Media.Knet.Ca

The final consensus statement adopted by Canadian civil society groups representing a diverse range of peoples, backgrounds, expertise, and perspectives is now available. The group of 200 people met in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on 13-15 May 2005 at a conference entitled “Paving the Road to Tunis” organized by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO with the support of Foreign Affairs Canada, Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the International Development Research Centre, and the Canada Council for the Arts. The purpose of the meeting was to canvass the views of the civil society organizations in Canada on the Plan of Action that emerged from Phase I of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva and the prospects for Phase II in Tunis.

Keewaytinook Okimakanak staff participated in this gathering along with Chief Raymond Mason of Keewaywin First Nation. The following statement concerning Indigenous People is included in this communique.

Indigenous Peoples have the right to be part of the Information Society on their own terms and to shape their future without risking loss of their cultural identity. The survival and development of the living cultures of Indigenous Peoples should be supported by ICT use, not replaced by it. The traditional and cultural knowledge of Indigenous Peoples, held individually and collectively, is integrally linked with the exercise of their right to maintain and strengthen their spiritual and material relationships with ancestral territories.

We support a culturally appropriate approach to ICT use in compliance with cultural protocols and customary laws of Indigenous Peoples.  We object to the commodification of Indigenous traditional knowledge and cultural heritage, in particular any characterization of them as raw material, a commercial resource, or the inclusion of such knowledge in the public domain without the consent and full participation of the individual and collective holders of such knowledge.  We recognize the challenges and obstacles faced by Indigenous Peoples with respect to ICTs, specifically the existing digital divide and its causes. We support the Indigenous right of access, and promote Indigenous participation as partners in action and stakeholders.

Actions to be taken: 

1. Creating a high-level mechanism that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors of the Information Society to promote its cultural diversity, co-operate in its evolution, develop an ethical code and standards for best practices and jointly monitor its impacts;
2. Enabling the realization of Indigenous research projects to support aboriginal communities by bridging the digital divide on their own terms and by developing culturally appropriate ICT applications, content and capacity-building programs;
3. Establishing special grant programs addressing the particular needs of Indigenous Peoples enabling "Indigenous-to-Indigenous" co-operation.

Click here to read the entire six page communique. There are lots of great references contained in this document.