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
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 new era in global efforts to promote the advancement of women. A process was set in motion that would involve deliberation, negotiation, setting objectives, identifying obstacles and reviewing the progress made. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has been responsible for organizing and following up the world conferences on women. The World Conference on Equality, Development and Peace was held in Copenhagen in July 1980, where three spheres of intervention were identified, in terms of access to education, employment opportunities and adequate health care services. In 1985, Nairobi hosted the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the Decade: it was then recognized that gender equality was not an isolated issue, but encompassed all areas of human activity; and new ways of overcoming obstacles for achieving the objectives of the Decade were identified: constitutional and legal measures; equality in social participation; equality in political participation and decision-making.

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 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. Such goals are to be achieved by the year 2015 and include: eradicating extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, providing universal primary education and developing a global partnership for development.
A World Summit to appraise the status of MDGs was held in 2005 at UN Headquarters, and offered the opportunity to address issues in the areas of development, security, human rights and reform of the United Nations. In September 2008 governments, foundations, businesses and civil society groups, gathered in New York, and rallied around the call to action to slash poverty, hunger and disease by 2015, by announcing new commitments to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The 2010 MDGs Summit concluded with the adoption of a global action plan ‘Keeping the Promise: United to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals’.
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 and Platform for Action. Since then, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has systematically reviewed progress in the implementation of the twelve critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action, and has adopted action-oriented recommendations, to facilitate increased implementation at all levels. In particular the Commission acted as the Ad-hoc Preparatory Committee for the 23rd special session of the UN General Assembly (Beijing +5). The ten and fifteen years reviews of the Beijing Platform for Action were carried out by the CSW at its 49th and 54th sessions (2005 and 2010).
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.
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 the leading role in the organization of the Summit.
The first phase took place in Geneva (10-12 December 2003) and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005. The objective of the first phase was to develop and foster a clear statement of political will and take concrete steps to establish the foundations for an Information Society for all, reflecting all the different interests at stake. More than 11,000 participants from 175 countries attended the Summit and related events. A Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action were adopted, alongside a number of documents submitted by different stakeholders.
The objective of the second phase was to put Geneva's Plan of Action into motion as well as to find solutions and reach agreements in the fields of Internet governance, financing mechanisms, and follow-up and implementation of the Geneva and Tunis documents. More than 19,000 participants from 174 countries attended the Summit and related events. A Commitment and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society were adopted.
In July 2006, the ECOSOC adopted a Resolution entitled ‘Follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society and review of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development’, to indicate how it will oversee the system-wide follow-up of the Summit outcomes via annual consideration and with assistance of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up of WSIS.
Internet Governance Forum

Multi-stakeholder dialogue on Internet governance, mandated by the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in 2005 and taking place annually.
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.