We would like to draw your attention on the unacceptably short time-frame  that was given to the Civil Society to write those comments, when taking into account, that the coordinator is not a full-time diplomat. Collective concertation and work becomes practically impossible. Therefore we feel entitled to complete at a later time those summary comments by sending more information to selected govermental delegations.

Our main general concern is that the word "Open Access" vanished during PrepCom3 from the Declaration of Principles. As you are fully aware, the deletion  of the paragraph that included this word in the section "Access to Information"  was the result of a disastrous material mistake of one delegation, and this did reflect a position  against "Open Access" from this delegation. The concept of "Open Access" which bears a precise meaning must absolutely be re-introduced in the text.  The use of the word "equitable access" has been introduced, probably with  good intent, but this refers to a completely different notion.

The word "open access" refers to the free access to information that has been created  by authors that do not seek financial compensation. The best example is scientific authors.  This information should be freely available and should not be resold by publishers at a very high price, therefore creating yet another digital divide. As a conclusion the word "open access" refers to non-commercial and public domain information.

The word "equitable access" refers to the "equitable trade" ( "commerce equitable" in French )  movement that promotes a fair financial compensation between economical actors with unequal bargaining power. Therefore the word "equitable" seems correct, but as long as it used within a trade context. This word is fitted for commercial transactions related to commercial information. It should not be used to replace "Open Access" because  it would imply that scientific information, public domain information and any other information  that is created for free, should be subjected to trade rules.

To summarize : The WSIS should not be confused with the WTO summit about information.

The very good news for the "Open Access" movement is that the German and French research agencies undersigned in Berlin (22 October 2003) a statement in support of Open Access and Open Archives. This very recent European statement of support for "Open Access" follows recent statements from significant institutions in the US and a major institution in the UK. These statements will be submitted as NGO contributions to the WSIS.

  22.( 20 ) The sharing and strengthening of global knowledge for development can be enhanced by promoting open access to information for social, political, health, cultural, educational, and scientific activities and by promoting equitable access to information for   commercial, economical, industrial and financial activities

  23. ( 21 ).A rich public domain is an essential element for the growth of the Information Society,creating multiple benefits such as an educated public, new jobs, innovation, business opportunities, and the advancement of sciences. Information in the public domain should be freely accessible to support the Information Society, and protected from misappropriation. Public institutions such as libraries and archives, museums, cultural collections and other community-based access   points should be strengthened so as to promote the preservation of documentary records and open access to information.

  25.(23) Scientists, universities, academic, research and other institutions have a central role   in the development of the Information Society. Many of the building blocks of the Information Society are the result of scientific and technical advances made possible by the free sharing of   research results. We encourage promoting open access to scientific knowledge and promoting the creation, with equal opportunities for all, of scientific and technical information.