[bestbits] My candidacy for the BB steering group

[Andrew Puddephatt]

*Candidacy of Andrew Puddephatt for the Best Bits steering Committee*

●      *Bio:*

 Andrew Puddephatt is the Director of Global Partners Digital, which seeks
to promote democracy and human rights online.

Previously, Andrew was the Director of Article 19 the international freedom
of expression organisation and prior to that the head of the UK’s National
Council for Civil Liberties, where he led the campaign for the UK Bill of
Rights – enshrined in law in 2000.  He is a board member of the European
Council for Foreign Relations, International Media Support in Denmark and
is Deputy Chair of the Sigrid Rausing Trust.

In the past Andrew has been an expert advisor to UNESCO for whom he drafted
the Media Development Indicators, which have been widely adopted.  He has
also drafted Journalist Safety Indicators for UNESCO and was an expert
advisor to the Council of Europe on access to information, to the
Commonwealth Secretariat on freedom of expression and to UNDP on access to
information.

Andrew is a graduate of Cambridge University.

●      *Your vision for Best Bits. What do you think you can contribute on
the steering committee?*

 As one of those who helped establish Best Bits as an inclusive platform
for civil society globally, I am committed to continuing to develop BB as a
forum for debate.   My views on the way forward for BB are summarised at
http://pad.bestbits.net/manifesto

 For me the three key elements that should shape the Internet field going
forward are:



·       A commitment to human rights values and norms forming the basis of
the engineering, architecture, commercial and regulatory environment



·       A belief that governance should be dispersed into bodies best able
to carry out the different governance functions



·       A belief that multi-stakeholder processes can be developed to
enhance democratic participation



If elected to the steering group, furthering these views will be my goals.

●      *That you can commit time of up to several hours per week to devote
to Best Bits.  This may include facilitating the broader community of
participants to organise meetings, draft joint statements or interventions,
improve website resources, mediate disputes, etc.  Where do you think your
strengths lie?*

 I can commit the time that is necessary.  I think my strengths lie in my
ability to facilitate and support the participation of others, rather than
treating Best Bits as a means to promote my own views. I am collaborative
by belief and inclination.  I’m happy to work in the background, help raise
funds, help organise meetings and look at how to provide capacity building
support for newer members.  I think it is important to grow a new
generation of younger leaders and ensure that Internet policy is not
dominated by the same voices year and after year.  If elected I will work
towards this goal.

●      *Familiarity with the existing statement of objectives at *
*http://bestbits.net/organizer/best-bits/*<http://bestbits.net/organizer/best-bits/>*
and the draft procedures at
**http://bestbits.net/wiki/main/procedures/*<http://bestbits.net/wiki/main/procedures/>*.
(These are not written in stone, but they are a useful guideline to our
current practices.)*

 I have helped develop these rules and procedures but recognize there is
room for improvement. An elected steering committee will be much better
placed to strengthen the infrastructure of BB.
-- 
*Andrew Puddephatt* | GLOBAL PARTNERS DIGITAL
Development House, 56–64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT
T: +44 (0)20 7549 0336 | M: +44 (0)7713399597 | Skype: andrewpuddephatt
gp-digital.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/bestbits/attachments/20140520/9340da6b/attachment.htm>