<HTML><HEAD></HEAD>
<BODY dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV>(feel free to share)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Below is the letter sent by civil society reps on speaker selection panel
for wsis+10 to the Office of the President of the General Assembly outlining
some concerns as regards the process. The letter was also endorsed by
CSCG.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Ian Peter</DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'></DIV></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"></DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'><B>From:</B>
<A title=ian.peter@ianpeter.com href="mailto:ian.peter@ianpeter.com">Ian
Peter</A> </DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, November 18, 2015 7:43 PM</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>To: OPGA President</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Cc: co-facilitators of WSIS+10 process</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Civil Society in WSIS+10 Review and future WSIS-related
activities</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<P
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">TO: H.E. Mogens Lykketoft,
President of the UN General Assembly (copied to co-facilitators of the WSIS+10
process)</FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Subject: <STRONG>Civil
Society in WSIS+10 Review and future WSIS-related
activities</STRONG></FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Dear Sir,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">We are writing to you as the
civil society representatives on the committee established by UNDESA to choose
speakers for the High-level Meeting on the overall review of the implementation
of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">By now your office will have received from UNDESA our
choice of </FONT><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">five</FONT></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">speakers.</FONT></SPAN><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "> This is to
</SPAN></FONT><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">convey the rationale upon which our choice of speakers
was based, and underscore the overarching principles we believe are critical in
the final selection of civil society speakers.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">As you <SPAN>will<STRONG> </STRONG></SPAN>be aware, the
General Assembly resolution convening the HLM (A/RES/68/302) specified that "the
President of the General Assembly, in consultation with Member States, will
invite, in addition to all Member and observer States and observers,
representatives of all relevant stakeholders of the World Summit on the
Information Society to speak during the high-level meeting, and in this regard
also encourages the participation of those stakeholders in the
meeting".</FONT></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">You will see from the names
submitted that we have been careful to ensure gender and geographic balance. But
<SPAN>of equal importance to us is<STRONG> </STRONG></SPAN>to ensure that our
representation provides a good balance of the varied perspectives and viewpoints
that exist within civil society.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Like governments, civil society has large groupings
espousing different political viewpoints. We also come from large networks and
coalitions focussing on specific issues. We have worked hard in coming up with
names that represent these diverse viewpoints and perspectives<STRONG>.<STRIKE>
</STRIKE></STRONG></FONT><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">That delicate balance can be easily upset, hence our
desire to be specific as regards our speaker representation. It also cannot be
maintained if the number of speakers is too small.</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Thus, we count on your good
offices to ensure that adequate number of speakers from civil society are given
the chance to present their view points to the HLM. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Another matter that <SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">concerns us is
that</SPAN><STRONG>, </STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">while we are used to working
collaboratively</SPAN><STRONG>, </STRONG><SPAN>and did so in choosing the five
speaker names forwarded to you<STRONG>,</STRONG></SPAN><STRIKE> </STRIKE>we need
to ensure that civil society and the academic and technical communities are
<SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">all represented. Our
selection of five speakers takes this imperative into account. However, we
believe that in future they should be</SPAN><STRONG> </STRONG>acknowledged as
separate entities<STRONG>, </STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">each of which</SPAN><STRONG>
</STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">must have
separate representation and be allowed to use its own selection processes</SPAN>
(just as the private sector must ). </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">We will be pleased to work with you in the future to
enable this basic principle to be embedded in ongoing deliberations and to
further improve processes.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">We thank you for your
efforts, and those of UNDESA in this instance, to<SPAN>wards<STRONG>
</STRONG></SPAN>ensuring that all stakeholder groups have the primary say in
selection of their representatives, and trust that as a result the WSIS+10 High
Level Meeting is a huge success. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Sincerely,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Ian Peter, on behalf of the
civil society members of the Speaker Selection Committee, i.e.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Analia Apsis</FONT></SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">, </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-language: en-gb"><FONT face=Arial><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">University of Buenos Aires</FONT></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">. Internet Governance
Caucus, Argentina, <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Anita Gurumurthy</B>,
IT for Change, India,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "> <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Michael Gurstein</B>, Just Net Coalition,
Canada,</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">
</FONT></SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ">Richard Hill</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">,
Association for Proper Internet Governance, Switzerland</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">, </FONT></SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">Lea
Kaspar</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">, Global Partners Digital,
UK</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">,
</FONT></SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ">Remmy Nweke</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">,
DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Nigeria, <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Ian
Peter</B>, Internet Governance Civil Society Coordination Group,
Australia,</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">
</FONT></SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ">Reza Salim</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">,
Bangladesh Friendship Education Society, Bangladesh</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">, </FONT></SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">Baudouin
Schombe</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">, Centre Africain D’Echange
Culturel, </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-language: en-gb"><FONT
face=Arial><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">DR Congo.</FONT></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ">This letter is also endorsed by the <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Internet Governance Civil Society
Co-ordination Group</B>, (CSCG) <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>a
“coalition of coalitions” working on internet governance issues. The CSCG exists
solely as a conduit for selection of civil society representatives to outside
organisations: member coalitions are <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Association for Progressive Communications,
Best Bits coalition, Internet Governance Caucus, Just Net Coalition, and Non
Commercial Stakeholders Group of ICANN</B>. Together these organisations reach
thousands of individuals and many hundreds of organisations active on internet
and internet governance related issues.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0cm; MARGIN-TOP: 5.95pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></FONT> </P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f5f5f5"></FONT>
<HR>
_______________________________________________<BR>CS-coord mailing
list<BR>CS-coord@internetgov-cs.org<BR>http://internetgov-cs.org/mailman/listinfo/cs-coord<BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>