The first Working Draft is a culmination of a deliberately protracted process which was publicly launched on 25 June 2003 following extensive talks among the key industry associations in the ICT sector. Although the broadcasting industry was not involved from the very beginning, the NAB was approached by the Working Group and requested to participate in the Summit held on 16 and 17 September 2003 at the Sandton Convention Centre. Realising the value and importance of the process as well as the need for the existence of an Empowerment Charter in the ICT sector, the NAB joined the process and has been a key participant ever since.

The first Working Draft is aimed at teasing further discussions on the charter in a more structured way. The intention is definitely not to circumscribe the areas of discussion. It was decided not to include numerical targets at this stage since it is these that are likely to distract attention from the principles and other important aspects of the charter