<incom> FW: [SPAM] [bytesforall_readers] ICC unveils information society initiative: BASIS will serve as the voice of global business

[Gurstein, Michael]

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Subject: [SPAM] [bytesforall_readers] ICC unveils information society
initiative: BASIS will serve as the voice of global business







Bangladesh NGOs Network for
Radio and Communication
Promoting Communication Technology for a Fairer World
www.bnnrc.net <http://www.bnnrc.net/> 




ICC unveils information society initiative
BASIS will serve as the voice of global business 

The International Chamber of Commerce today announced the creation of an
ambitious new initiative, Business Action to Support the Information
Society (BASIS). This project will lend business expertise and
experience to the emerging global dialogue that is shaping the agenda on
Internet governance and information and communications technologies
(ICTs), particularly in multistakeholder discussions at the United
Nations and following the UN World Summits on the Information Society
(WSIS).

Speaking at ICC's Paris headquarters during the launch of BASIS, ICC
Secretary General Guy Sebban said: "Business is the driver of innovation
in information and communications technologies. Men and women in
businesses around the world have a wealth of experience to contribute to
global efforts promoting the use of these tools for economic growth and
social development. Creating the necessary conditions for business to do
what it does best - create jobs, train workers, invent new technologies
and develop business models - is essential for business to help build a
more inclusive information society. BASIS will provide ongoing business
input to help achieve these aims and the UN Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)."

BASIS will give global business a strong and united voice at
multistakeholder forums this year, including the Global Alliance for ICT
and Development (GAID) in Kuala Lumpur. Mr Sebban co-chairs the steering
committee for GAID. BASIS will also participate in the Internet
Governance Forum (IGF) in Athens from 30 October to 2 November 2006.

"We want to consistently contribute to a multistakeholder dialogue where
all partners are on an equal footing, to build consensus and enhance
understanding of what it really means to take full advantage of these
technologies: Namely, creating frameworks that promote competition and
investment, protect intellectual property, stimulate innovation and
boost entrepreneurship," said Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of TAGI
International, who chairs BASIS and co-chairs GAID's steering committee.

Partnerships involving business will be prominently featured at the
Global Alliance this week. "Diversity of effort is vital in addressing
the unique needs and challenges of the less fortunate. The Global
Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) welcomes BASIS as the
representative of business, which will be a key stakeholder in the
establishment of strategic partnerships as an engine for change. These
partnerships engage various stakeholders and provide a platform where
each member offers their perspective and expertise in the use of
information and communication technologies toward the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals." said Sarbuland Khan, Executive
Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Global Alliance for ICT and
Development.

With BASIS, ICC is building on its reputation as the most authoritative
voice of world business on these issues, developed through the work of
its Coordinating Committee on Business Interlocutors (CCBI) at WSIS in
Tunis (2005) and Geneva (2003).

In its first year, BASIS will focus on Internet governance and ICTs for
development. BASIS members will share their depth of experience on these
issues with governments, international organizations and civil society.
BASIS will also highlight the importance which must be placed on
education and ICT training.

WSIS Tunis spelled out 11 areas for further action requiring
multistakeholder dialogue, from e-business to ICT training. For a list
of WSIS goals, consult
www.itu.int/wsis/implementation/index.html#alm


What is BASIS?

Every business using information and communications technologies and the
Internet (ICTs) should be concerned by the growing interventionist
tendencies affecting legal, policy and regulatory frameworks that
dictate how these technologies develop. To safeguard the environment in
which global business will continue to thrive as an innovator, a
consumer and a producer of these technologies, the International Chamber
of Commerce has launched Business Action to Support the Information
Society (BASIS).

While ICTs have underpinned global prosperity by stimulating
cross-border commerce, many governments and some international
organizations are either not creating the conditions for ICTs to
flourish or are getting more involved in what has been a bottom-up,
free-flowing, global medium. This growing potential for intervention in
the Internet risks fragmenting this phenomenal medium for global
exchange, in turn hampering the growth of e-commerce and harnessing the
full potential of ICTs across borders.

This interventionist trend also poses challenges for business to expand
into new markets. Business requires that countries put in place suitable
frameworks, with sound policies that stimulate competition, attract
investment, encourage entrepreneurship, and develop ICT training and
education programmes.

ICC set up BASIS to serve as the cross-sectoral voice of global business
in the emerging international dialogue on the use of ICTs to stimulate
economic growth and social development. It continues the work begun by
the ICC-led Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors, which
organized participation by the worldwide business community in the World
Summits on the Information Society in Geneva (2003) and in Tunis (2005).

BASIS will champion the role and interests of business in these
activities. It will mobilize business to play a major part in these
discussions and set aside resources to ensure business is systematically
represented. BASIS will represent the views of small and large
businesses and organizations, which may not have the means to provide
ongoing input to national and intergovernmental organizations and at
global forums.

BASIS Mission:

BASIS is the most authoritative voice of business, representing the
widest range of business interests in these global discussions. It aims
to unite the business community, raise awareness of business expertise
and experience and communicate more effectively what business needs to
continue contributing to the development of the information society.
These requirements include: the creation of legal, financial and policy
frameworks that encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and investment;
and the continued business-led, technical management and coordination of
the Internet, to preserve its security, stability and interoperability.

BASIS will communicate with governments, international organizations and
civil society on these issues.

BASIS will also raise public awareness of the pitfalls in current
developments shaping the information society, relying heavily on
policies and practices formulated in the ICC Commission on E-business,
IT and Telecoms (EBITT).

Through BASIS, business will help shape the agenda on the information
society. This is vital, since business needs continued flexibility to
develop new technologies and business models. Continued freedom to
innovate is a precondition for ICTs to provide their full benefits for
the information society.

BASIS Goals: 

*	Represent business at global meetings on these issues to
safeguard business interests to promote commercial development 

*	Increase awareness among governments, civil society,
intergovernmental organizations and the public of the requirements that
must be fulfilled so business can do its job in spreading the benefits
of the information society more evenly across the world 

*	Coordinate and exchange information with relevant authorities,
such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and UN
agencies including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD). 


Projects: 

*	Organize business presence and advocate business priorities at
the first meetings of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development in
Kuala Lumpur from 19 to 20 June 2006 and the Internet Governance Forum
in Athens from 30 October to 2 November 2006 

*	http://www.gaid.org <http://www.gaid.org/>  

*	http://www.intgovforum.org <http://www.intgovforum.org/>  

*	Selectively participate in other UN multistakeholder forums,
meetings of the UN Commission on Science and Technology and UN agencies
that coordinate post-WSIS activities 

*	Raise media awareness of BASIS activities 

*	Inform governments and international organizations involved in
the post-WSIS activities and forums about EBITT's policies and practical
tools 

*	Meet with government officials to advocate business views on
ICTs and Internet governance 

*	Prepare position papers for governmental and intergovernmental
organizations or for special occasions, based on policies developed by
EBITT 

*	Arrange briefings and interventions for BASIS members to deliver
at forums 

*	Represent business views at events, informal and preparatory
meetings and consultations 

*	Organize and manage briefings and teleconferences for BASIS
members 


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