<div dir="ltr">+1 on Andrew regarding my understanding of Best Bits</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Andrew Puddephatt <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Andrew@gp-digital.org" target="_blank">Andrew@gp-digital.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div lang="EN-GB" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I think the precise position is that Best Bits is a platform that enables action/collaboration. As a platform it therefore does not sign letters in its own right a letter goes from the organisations willing to sign it directly not BB itself. Its an important distinction and one we need to be careful about. <u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#253741">Andrew Puddephatt</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">| </span><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#253741">GLOBAL PARTNERS</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#253741"> DIGITAL<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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</div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> <a href="mailto:ebertoni65@gmail.com" target="_blank">ebertoni65@gmail.com</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:ebertoni65@gmail.com" target="_blank">ebertoni65@gmail.com</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Eduardo Bertoni<br>
<b>Sent:</b> 31 October 2013 16:32</span></p><div class="im"><br><b>To:</b> Anja Kovacs<br><b>Cc:</b> John Curran; Jeremy Malcolm; Bits <a href="mailto:bestbits@lists.bestbits.net" target="_blank">bestbits@lists.bestbits.net</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: process Re: [bestbits] [Meeting Report]: friday meeting with fadi et all<u></u><u></u></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">Dear all,<u></u><u></u></p><div><div class="h5">
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">I jump (late) to this debate. My reaction is, perhaps, more related to the core of BestBits. Something that I asked in Bali, and frankly, I didnīt get any answer. For me the core question is about what BestBits is. Is it a platform, that NGOs and other could use for debate and at some point use the technological platform to work on letters or statements? Is it a network, from where ALL the participants have a voice, have the chance to open deliberations, and at the end, reach to decisions to execute some concrete actions ON BEHALF of the network, meaning ALL the organizations? Is it a network where decisions are delegated to some groups? <u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">I was very concern with the language used in the past to present, for example, the last letters or statements. Concrete example: I heard that the letter to the President of Brazil was a letter coming from BestBits. Well, I didnīt signed the letter and I think that I participate in Best Bits. In fact was a letter signed by a group of people or organizations, not BY Best Bits. Am I wrong?<u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Maybe I am introducing a philosophical discussion, maybe is something already discussed that I donīt know, maybe some people use the word platform and network as synonymous. What I strongly believe is this: if it is not clear what BestBits is and how takes decisions, we will have a never end discussion.<u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Best<u></u><u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Eduardo<u></u><u></u></p></div></div>
</div></div><div><div class="h5"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all"><u></u><u></u></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">Eduardo<u></u><u></u></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></p><div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Anja Kovacs <<a href="mailto:anja@internetdemocracy.in" target="_blank">anja@internetdemocracy.in</a>> wrote:<u></u><u></u></p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">
Dear all,<u></u><u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">I have been in favour of keeping some discussions closed, at least in the early stages, for quite a while, and have been so for the reasons John and Kivuva point out: other stakeholder groups do so all the time, and a strategic argument to keep parts of a conversation limited to a smaller group does not mean that conversation cannot be reported back on to a larger group. As long as the latter happens, need more closed conversations really be a problem?<u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">As again confirmed during the Best Bits meeting, two specific characteristics of Best Bits as a network are that it is action-oriented and that it seeks to bridge the differences and disagreements between the Global South and North. <u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal">To my mind, the strategy of being transparent at all times is one of the main reasons why action is often inhibited and civil society is often less effective than it could be. This is not only because we put all our cards on the table all the time - something which puts other stakeholders at an advantage. It is also because fully open lists do not encourage sharing certain kinds of information and ideas that could actually help to massively improve effectiveness of civil society action (and as is the case so often, perhaps Global South civil society is perhaps more vulnerable here than Global North civil society). <br>
<br>In fact, if Best Bits has been working, it is because so much is actually done by small groups of people who want to do something, trust each other, start coordinating, and then bring their ideas, once crystallised, to the main list (what are now called "fluid working groups" in BB lingo ;)<u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">If we ignore this reality, this will only be at our own peril. <br><br>I don't see transparency as an end in itself, but is a means to an end, which is the creation of a level playing field. Because of power differentials, different stakeholder groups are differently placed in this field, and whatever strategies we decide on should keep this in mind. The redistribution of power should drive our actions, not transparency as such. <u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Thanks and best regards,<u></u><u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Anja <u></u><u></u></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br>____________________________________________________________<br>
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