....... International Conference
Building the Information Commonwealth

GENERAL BACKGROUND

Since 1991, the road to a stable democratic society in the CIS region has been long and difficult. The negative factors common to all the CIS countries -unstable economic growth, state paternalism, low living standards, a hazardous investment climate, the "soviet mentality"- still shape the everyday lives of the majority of the population of our countries.

Given this context, it is crucial to effectively use global resources such as rapidly developing information and communication technologies as the basis for a quantum improvement in the quality of life of ordinary people -. their overall economic and social situation. Most specialists agree that information technologies in the CIS countries are primarily exploited as tools for private gain, and accessible to only a minority of the population.
How can civil society organizations impact these trends? How can we channel information technologies to meet the broader needs of society, and further the development of democratic institutions and the struggle against poverty?
This challenge is common to both civil society and public authorities.

GENERAL AGENDA

The St. Petersburg conference will focus on several key problems of civil society development in CIS countries, through the prism of ICT use. These discussions will be informed in part by specialists from numerous other countries, who will provide case studies, models, methods and projections. The preliminary programme and the provisional list of principal participants as presented is directed toward :
  • A critical analysis of the different aspects of the current Information Society in the CIS region;
  • Understanding the influence of new technical, social and cultural factors within society and their impact on civil society institutions;
  • An analysis of the applicability of modern inter-disciplinary approaches (e.g. Community Networking/Community Informatics) to support community-based IT projects in the CIS states.

The conference will as well, feature numerous training workshops and occasions for networking and exploring collaborations and partnerships.

PARTICIPANTS

  • Leaders of the non-profit and civil society organizations initiating, implementing and managing ICT projects in CIS countries
  • Representatives of the executive structures of the countries of the region
  • Specialists from CIS governmental agencies and programs
  • Representatives of international charitable organizations NGO's and foundations with an interest in the CIS states
  • Experts from international NGO's and multilateral organizations
  • Professors, researchers and practitioners from the CIS states and international involved with the conference issues from the CIS, Europe, Asia, North America, South America (see preliminary list)


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