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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 08/07/13 15:16, Jeremy Malcolm
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote cite="mid:51DA674C.5060305@ciroap.org" type="cite">
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Best Bits came into being as a very loose, grassroots coalition,
and this has worked very well. At the same time, it has now
reached a point of maturity (and influence) where the benefits of
institutionalising it a bit more strongly would probably outweigh
the risks of doing so.<br>
<br>
To this end, a few volunteers have come (or been prodded!) forward
to serve as an initial steering group. Since we don't already
have a democratic procedure for selecting such a steering group,
we haven't tried to invent one. Rather, it will be the steering
group itself that is responsible for recommending such a procedure
for the rest of us to adopt.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Just to report back quickly that the first act of the interim
steering group has been to co-opt two more members to join them, who
will be someone from APC (to be confirmed), and Marianne Franklin. This could continue, but we think that a small
team of six, plus the two co-optees, will be sufficient for us to
move towards establishing a more democratic selection process.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, here are some other points to bring you up to date (not exclusive):<br>
<ul>
<li>Recently the Enhanced Cooperation Working Group has released its questionnaire. We are going to be developing a draft joint response to this on the EC sub-list, and releasing it here when ready. This should not prevent anyone from writing their own response! See <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zMI-GHo4Fv9pwAfmuTqFd-sd4zquvREfB4850NXhP7E/viewform?pli=1&hl=en">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zMI-GHo4Fv9pwAfmuTqFd-sd4zquvREfB4850NXhP7E/viewform?pli=1&hl=en</a>.</li><li>Our annual meeting in Bali is coming together, with venue
details to be revealed soon. Although we already have a rough
outline of the programme, it remains open to suggestions in
light of more recent events, such as the PRISM surveillance
scandal and the ITU's decision to keep the CWG-Internet closed.<br>
</li>
<li>Our two IGF workshops at which we will present the results of
our annual meeting to the broader community of stakeholders were
both accepted and all of the panelists are confirmed. For the one that I'm coordinating, the panel consists of members of the CSTD Working Group, including members from other stakeholder groups viz. Baher Esmat from ICANN, Ellen Blackler from Disney and Alexandre Fontenelle from Brazil.<br>
</li>
<li>I am pursuing a lead which would provide travel funding and
administrative support to Best Bits. I have a phone call with the prospective funders today and will report back soon. Meanwhile with the trickle of mainly in-kind support that we already have, work has slowly been progressing on upgrades to our website. Enhancements to the shared calendar facility are now being tested and will be unveiled soon.</li>
<li>On the other hand it is unlikely that any travel funding will
come through in time for the Asia-Pacific Regional IGF in
September, so our proposed workshop at that event might not go
ahead unless a sufficient number can make it, or another funding source comes forward. Sorry about this.</li>
</ul>
<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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