<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#333333" face="verdana, sans-serif">Dear Milton,<br></font><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 2:42 AM, Milton L Mueller <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mueller@syr.edu">mueller@syr.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">I view the groundswell for Geneva on this list to be a bit
self-serving. Of course your Geneva-based orgs want it to stay there. I don’t
see why IGC should endorse that as a “pro civil society” position. </span></p></div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple" style="word-wrap:break-word"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">The
only argument of any merit is the visa difficulty issue – if, as Tracy
calls into question, that difference still exists.</span></p></div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Europe is emotionally healthier than the United States. US, in its paranoia, has become a destination for strip searches and it is becoming increasingly unpleasant for the rest of the world to travel to the US. Until this changes, US is a destination unfit for international events, especially the ones that require International Public participation.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Sivasubramanian M.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">I have my own self-interest, of course, but it seems to me that
WSIS and IGF both are highly Euro-centric operations and it would be good to
move it away from Europe for at least once. Whether its NY or Vancouver or Hong
Kong or Panama matters less to me, although of course NYC is most convenient to
me. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">Wolfgang’s argument that there are more CS organizations
in Geneva seems false to me; there are probably more CS organizations in the 300-mi
radius of NYC (which includes Montreal and probably also Toronto) than anywhere
else in the world. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">As a strict empirical test of the “reduced participation”
claim, let me point out that the March 2004 WGIG-inspired meeting in New York
was more widely attended than any subsequent WGIG consultation. I think you can
count on a bang-up turnout, if nothing else, if you hold it in NY. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> William Drake
[mailto:<a href="mailto:william.drake@graduateinstitute.ch" target="_blank">william.drake@graduateinstitute.ch</a>] <br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, September 06, 2010 3:23 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Sivasubramanian M<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Governance List</span></p><div class="im"><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [governance] RE: WSIS Forum 2011</div><p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi</p><div><div></div><div class="h5">
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<p class="MsoNormal">Just read the ICC's statement, which states in
part, "The WSIS action lines Forum events in Geneva have drawn upon
the fact that many key organizations are located in Geneva, and the
participation of many stakeholders, business included, has been facilitated by
the fact that other WSIS related activities take place around the same
dates. This has enabled participation by many because it took into account the
limited time, financial and human resources of many across stakeholder groups.
Organizing the WSIS action lines Forum 2011 in New York risks
decreasing participation because it would require extensive travel for
those participating in the other WSIS related activities in May in Geneva.
Feedback from ICC BASIS members and other stakeholders indicates that obtaining
visas for the US is extremely difficult for many particularly from
developing countries. This would in turn decrease the range of
participants. ICC BASIS supports having the WSIS action lines Forum 2011
hosted in Geneva, or by the next lead facilitator, UNESCO in Paris."</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.iccwbo.org/uploadedFiles/BASIS/Documents/ICC_BASIS_stmt_re_WSIS_Forum_2011_venue_FINAL_6Sept10.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.iccwbo.org/uploadedFiles/BASIS/Documents/ICC_BASIS_stmt_re_WSIS_Forum_2011_venue_FINAL_6Sept10.pdf</a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Is this a reasonable position from an IGC
perspective…?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Best,</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Bill</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Sep 6, 2010, at 8:56 PM, Sivasubramanian M wrote:</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">2010/9/6 William Drake <<a href="mailto:william.drake@graduateinstitute.ch" target="_blank">william.drake@graduateinstitute.ch</a>></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi,<br>
<br>
We can toss around ideas about where an ideal venue that causes the least
hassle for the most people might be, but the WSIS Forum will be held in either
New York or Geneva. Lee is probably right about mainstreaming; the
question is, on what/whose terms? Personally, I have never noticed that
all that many CS people actually attend the WSIS Forums in the first place;
they're certainly not much in evidence on the panels, which are largely
selected by ITU on an "expert" rather than "stakeholder"
basis. But to the extent that IG/ICT-oriented CS people do wish to
attend, one would think there's probably greater synergies and cost
effectiveness for them in keeping it in Geneva during the same two week bloc as
the IGF consultation (assuming those remain in Geneva) and the CSTD. For
CS people working in the other areas that are in the UN NY's bailiwick, e.g.
disarmament et al, NY is obviously more convenient, but would they be all that
interested enough in the typical WSIS Forum topics to attend? Unclear.
