[bestbits] [governance] Civil society transparency

[Norbert Bollow]

On Tue, 2 Jun 2015 10:23:46 +0100
Chris Prince Udochukwu Njoku <udochukwu.njoku at unn.edu.ng> wrote:

> There's this dictum: "He who plays the piper
> dictates the tune." The extent to which a CSO opens its arms to a
> donor's funds ought to be determined by the extent to which the CSO
> understands how far the funding will strengthen or weaken it in its
> march to accomplishing its mission. In our quest for free, open and
> safe Internet, at a time when governments and their organizations are
> itching to be in control (for reasons we all know well) we have to be
> thoughtfully selective in who funds us if we still must think, voice
> and act our way to our stated goals.

Well said.

And depending on what those goals are and what the circumstances are, it
can turn out that on the path towards the goals some difficult decisions
may sometimes need to be made, including decisions in regard to which
maybe others would reasonably have made a different, more cautious call.

In my view, it is especially in those situations that transparency in
honestly disclosing such more problematic choices is particularly
valuable and trust-inspiring.

Greetings,
Norbert