[bestbits] Best Bits meeting plans for the 2013 IGF

Sat Mar 16 07:28:07 EDT 2013

Dear all

I think the idea of and Internet Social Forum is a great idea. And a 
timely one so +1 from me!

best
MF

On 16/03/2013 05:08, parminder wrote:
>
> Thanks, Andrew, Michael, Tiffiniy and Bazlur for egging me on...
>
> So, let me begin thinking aloud along with all of you.
>
> What I am thinking is something on the lines of providing an open 
> platform for some freelance (world social forum style), but also 
> purposefully organised, civil society idealism around the Internet and 
> the future of the world.
>
> We can have this Internet Social Forum (hence ISF) with the slogan 
> 'the Internet/ web we need - for the world we want'. The Web We Want 
> initiative can be a prominent part of this effort. We should also have 
> slogans stressing the social construction of the Internet, a point 
> missed by most, even those otherwise very socio-politically informed. 
> We have to use slogans like 'Internet is what WE make it to be', or 
> 'we together make the Internet', and so on....
>
> The main purpose is to give an opportunity for different global and 
> sub-global civil society groups in different areas - gender, climate, 
> livelihoods, democracy, FoE, education, health, trade, access to 
> knowledge etc - to explore and propose what is the Internet they need 
> for addressing their respective issues. (Of course this will need 
> close engagement with IG types with these groups to help them in this 
> exercise, but such engagement should be /on the terms of these other 
> groups/ and not the other way around, which is what is missing in IGF 
> kind of spaces)
>
> I have interacted with many such groups, and I have a distinct 
> expression that many of them would be interested in such an exercise, 
> and perhaps fund themselves to come for such an event.
>
> We can also form issue-wise egroups beforehand, so that there is 
> better chance or real outcomes at the actual event. However, we will 
> try to remain focussed on 'what Internet/ web we need'.
>
> The above kind of CS (civil society) groups will be complemented by 
> other CS groups closer to the IG space - but still largely missing in 
> IG spaces - community media, community networks, free and open source 
> software, open access, access to knowledge, and so on...
>
> While the spread will be wide, we should organise the thinking, 
> discussions and activity around the central question the 'Internet/ 
> web we want', which BTW is already identified as the key substantive 
> issue for the next BB IGF pre event.
>
> In fact we could even develop a document on the 'internet/ web we 
> want', with very broad participation and thus legitimacy.... and if we 
> get enough participants then also perhaps make a splash at the main 
> IGF. Give it greater real CS colors, which often show in many global 
> gatherings, but which is largely missing at the IGF which has begun to 
> look boringly 'official' and self important (without anyone else 
> seeing anything really important about it at all)
>
> Well, just this much for the present. Comments invited.
>
> parminder
>
>
>
>
>
> On Saturday 16 March 2013 08:26 AM, AHM Bazlur Rahman wrote:
>> We support to organise *Internet social forum*
>> *from Bangladesh
>> *
>>
>> With best regards,
>>
>>
>> *Bazlu*
>> ________________________
>> AHM. Bazlur Rahman-S21BR |**Chief Executive Officer |
>> Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
>> *[NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social 
>> Council]*
>>
>> House: 13/3, Road: 2, Shaymoli, Dhaka-1207|  Bangladesh
>> Phone: +88-02-9130750| 9101479 | Cell: +88 01711881647
>> Fax: 88-02-9138501 | E-mail: ceo at bnnrc.net <mailto:ceo at bnnrc.net> | 
>> bnnr <mailto:bnnrc at bd.drik.net>cbd at gmail.com <mailto:cbd at gmail.com>|
>> www.bnnrc.net <http://www.bnnrc.net/>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 15 March 2013 21:39, Andrew Puddephatt 
>> <Andrew at global-partners.co.uk <mailto:Andrew at global-partners.co.uk>> 
>> wrote:
>>
>>     Interesting idea Parminder – how could we make it work?
>>
>>     *Andrew Puddephatt, Director*
>>
>>     *Global Partners & Associates*
>>
>>     **
>>
>>     *Direct: *+44 (0)20 7549 0336 <tel:%2B44%20%280%2920%207549%200336>
>>
>>     *Office*: +44 (0)20 7549 0350 <tel:%2B44%20%280%2920%207549%200350>
>>
>>     *Mobile*: +44 (0)771 339 9597 <tel:%2B44%20%280%29771%20339%209597>
