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I am not involved with the Ungovernance Forum and agree with Carlos,
George and Susan that it overstates its case a little. However I
also think that before jumping on the defensive too much, we should
acknowledge that its criticisms do represent a widely held view
within civil society, amongst those who find IGF meetings to be
irrelevant junkets at best, and at worst a captured and reactionary
platform for opposing real change. Regardless of how open the IGF
may be to hosting workshops with diverse views, for many activists
its resistance to developing the capacity to propose policy
solutions (as merely the first step towards change) renders all that
for naught.<br>
<br>
You can agree with it or not, but that such a view is held is not
even debatable - I hear it all the time, and it's what prevents the
IGF community from growing much beyond the insiders who inhabit it
at present. And that's a real problem for the IGF that only it can
solve - and that its MAG should bear closely in mind when
considering the current proposals for incremental change such as the
validation of outputs from dynamic coalitions, and the planned
deliberative poll.<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 6/07/2015 11:58 pm, Susan Chalmers
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CANS7ybF9ED8wjiKWtsGAU=Gxw6H_5J5-qWznok4mhNd85KJ29g@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>+1, Carlos y George.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Willi - I reckon the Unconference will be lovely and I plan
to attend, at least in part, given commitments.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>As a MAG member who has given a lot of her free time to
coordinating (for the first time) the drafting of guidelines
for workshop proposals, and with the help of the community
translating said guidelines into <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/workshop-proposals/considerations-for-workshop-proposers#unofficial-translations"
target="_blank">multiple languages</a> (which I suspect led
to the marked increase of proposals from first-timers and
developing countries), I would say that the characterisation
of the IGF in your email is not entirely on point.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>With that said, if the Ungovernance forum would like to
distinguish itself from the IGF, then I'd suggest emphasizing
the "<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://barcamp.org/w/page/405173/TheRulesOfBarCamp">bar
camp style</a>" of organization of the program (i.e. made on
the day with those participants involved, all-inclusive) as
opposed to making broad and sweeping statements about the
integrity of the IGF. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Let's be positive and collaborative here, not combative. :)</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Sincerely,</div>
<div>Susan</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all">
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<div class="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
<br>
Susan Chalmers<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:susan@chalmers.associates">susan@chalmers.associates</a><br>
<br>
<span style="color:rgb(68,68,68)"><b>CHALMERS</b>
& ASSOCIATES</span><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://chalmers.associates" target="_blank">http://chalmers.associates</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 2:31 PM, George
Sadowsky <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:george.sadowsky@gmail.com" target="_blank">george.sadowsky@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Carlos,<br>
<br>
Thank you for your comprehensive note and for being a voice
of reason. IGF truly _is_ what different stakeholders make
of it.<br>
<br>
George<br>
<div>
<div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<br>
On Jul 6, 2015, at 2:21 PM, Carlos A. Afonso <<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:ca@cafonso.ca">ca@cafonso.ca</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
> Dear people,<br>
><br>
> I write this, as usual, in my personal capacity,
now with the help of a<br>
> few other colleagues.<br>
><br>
> Personally I have nothing against "unconferences"
or parallel meetings.<br>
> Every group has the right to organize events on
their own taking<br>
> advantage of the occasion.<br>
><br>
> However, the justifications for the "unconference"
at the 10th IGF, as<br>
> presented in the announcement message below, start
from false premises.<br>
> IGF is a UN event with special characteristics --
it is a pluralist<br>
> space (unlike, for example, the recently proposed
Internet Social Forum,<br>
> which requires previous adherence to a letter of
commitments, in<br>
> practice excluding many groups and individuals from
the dialogue).<br>
><br>
> IGF is what the different stakeholders make of it,
and organized civil<br>
> society has always had space to propose and
participate since the very<br>
> first IGF in 2006. I recommend that the promoters
of parallel events<br>
> overview the more than 100 workshops approved for
the upcoming IGF to<br>
> conclude that the event is far from being
"controlled by business and<br>
> governments". The workshops' list (and
descriptions) is here:<br>
><br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/workshop-proposals/list-of-published-workshop-proposals"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/workshop-proposals/list-of-published-workshop-proposals</a><br>
><br>
> Here are some examples of workshops, among many
others, which deal with<br>
> issues of obvious interest to civil society, with
multistakeholder<br>
> participation (as required by IGF):<br>
><br>
> No. 10 FOSS & a Free, Open Internet: Synergies
for Development<br>
> No. 31 The “Right to be Forgotten” Rulings and
their Implications<br>
> No. 49 No Grey Areas – Against Sexual Exploitation
of Children<br>
> No. 60 Benchmarking ICT companies on digital rights<br>
> No. 68 Can civil society impact Global Internet
Governance?<br>
> No. 96 #AfricanInternetRights: whose rights are
these anyway?<br>
> No. 134 Organising an Internet Social Forum -
Occupy the Internet<br>
> No. 152 Political dissent & online anonymity in
developing countries<br>
> No. 186 A multistakeholder and humanrights approach
to cybersecurity<br>
> No. 188 Spectrum allocations: challenges &
opportunities at the edge<br>
> No. 214 Internet interconnection under regulatory
pressure<br>
> No. 224 Civil Society and Information Controls in
the Global South<br>
> No. 226 Internet governance and Open Government
Data initiatives<br>
> No. 239 Bitcoin, Blockchain and Beyond: FLASH HELP!<br>
> No. 242 The Manila Principles on Intermediary
Liability<br>
><br>
> Workshops might be flash sessions, panels or
roundtables, lasting from<br>
> 30 to 90 minutes. There are also the "dynamic
coalitions", organized<br>
> groups of people and entities working together on
several crucial themes<br>
> independently of the IGF (but stimulated by it and
which hold meetings<br>
> during the event):<br>
><br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Child Online Safety<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Core Internet Values<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Freedom of Expression and
Freedom of the Media on<br>
> the Internet<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Gender and Internet Governance<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Internet and Climate Change<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Internet Rights and Principles<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Network Neutrality<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility (DC
PR)<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on Public Access in Libraries<br>
> Dynamic Coalition on the Internet of Things<br>
> Youth Coalition on Internet Governance<br>
><br>
> It is relevant to notice that most of the more than
100 workshops<br>
> accepted this year were proposed by civil society
organizations.<br>
> Proposals by governments and intergovernmental
organizations were just a<br>
> few. Information on the proposing organizations is
on the IGF Web site.<br>
> Also, nearly half of the approved workshops were
proposed by<br>
> organizations from developing countries.<br>
><br>
> The Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG/IGF)
recommends that in every<br>
> workshop and main sessions there should be balanced
participation of<br>
> panelists, discussants and other invitees taking
into account the<br>
> diversity of nations, continents, sectors
(government, business, civil<br>
> society, technical/academic community), and gender.
