Second Call for Participation and Activities, of the II World Congress of Citizens´Networks

[Ken Young <kyoung@yarranet.net.au>]

Second call for participation and activities
Global CN2001
II World Congress of Citizens´ Networks
"Renewing Communities in the Digital Era"
Intercontinental Hotel
Buenos Aires, December 5 - 7 of 2001
www.globalcn2001.org

Visit the website and find out the different tracks that are being 
proposed. The website is in Spanish, French and English.   Also find out 
how you can participate in the congress.  The current timeline for 
expressions of interest in participating in the Congress is 30 April 
2001.  I have included the following information about the Congress and its 
aims. Please forward as you think appropriate.
Yours
Ken Young
Member of the International Executive Secretariat
Global CN 2001

More Information
Community networking is a generic term to define different kinds of uses of 
the Internet and information technologies for the transformation of our 
communities. In  some countries, they remain as freenets, in others they 
are called telecenters, in others they are seen as an active "digital 
city". In all cases, community networks gather people willing to 
participate in the renewal of their own community in the digital era. There 
is more than a simple web or portal. They are new forms of  society, of 
community. We can define community networking as a way of using information 
technologies by a local actor (association, city, neighbourhoods, 
libraries, new organizations, women movements, etc) for the purpose of 
social transformation (local development, renewal of democracy, social 
inclusion...)

The Global CN congress is now the annual meeting of the civic networks, as 
well as of people interested in their reinforcement, from all over the 
world. Citizens´networks are the novel forms of civic associations of our 
digital era. They play an important role in the strenghtening of social 
networks, in any given population´s access and tools to use the knowledge 
and work opportunities of the Information Society, in citizens´ 
participation in local policy making, the creation of better working 
conditions, and the generation of innovative enterprises.  Civic networks 
means different things to the different practitioners now spread around the 
world.

These issues will be debated at the II Global Congress of Citizens 
Network  2001 (GCN2001) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between the 5 and 7 
December 2001. It  will gather members of the governmental, business, 
academic, and community sectors involved in these networking projects.

Global CN 2001 is an initiative developed by the Global CN Partnership, the 
international alliance of organizations of civic nets of Europe, USA, 
Canada, in collaboration with citizens' networks in the United States, 
Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Australia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican 
Republic, New Zealand, Japan, Russia, India and África.
Ken Young
P.O. Box 111
Sandringham 3191
Australia


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