[bestbits] FW: Moving the Community Informatics Network to a Different Stage?

[michael gurstein]

FYI, (I sent this out to the CI network yesterday morning...

M

-----Original Message-----
From: michael gurstein [mailto:gurstein at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 9:54 AM
To: ciresearchers at vancouvercommunity.net;
cracin-canada at vancouvercommunity.net; ci-research-sa at vancouvercommunity.net;
ci-for-older-persons at vancouvercommunity.net; ci-indigenous at lists.knet.ca
Subject: Moving the Community Informatics Network to a Different Stage?

CI colleagues and friends,

As those of you who have been on the CI lists for a while know I've been
concerned to link community informatics/grassroots ICT issues and our
network into larger global (and on occasion national) policy issues.

The next two years will be highly important ones for the future of the
Internet (Governance) and of direct impact on grassroots ICT users in both
Developed and Less Developed Countries. The World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) will have a 10 year meeting (and perhaps Summit) in 2015, the
Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals will both
have high level (perhaps Summit) meetings (likely in 2014) and issues around
long-term Internet Governance will, post-Snowden be the subject of a variety
of meetings including one coming up very quickly in Brazil next April.

Since most of those processes/meetings are organized to include the range of
"stakeholders" there is a seat at those tables for governments, the
technical community and civil society.

The "Technical" seat at that table is occupied by representatives of those
who have a long standing role in managing the technical infrastructure of
the Internet. 

The "Civil Society" seat is for the most part occupied by those with a long
term (and frequently professional) interest in civil society/NGO activities.
The range of representation and even the linkages of the civil society
representatives into the larger community of non-governmental, non-business
Internet users is a surprisingly narrow one.  As a result the range of
issues that they are articulating is for the most part an equally narrow one
and tends to focus on "human rights" issues (and within that primarily "free
expression") where for a variety of reasons funding (primarily from US based
foundations) is available.

Of course, human rights and free expression on the Internet are of
particular importance.  However, from a community informatics perspective
other issues--such as how ICTs are used to support community empowerment,
local social and economic development, ICTs as a support for Indigenous
peoples, and issues of social justice and equity may be equally or more
important.  For the most part those issues are either under-represented or
absent altogether from these high level, framework creating policy
discussions. 

As a virtual network, we/CI are currently some 1500 strong representing all
corners of the world and a very wide range of grassroots activists and
practitioners, academics and researchers and those with broader policy
interests.  We are I believe, the largest such grouping currently active in
the broad non-governmental/civil society ICT space.

So I have some questions:
1. are there objections to attempting to move our CI network into a more
formal (but still virtual/online) structure? If so what are they?

2. are there suggestions for how the CI network could be appropriately
structured to pursue these activities? (if there is sufficient interest a
parallel e-list will be established to pursue this discussion.)

3. are there any individuals currently within the CI network who would have
the interest and the time to put into a process of "formalizing" the network
so that it could have an appropriate and effective visibility/presence in
some or all of these venues? (anyone interested could send me an email
offline indicating their interest in this and brief bio).

Best to all,

Mike