This diversity has<br>
> been a relevant factor in approving the workshops,
and the IGF<br>
> secretariat will work together with workshops'
organizers to make sure<br>
> this directive is taken into account.<br>
><br>
> I notice also that the promoters of the
unconference call "on our<br>
> participants to resist seeing the problems of the
Internet as only<br>
> technological and void of its materiality." It is
quite possible that<br>
> other forums or entities, according to their scopes
and goals, treat the<br>
> Internet from a purely technical point of view.
This is certainly not<br>
> the case of the IGF, created precisely as a
dialogue for non-technical<br>
> questions which do not find space in other forums.
A rapid reading of<br>
> the workshops' descriptions listed above
illustrates this fact quite<br>
> well. There are just a few approved workshops which
limit themselves to<br>
> technical issues. Nearly all try to consider
social, cultural, economic<br>
> and political aspects related to the development
and use of the<br>
> Internet, always with a multistakeholder approach.<br>
><br>
> I strongly recommend that you all participate in
the IGF, either<br>
> remotely or in person, without excluding
participation in other parallel<br>
> events as you wish, of course.<br>
><br>
> fraternal regards<br>
><br>
> --c.a.<br>
><br>
> On 06/25/2015 12:47 PM, willi uebelherr wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> Dear friends,<br>
>><br>
>> 2014 we had the Internet Ungovernance Forum in
Istanbul in Turkey. Now,<br>
>> this year, this people organize it in Brasil.<br>
>><br>
>> I think, this is the most important event in
this year to the theme:<br>
>> Internet Governance.<br>
>><br>
>> many greetings, willi<br>
>> Porto Alegre, Brasil<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> Internet Ungovernance Forum Brasil<br>
>> November 2015<br>
>> João Pessoa - Paraíba, Brasil<br>
>> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://iuf.partidopirata.org/index-en.html"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://iuf.partidopirata.org/index-en.html</a><br>
>><br>
>> Internet Ungovernance Forum Brasil is for those
of us who demand free,<br>
>> secure, and open internet for all!<br>
>><br>
>> We're organizing the Internet Ungovernance
Forum on November 2015, for<br>
>> everyone who demand that fundamental freedoms,
openness, unity and net<br>
>> neutrality remain the building blocks of the
Internet. Our objective is<br>
>> to talk about the true and real problems of the
internet, how can we<br>
>> solve them and to chart a path for action.<br>
>><br>
>> Our forum will be in parallel to the Internet
Governance Forum (IGF)<br>
>> 2015 which will also be held in João Pessoa in
november. Interested<br>
>> parties all around the world will join and
follow this important event.<br>
>> However, we see that at IGF the most urgent
problems of the Internet do<br>
>> not get proper attention. Due to its format,
the main perpetrators of<br>
>> many of the Internet's problems, for example
the governments and<br>
>> corporations, are getting representation in IGF
that they don’t deserve.<br>
>> Given these circumstances, we decided to take
initiative to defend the<br>
>> Internet as we know it and to create a parallel
space to raise the<br>
>> voices of civil society initiatives, activists
and common people.<br>
>><br>
>> For us, the most vital problems today are
censorship and freedom of<br>
>> speech; surveillance and privacy; excessive
commercialization and<br>
>> super-monopolies; protective, prohibitionist
and conservative governance<br>
>> approaches; awful governance examples as in the
case of Brasil and the<br>
>> list goes on. Further, we do not see any of
these problems independent<br>
>> of the greater political, social and economic
contexts in which the<br>
>> Internet and related digital infrastructures
are embedded in.<br>
>><br>
>> We want to reclaim the Internet as a
fundamental infrastructure of our<br>
>> societies, cities, education, health, work,
media, communications,<br>
>> culture and everyday activities.<br>
>><br>
>> We call on our participants to resist seeing
the problems of the<br>
>> Internet as only technological and void of its
materiality.<br>
</div>
</div>
>
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