The IISD delegation at WSIS included outstanding young Canadians from across the country:
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Terri Willard – Delegation Head – Project Manager, Knowledge Communications; Coordinator, Youth Creating Digital Opportunities (YCDO) Coalition
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Maja Andjelkovic – Project Consultant, Knowledge Communications; Gender Strategy Coordinator, Youth Creating Digital Opportunities (YCDO) Coalition
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Michael Halder – Project Assistant, Knowledge Communications; IDS Co-op Student, University of Toronto
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Blane Harvey – YCLSF Participant @ United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
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Michelle Laurie – YCLSF Participant @ World Conservation Union (IUCN)
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Jill Peacock – YCSLF Participant @ World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
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Christian Stamm – YCLSF Participant @ International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
Events organized by IISD or involving the delegation members as presenters or moderators included:
Wednesday, December 10
The winner and category finalists of the GKP Youth Awards engaged in a panel discussion around their best-practice ICT4D projects. From Cambodia to Rwanda, Philippines to Finland, these young people shared their stories and provided lessons learned.
Thursday, December 11
Over the past decade, Canadian government agencies and non-profit organizations have developed unique partnerships to support youth leadership in ICT4D in Canada and abroad. Many of the programs are now being used as models for other national and international ICT4D activities. This event provided an opportunity to meet the young (and young-at-heart) Canadians responsible for these remarkable initiatives. Chair: Terri Willard (IISD). Presenters: Santiago Reyes-Borda (Industry Canada), Diane Trahan (Canada World Youth), Jennifer Correiro (TakingITGlobal), and Louis Dorval (Engineers Without Borders). View session details (108 kb) .
The Youth Creating Digital Opportunities Coalition, launched in February 2003 at WSIS PrepCom2, now includes 20 organizations striving to realize the potential of young people as leaders in using ICTs to achieve more sustainable development in their communities and around the world.
Key representatives of the donor community and international organizations attending WSIS in Geneva were connected with representatives from governments and civil society groups in several countries, in order to discuss practicable ways of translating rhetoric into reality. Video archives of the discussion are available from the World Bank.
This invitation-only event provided a platform to recognize outstanding efforts in the field of ICT4D. Presentations will include special awards for women, youth and the media, as well as the Tony Zeitoun Award. Information about youth award winners is available from the Global Knowledge Partnership.
Friday, December 12
The two phases of the World Summit on the Information Society provide an excellent window of opportunity to integrate sustainable development principles and practices into the institutions and policy frameworks that are shaping the information society. Members of the IS and SD project team discussed what young policy researchers are doing to make this a reality.
Networks have a particular strength in pooling resources and energies in addressing ICT4D issues. Network-based GKP members come together to share their experiences and lessons learned, drawing out commonalities and issues of concern and challenges since GK97 and GKII. View IISD's contribution regarding lessons learned (541 kb) .
This roundtable with the Youth and Gender Caucus highlighted strategies for mainstreaming gender perspectives in ICT for Development with a focus on young women's empowerment. Participants also evaluated the report of the online forum “Talk to Her,” a YCDO initiative, in an offline context.
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