And I suppose one could widen the optic further and wonder whether this
might fit in with larger discussions about the management of ICT-related
activities connected to DESA…<br>
<br>
Should there be an IGC response to ITU's "Open Consultation" (means
we can use their website, not enter the building), or would consensus being
difficult to achieve?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">If CS does not assert its stakes in WSIS process, the WSIS
panels could be engineered to lead to conclusions that the ITU desires, which
would be a step back from the progress that the IGF has made. </p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">There needs to be an IGC response. Also, IGC could reach out
to fair and neutral international organizations to object to and alter
the process.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Sivasubramanian M</p>
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Best,<br>
<br>
Bill</p>
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On Sep 6, 2010, at 6:35 PM, Lee W McKnight wrote:<br>
<br>
> Hi,<br>
><br>
> Speaking as an academic for whom I admit New York City is convenient and
would lowering my personal costs and logistics hassles, we can agree that UN
venue decisions have impacts that may vary depending upon where one is coming
from. Geneva is a fine (expensive) city, New York has its virtues too.<br>
><br>
> A move to New York for wsis 2011 would to me signal a mainstreaming of IG
issues wthin UN system; as would establishment of a permanent secretariat in
yet a 3rd (developing?) location.<br>
><br>
> But Wolfgang, the argument that it would be more difficult to get
media/public attention - in New York City - doesn't make much sense to
me. In principle it should be easier. There's certainly plenty of media outlets
hanging around already looking for things to talk and write about.<br>
><br>
> Anyway, as I suggested before, while civil society has some success at
substantive issues around IG, venue/location decisions I am afraid remain power
politics/business as usual choices.<br>
><br>
> Lee<br>
> ________________________________________<br>
> From: "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang" [<a href="mailto:wolfgang.kleinwaechter@medienkomm.uni-halle.de" target="_blank">wolfgang.kleinwaechter@medienkomm.uni-halle.de</a>]<br>
> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 11:33 AM<br>
> To: <a href="mailto:wsis-info@itu.int" target="_blank">wsis-info@itu.int</a><br>
> Cc: <a href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org" target="_blank">governance@lists.cpsr.org</a><br>
> Subject: [governance] WSIS Forum 2011<br>
><br>
> Dear friends<br>
><br>
> I disagree with the argument that a move from Geneva to to New York of the
WSIS Forum 2011 would improve outreach and bring WSIS implementation forward.
In contrary I am afraid that a move to NewYork will weaken in particular the
involvement of civil society and the academic community as important stakeholders
in the WSIS process. A large number of civil society organisations, including
represenations of organisations from developing countries, are based in Geneva
or not far from Geneva. Moving the event to New York would create additional
costs and logistic problems for them which would result in lower participation
of civil society organisations. This would certainly undermine the
multistakeholder nature of the WSIS implementaiton process.<br>
><br>
> Another risk moving the WSIS Forum 2011 to New York would be that the
important WSIS issues would be discussed in the shadow of more important
political and security issues which dominate the day to day UN acitvities in
New York. The WSIS Forum would be just "another conference" and would
have difficulties to get the needed public attention.<br>
><br>
> Finally I want to flag that in same week the European Union has its annual
Future of the Internet Week meetings under the Hungarian Presidency in
Budapest.<br>
><br>
><br>
> Regards<br>
><br>
> Wolfgang Kleinwächter<br>
> ____________________________________________________________<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">***********************************************************<br>
William J. Drake<br>
Senior Associate<br>
Centre for International Governance<br>
Graduate Institute of International and<br>
Development Studies<br>
Geneva, Switzerland<br>
<span style="color:#888888"><a href="mailto:william.drake@graduateinstitute.ch" target="_blank">william.drake@graduateinstitute.ch</a><br>
<a href="http://www.graduateinstitute.ch/cig/drake.html" target="_blank">www.graduateinstitute.ch/cig/drake.html</a><br>
<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/williamjdrake" target="_blank">www.linkedin.com/in/williamjdrake</a><br>
***********************************************************</span></p>
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