Normand Landry

In 2003 and again in 2005, the international community was called by the United Nations to take part in a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This two-phased summit placed an unprecedented global spotlight on information and communication issues. At the same time, the WSIS represented a grand experiment in global governance: the active participation of non-governmental stakeholders in the development of public policies at the international level. Digital Solidarities, Communication Policy and Multi-stakeholder Global Governance examines the actors, structures and themes that shaped the WSIS with a particular focus on the role played by civil society. The book investigates how civil society self-organization has continued post-WSIS through the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and other policymaking venues, and reflects on what the WSIS experience reveals about the challenges and opportunities embedded in the notion of multi-stakeholder governance and its implications for understanding global communication.

In 2003 and again in 2005, the international community was called to take part in a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This two-phase United Nations summit placed an unprecedented global spotlight on information and communication issues. "Civil Society, Communication and Global Governance" provides a sweeping portrait of the players, structures and themes of the WSIS, as well as a critical analysis of the summit's first phase, the issues it raised and the groundbreaking role played by civil society. Including an extensive bibliography, list of relevant web sites and key documents, this will be a basic reference source for everyone interested in the role of information and communication on shaping twenty-first-century societies.