Status of governance mechanisms for capacity development
Capacity development features prominently in the WSIS final documents and subsequent
policy developments. It has been performed by wide range of organisations including the
ITU, ISOC, DiploFoundation, APC, the European Summer School on Internet Governance,
the South School in Latin America and the African School on Internet Governance. Also
ICANN provides capacity development.
Capacity development is most directly related to the following Internet policy issues:
telecommunication infrastructure, technical standards, cybersecurity, spam, freedom of
expression, disability rights, women’s rights online, intermediaries, e-commerce, labour law,
access, education, and global public good.
Possible gaps in dealing with capacity development
The mechanisms analysed appear to indicate the existence of gaps in terms of the lack of the
focus on institutional capacity development. Most programmes are related to individual
training and skill improvement. The review also indicated an implementation gap mainly
related to the lack of available funds and other resources for ensuring sustainable capacity
development initiatives.
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