information and knowledge, created through the use of public resources. This should include providing access to primary data, to knowledge repositories, and to archives and other sources, at no cost and providing the means to ensure effective and widely available use of these resources. (…)

The Information Society should foster an environment of transparency and access among all levels of government, civil society and the public, including access to raw and geospatial framework data. It should ensure the preservation and fair, equitable, and culturally appropriate use of current and historical archival records and data, museum artefacts, public domain information, and printed and non-printed library materials. Raw data from statistical, health, environmental and mapping agencies should be made available at no cost to citizens, civil society organizations, and to primary and secondary schools for non-commercial research purposes.

On copyright:

intellectual property rights must balance the rights of creators with the rights of users. Copyright law must not create overly restrictive legal barriers to the fair use, access and copying of information.

On Open Source Software and Wireless Access:

Canadian Civil Society supports Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) and innovative intellectual property initiatives, such as Creative Commons, that enable users to have free access to, and build upon, existing tools and creations.

Participants consider that Canada’s position should be one that supports, encourages, and promotes the development, production, and distribution of free and open source software models at the international level.

Participants believe that to best take advantage of the potential of wireless technologies, Canada’s position, both at home and at international bodies, should reflect the fact that radio frequency spectrum is a global public good. International norms, regulations, and policies should be designed to respect it as such.

It think comments on the consensus can be sent here before July 18th..