[governance] IGF workshop proposal

Wed Jul 18 12:44:54 EDT 2007

We are not making much progress with submitting any additional stuff to IGF
secretariat that could bolster the case of IGF's workshop on 'Fulfilling the
mandate on the IGF'.

I was trying to get the Indian government on, but the person-incharge, the
Indian government MAG member, has been transferred to a very different
position, and at present there is no one to talk to for co-sponsorship/
partnership. 

So, if anyone has possible co-sponsors from business, technical community,
or governments, pl come forward. Else, we will let the workshop proposal be
judged on its present merits, and sponsorship of IGC alone, which is
considerable group of civil society members and organizations.  This is not
a very good thing to do, but members have to volunteer to do the work of
getting co-sponsorship and partnership if we are to do any better.

Any additional information has to be submitted in the next 4-5 days because
apparently the last week will be spent in taking the decision of choosing
the 30 workshops from the 60 proposals that are with the secretariat. 

If no further co-sponsorships come in, we will just report to the
secretariat that the we will have one speaker each from a developed and a
developing country government, one for the technical community, one from
private sector, and a couple of CS and academic sector speakers. And that
the IGC has strong connections with all these groups, and with key members
in these groups with expertise in IG areas, and we will select the speakers
through an internal process of consultations. 

Parminder 

________________________________________________

Parminder Jeet Singh

IT for Change, Bangalore

Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities 

Tel: (+91-80) 2665 4134, 2653 6890

Fax: (+91-80) 4146 1055

 <http://www.itforchange.net/> www.ITforChange.net 

  _____  

From: Parminder [mailto:parminder at itforchange.net] 
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2007 4:38 PM
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org
Subject: [governance] IGF workshop proposal

Hi All

The IGC's workshop on 'Fulfilling the Mandate of 'IGF' needs your help for
getting

1.	Co-sponsors - especially from the private sector, Internet
community, governments 
2.	Right and good speakers 

Pl suggest co-sponsors including contacting them on IGC's behalf. We have
little or no constraints on co-sponsorship, so all are welcome. 

And also speakers.  I expect that in case of speakers - where we constrained
in terms of a final list of 4-5 -  we will need to be mindful in our
suggestions as to the possibility of the majority of the list approving our
choices. We should aim at getting a good range of views during the workshop.
I don't think we shd go for a consensus vote for the speakers list. This may
be left to the co-coordinators to go by what they think is the list with
most support. 

During the workshop, we may try to keep most of the time for comments from
the floor. Such suggestions about the format etc are also welcome. 

Parminder 

________________________________________________

Parminder Jeet Singh

IT for Change, Bangalore

Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities 

Tel: (+91-80) 2665 4134, 2653 6890

Fax: (+91-80) 4146 1055

 <http://www.itforchange.net/> www.ITforChange.net 

  _____  

From: Parminder [mailto:parminder at itforchange.net] 
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 10:51 PM
To: 'IGF'
Cc: governance at lists.cpsr.org
Subject: [governance] IGF workshop proposal

Dear Sir

Please find enclosed a workshop proposal on 'Fulfilling the mandate of IGF'
on behalf of the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus. We will soon
submit additional information, as mentioned in the proposal. 

We did try online submission, but the system does not look like it is
working. 

A word of acknowledgement will be appreciated.

Thanks, and best regards

Parminder Jeet Singh

Co-coordinator, 

Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus.

            Workshop Proposal from the Civil Society Internet Governance
Caucus for IGF, Rio

Workshop Title: Fulfilling the mandate of IGF

1. Provide a concise formulation for the proposed workshop theme

The Tunis Agenda for the Information Society mandates the IGF to perform the
following functions:

a)    Discuss public policy issues related to key elements of Internet

Governance in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security,
stability and development of the Internet;

b)    Facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with different

cross-cutting international public policies regarding the Internet and
discuss issues that do not fall within the scope of any existing body;

c)    Interface with appropriate inter-governmental organisations and other

institutions on matters under their purview; 

d)    Facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and in this

regard make full use of the expertise of the academic, scientific and
technical communities;