>>
>>     *Email*: andrew at global-partners.co.uk
>>     <mailto:niamh at global-partners.co.uk>
>>
>>     *Address*: Development House, 56-64 Leonard St, London EC2A 4LT, UK
>>
>>     **
>>
>>     *www.global-partners.co.uk <http://www.global-partners.co.uk> *
>>
>>     *From:*bestbits-request at lists.igcaucus.org
>>     <mailto:bestbits-request at lists.igcaucus.org>
>>     [mailto:bestbits-request at lists.igcaucus.org
>>     <mailto:bestbits-request at lists.igcaucus.org>] *On Behalf Of
>>     *parminder
>>     *Sent:* 15 March 2013 09:01
>>     *To:* bestbits at lists.igcaucus.org
>>     <mailto:bestbits at lists.igcaucus.org>
>>     *Subject:* Re: [bestbits] Best Bits meeting plans for the 2013 IGF
>>
>>
>>
>>     I know I am getting increasingly and perhaps unsustainable
>>     ambitious, but maybe we can hold an 'Internet social forum' and
>>     then proceed to more focussed strategising in the bestbits meeting.
>>
>>     I think a core/ real civil society in the Internet area needs to
>>     be recovered from the unclear ambiguous gooey mass that what goes
>>     for the IG civil society has increasingly become....
>>
>>     Perhaps just being too radical (and a bit modernist in a highly
>>     post modernist Internet world), which is not a bad thing to do
>>     once in a while :)
>>
>>     parminder
>>
>>     On Friday 15 March 2013 02:17 PM, parminder wrote:
>>
>>
>>         On Friday 15 March 2013 02:02 PM, Norbert Bollow wrote:
>>
>>         Michael Gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com>
>>         <mailto:gurstein at gmail.com> wrote:
>>         <snip>
>>         Agreed.
>>
>>         Furthermore, it is important to get civil society actors from
>>         outside
>>         the Internet governance community more involved. Maybe, in
>>         addition to
>>         addressing these matters at the Best Bits meeting in Bali, we
>>         need to
>>         think about organizing a pre-event in the spirit of Best Bits
>>         (but
>>         maybe with a different name corresponding to a less
>>         technology-centered
>>         focus) to an international event where the chances are
>>         optimal for
>>         effectively introducing the family of issues that you're
>>         thinking about
>>         into the mainstream of discourse of international policy
>>         shaping.
>>
>>
>>         Something in the spirit of the 'world we want' and then
>>         proceed to discussing the 'web we want' for the 'world we want'.
>>
>>         We can invite participation from non IG global and sub global
>>         civil society bodies, most of whom do now have an interest to
>>         see how IG connects to their work (and most now believe that
>>         it does in some basic though largely unclear ways) . Maybe
>>         many of them want to come and join in, but there are no good
>>         enough and appropriate docking points made available to them,
>>         in a manner that look at things in a manner that they
>>         traditionally look at.
>>
>>         Such actors coming for such an event where they will get
>>         introduced to the world of IG can then also lead to a much
>>         needed more diverse participation in the IGF...
>>
>>
>>         ..  parminder
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>         I think that we would be very remiss not to spend some time
>>         reviewing
>>         these "IS" issues and strategizing on how to move these forward
>>         alongside and particularly as part of the increasingly
>>         visible and
>>         significant IG processes -- including within the IGF but also
>>         toward
>>         WSIS +10 and beyond.
>>
>>         +1
>>
>>         Greetings,
>>         Norbert
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

-- 
Dr Marianne Franklin
Reader
Convener: Global Media & Transnational Communications Program
Co-Chair Internet Rights & Principles Coalition (UN IGF)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Dept. of Media & Communications
New Cross, London SE14 6NW
Tel: +44 20 7919 7072
<m.i.franklin at gold.ac.uk>
@GloComm
https://twitter.com/GloComm
http://www.gold.ac.uk/media-communications/staff/franklin/
https://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-global-media-transnational-communications/
www.internetrightsandprinciples.org
@netrights

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