[governance] opening remarks of the co-chair -- IGF public consultation

Thu Sep 6 03:59:47 EDT 2007

Hi Carlos

I continue to remain skeptical of this move of getting a governmental
co-chair... and the arguments and justifications around it are a little
confusing.

Nitin, while calling the new co-chair as rep of the Brazilian people and not
the government, seemed to insist on the process-facilitation function (for
the actual meeting) of the host government acting as the co-chair. And so
did many other 'official' versions of what this co-chair is about..

However, note the comment by Hadil Vianna below

> In this context, we welcome the UN Secretary-General decision to
> invite Brazil to co-chair this preparatory process. The idea of having
> the Host Country as co-chair is a step further in gradually involving
> the stakeholders in the conduct of the meeting from a substantive
> standpoint.

I am not sure what does 'from a substantive standpoint' mean, though it is
prefaced by 'conduct of the meeting'. I may be being over-cautious here, and
the statement may mean nothing other than facilitating the actual conduct of
the meeting, and not IGF's substantive content, and future substantive
directions. 

As stated often, I am for the IGF to grow stronger from a substantive point
of view, and of closer involvement of all stakeholders to do this, but I do
not at all like to see nomination of a governmental co-chair in that
light... 

Also later Hadil Vianna says

>Although
> we all acknowledge  the competent work of Mr. Desai, Mr. Kummer and
> his small but efficient staff, we cannot expect that they will come
> out with magical solutions to all organizational questions raised
> along the preparations for the Rio de Janeiro meeting and the
> forthcoming IGF editions. The answers to some of these questions
> depend, basically, on policy decision-making. I am therefore convinced
> that the work of a co-chair can add value to our activities.

Here again the co-chairship seems to have a greater substantive agenda than
the host country helping with logistic issues. What kind of 'policy-decision
making' exactly is Hadil Vianna referring to. I wont normally see logistic
related decisions as policy decisions, but I may not be reading the whole
thing right... 

Carlos, can you please share your understanding of these statements. Thanks.

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
www.ITforChange.net 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Carlos Afonso [mailto:ca at rits.org.br]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 8:06 PM
> To: WSIS Internet Governance Caucus
> Subject: [governance] opening remarks of the co-chair -- IGF public
> consultation
> 
> The opening remarks by Hadil Vianna yesterday, reproduced below, at the
> open consultation prior to the MAG meeting help clarify the whys and
> hows of co-chairing for the IGF Rio meeting.
> 
> --c.a.
> 
> Co-chair Desai, distinguished delegates,
> 
> First of all, allow me to express my most sincere satisfaction in
> co-chairing these open consultations in preparation for the 2nd. IGF,
> in Rio de Janeiro. As representative of the host country, I feel
> honoured to participate in these works. I can assure you that Brazil
> is willing to collaborate closely with the United Nations,
> Governments, civil society and the private sector to ensure that the
> second IGF will be a successful event.
> 
> I would like to take this opportunity to stress that, in my country,
> issues related to Internet Governance are taken up by the Internet
> Steering Committee (CGI.br), which, like the IGF, includes
> representation from all stakeholders. In fact, CGI.br, that is
> strongly represented in these consultations, is offering full support
> to the preparations for the 2nd IGF.
> 
> I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely commend Mr.
> Desai's skillful conduct of this process and his active contribution
> to the implementation of the IGF mandate. His straightforward style
> and able guidance have been decisive to the important achievements of
> the 1st IGF and to the preparations for the 2nd. In this regard, I
> consider  important to highlight that the Athens meeting proved to be
> a successful event and laid the grounds for the important work yet to
> be done towards the full implementation of the IGF mandate.
> 
> I am aware of the general expectation that the Rio meeting will
> represent one step ahead in the incremental IGF process, in accordance
> with its mandate as contained in the Tunis Agenda.
> 
> In this context, we welcome the UN Secretary-General decision to
> invite Brazil to co-chair this preparatory process. The idea of having
> the Host Country as co-chair is a step further in gradually involving
> the stakeholders in the conduct of the meeting from a substantive
> standpoint. I accepted this task in good faith and am willing to
> contribute to my best in order to meet all stakeholders´ expectations
> with regard to the 2nd IGF meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
> 
> We all are well aware that the IGF cannot be seen as a traditional
> UN-style Conference. Its format is in the forefront of multilateral
> policy-making and may set precedents for a renewed, upgraded style of
> multilateral conferences, therefore contributing to the evolution of
> the concept of global governance, in an open, inclusive and
> representative environment, with the participation of all
> stakeholders.
> 
> As we are touching unchartered grounds, we need to be conscious of the
> many challenges to be faced. The tools usually available for
> organizing, convening and conducting multilateral events are not
> automatically applicable to this new scenario we are building. Such
> challenges require from us creativity and innovation with regard to
> the format as well as to the substance of IGF discussions.
> 
> I understand that one of these challenges refers to the need for
> balanced regional representation, according to the Tunis mandate. I am
> referring not only to Government participation, but to other
> stakeholders as well, in particular from the developing world.
> 
> At this stage, it is worth recalling the UN Secretary-General mandate
> set forth at the Tunis Agenda. He was asked to convene the IGF and
> encouraged to (and I quote) "examine a range of options for the
> convening of the Forum, taking into consideration the proven
> competencies of all stakeholders in Internet governance and the need
> to ensure their full involvement" (end of quotation).
> 
> This mandate clearly entails the need of a collective work. Although
> we all acknowledge  the competent work of Mr. Desai, Mr. Kummer and
> his small but efficient staff, we cannot expect that they will come
> out with magical solutions to all organizational questions raised
> along the preparations for the Rio de Janeiro meeting and the
> forthcoming IGF editions. The answers to some of these questions
> depend, basically, on policy decision-making. I am therefore convinced
> that the work of a co-chair can add value to our activities.
> 
> My intention is to work closely with Mr. Desai, the secretariat and
> the Advisory Group, in conducting the preparations for the IGF in Rio
> de Janeiro. I invite you all to join us in this innovative and
> challenging work. That is not supposed to be a Brazilian isolated
> task, nor is it a UN task. It is a task that requires commitment and
> participation from all stakeholders, with open, unprejudiced minds. I
> count on your support and contributions to make sure that the Rio
> meeting will be a success, for the benefit of the international debate
> on Internet Governance.
> 
> --
> 
> Carlos A. Afonso
> Rio       Brasil
> ***************************************************************
> Projeto Sacix - Apoio técnico a iniciativas de inclusão digital
> com software livre, mantido pela Rits em colaboração com o
> Coletivo Digital. Para mais informações:
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