Policy Processes
Profiles of people, organizations, policy documents and resources, which are inserted into the database, typically relate to a specific policy process. A policy process is a debate or negotiation amongst a variety of actors on a particular theme or problem of media and communication policy, limited in time and space, and leading to binding or non-binding rules in the form of laws, conventions, declarations, standards or norms.
Policy processes thereby provide structure and focus for the content that is included in this database. They constitute 'islands' in the broader 'ocean' of global media policy. Currently, profiles in this platform relate to the following prolicy processes:
| Title | Description | Themes | All terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Governance Forum |
The Internet Governance Forum is a global multi-stakeholder policy forum where institutional, business and civil society entities can participate on the basis of their interest for Internet development and governance matters. Its mandate was set by paragraph 72 of the Tunis Agenda (World Summit on the Information Society, 2005) which states: |
Access, Inclusion and Participation, Governance, Information, Communication and Expression Rights, Uses, Physical (cables, wires, spectrum), Logical (code, software, standards), Internet | Participatory policy discussion process/agenda setting |
| World Conference of the International Women’s Year (Mexico City 1975) and the United Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985) |
The United Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985) was proclaimed by the General Assembly five months after the first World Conference on the Status of Women, convened in Mexico City to coincide with the 1975 International Women's Year. The conference reminded the international community that discrimination against women continued to be a persistent problem worldwide, and the UN Decade launched a... |
Content, Diversity and Pluralism, Governance, Print, State, Broadcast, Commercial | Non-participatory policy discussion process/agenda setting |
| Millennium Development Declaration and Goals |
In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations conferences, world leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals. The eight... |
Access, Inclusion and Participation, Governance, Information, Communication and Expression Rights | Participatory policy discussion process/agenda setting |
| Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing 1995) and its Follow-ups |
The United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women on 4-15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. The principal themes were the advancement and empowerment of women in relation to women’s human rights, women and poverty, women and decision-making, the girl-child, violence against women and other areas of concern. The resulting documents of the Conference are The Beijing Declaration... |
Access, Inclusion and Participation, Content, Diversity and Pluralism, Governance, Uses, Print, State, Broadcast, Commercial, Community/Citizens, Internet | Participatory policy discussion process/agenda setting |
| UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity | |||
| Preserving the Open Internet/Broadband Industry Practices |
Review of net neutrality principles and practices by the US Federal Communications Commission. |
Access, Inclusion and Participation, Uses, Physical (cables, wires, spectrum), Internet | Non-participatory decision-making process |
| World Summit on the Information Society and its Follow-ups |
The UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 (21 December 2001) endorsed the holding of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases. A High-Level Summit Organizing Committee (HLSOC) was established under the patronage of the UN Secretary-General to coordinate the efforts in the preparation and holding of WSIS; while the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was assigned... |
Access, Inclusion and Participation, Diversity and Pluralism, Governance, Information, Communication and Expression Rights, Uses, Physical (cables, wires, spectrum), State, Broadcast, Logical (code, software, standards), Commercial, Hardware (consumer devices), Telecommunication, Community/Citizens, Internet | Participatory policy discussion process/agenda setting |
| Review of the Internet traffic management practices of Internet service providers (Canada) |
Review of net neutrality principles and practices by the Canadian communications authority CRTC, involving statements and contributions by various stakeholders including civil society groups and private sector. |
Access, Inclusion and Participation, Uses, Physical (cables, wires, spectrum), Internet | Non-participatory decision-making process |