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As we get closer to "relaunching" Best Bits for 2013 with a new
website and some new faces, it's time to get down to one of the main
orders of business for this year: the positive agenda for the
evolution of Internet governance arrangements. (If you need a
refresher on this year's agenda, check the list archive at
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.igcaucus.org/arc/bestbits/2013-03/msg00005.html">http://lists.igcaucus.org/arc/bestbits/2013-03/msg00005.html</a>.)<br>
<br>
As you know, an Enhanced Cooperation Working Group of the UN CSTD is
tasked with making recommendations about potential improvements to
the status quo, and it is important that this doesn't become an
excuse for the introduction of an ITU-style intergovernmental
mechanism. At the other extreme, a stick-in-the-mud approach that
protects incumbent vested interests would be equally harmful, and
there was some agreement at our last workshop that civil society can
do better than that. <br>
<br>
At the October 2013 Best Bits meeting in Bali that we plan to hold
ahead of the IGF (thanks APC), one of our objectives will be to
reach agreement amongst as many as possible of the participants on a
positive model (or models) for evolution of existing arrangements,
so that the civil society representatives in CSTD Working Group can
advocate more strongly for such a model than if we had not spent the
time to develop such a shared position (which, make no mistake, the
other stakeholder groups *will* have done).<br>
<br>
We are really very privileged that all but one (so far) of the civil
society representatives in the CSTD Working Group have agreed to
participate in this discussion with Best Bits members, forming a
little informal working group for discussion. For now a separate
mailing list has been set up for this discussion, though if enough
people feel strongly that the discussion should take place on the
main Best Bits list, we can consider rolling the lists together
later.<br>
<br>
Join this working group, click "Subscribe" on this page: <br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.bestbits.net/wws/info/ec">http://lists.bestbits.net/wws/info/ec</a><br>
<br>
Whilst this is certainly not meant as an exclusive place for
discussion, the "value add" intended to be provided is that it will
be reasonably tightly focussed on the end goal of developing a
concrete proposal (or proposals) for the larger group to discuss,
and which will assist the civil society representatives at the CSTD
in making the case that there is at least one model of evolutionary
change that enjoys fairly broad support from civil society.<br>
<br>
Since the legitimacy of our proposal depends on the inclusiveness of
the exercise (which is and always has been a top priority for the
Best Bits network), feel free to cc this invitation to other civil
society lists that may also be interested in getting involved (I've
added the IGC governance list above already). For those who are not
already members of the *main* Best Bits list, you should also join
that: you can do by hitting "Subscribe" at a different address,
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/bestbits">http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/bestbits</a>.<br>
<br>
We are also planning to call soon for volunteers for a lightweight
Best Bits steering group with balanced representation from all
regions. But I will leave Andrew to tell more about this in a
separate message. I will also have news soon about fundraising for
travel funds, that will allow a good number of you to participate in
Bali if you would otherwise have difficulty in doing so. And of
course, the new website and calendar coming soon! It will be an
exciting and important year.<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<p style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"><b>Dr Jeremy Malcolm<br>
Senior Policy Officer<br>
Consumers International | the global campaigning voice for
consumers</b><br>
Office for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East<br>
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia<br>
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599</p>
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