e)    Advise all stakeholders in proposing ways and means to accelerate the

availability and affordability of the Internet in the developing world;

f)    Strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing

and/or future Internet Governance mechanisms, particularly those from
developing countries;

g)    Identify emerging issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant

bodies and the general public, and, where appropriate, make recommendations;

h)    Contribute to capacity-building for Internet Governance in developing

countries, drawing fully on local sources of knowledge and expertise;

i)    Promote and assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of WSIS

principles in Internet Governance processes;

j)    Discuss, inter alia, issues relating to critical Internet resources;

k)    Help to find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse

of the Internet, of particular concern to everyday users;

l)    Publish its proceedings.

Based on the experience of the Athens conference and the draft program
outline for the Rio conference, it could be argued that the IGF is
contributing to the realization of some of these objectives.  However, other
items in the list are more difficult to promote solely through annual
conferences comprising main sessions with panels of speakers and an
assortment of workshops.  Accordingly, it would be useful to have an open,
inclusive, positive and constructive dialogue about what additional steps,
if any, could be taken on a consensual, multistakeholder basis to help the
IGF community achieve the mandate.  To that end, the workshop would consider
such matters as:

A. The thinking behind the formulation of the mandate, which derives from
the WGIG Report and the discussions held during Prep-Com 3 of the WSIS Tunis
phase;

B. Whether some or all of the functions enumerated in the mandate are
important, value-adding, activities that are not being performed elsewhere,
would benefit the global community, and are uniquely suited to the IGF;

C. Operationally practical steps that could be pursued on a consensual,
multistakeholder basis by the IGF community in order to perform those
functions identified in B, above.

2. Provide the Name of the Organizer(s) of the workshop and their
Affiliation to various stakeholder groups. Describe how you will take steps
to adhere to the multi-stakeholder principle, including geographical
diversity.

The Internet Governance Caucus comprises a diverse range of individual and
organizational civil society actors who are committed to the promotion of
global public interest objectives in Internet governance decision-making.

The caucus was created in early 2003 and played a leading role on Internet
governance issues for the broad civil society coalition that participated in
the WSIS process.  Some of its members were early proponents of an IGF and
active participants in the WGIG, and in the current IGF Advisory Group. The
caucus strongly supported the WGIG's proposal of an IGF, as well as the
mandate given to it by the Tunis Agenda.

The caucus has many connections to all relevant stakeholder groups. For
example, a number of caucus members are employed in the private sector; and
many members, and indeed the caucus itself, have had productive
collaborative relationships with international organization, government, and
business representatives in the course of the WSIS and IGF processes, as
well as in other Internet governance-related contexts.

The caucus has every intention of organizing a multistakeholder panel of
speakers representing all groupings involved in the IGF and diverse range of
views on the subject matter.

The caucus would warmly welcome the co-sponsorship of any stakeholder entity
that would like to participate. 

3. Why do you think the proposed theme is important?

The theme concerns the purpose and possibilities of the IGF.

4. Describe the workshop's conformity with the Tunis Agenda in terms of
substance and the mandate of the IGF.

The proposed workshop is about the Tunis Agenda's mandate for the IGF.

5. Provide the Name and Affiliation of the panelists you are planning to
invite.

We are soliciting panelists, and a list will be submitted in the next 2-3
weeks.  The panel would comprise known representatives from the
international organization, government, business, technical and
administrative, and civil society communities who are well informed about
the mandate, have a diversity of perspectives on the issues, and can engage
in a constructive and collegial dialogue.

6. Describe the main actors in the field. Have you approached them and asked
whether they would be willing to participate in proposed workshop?

See # 5, above.

7.  List similar events you have organized in the past.

Caucus members have organized many related panel discussions during the WSIS
process (including workshops on the nature and mandate of the then proposed
IGF), at the Athens conference, and elsewhere, and are involved in various
proposals for the Rio conference as well.  

________________________________________________

Parminder Jeet Singh

IT for Change, Bangalore

Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities 

Tel: (+91-80) 2665 4134, 2653 6890

Fax: (+91-80) 4146 1055

 <http://www.itforchange.net/> www.ITforChange.net 

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