[governance] RE: [Coalition] Draft Proposal

[Michael Gurstein]

I haven't participated in this recent discussion due to other distractions
and responsibilities.
 
But I've now read the draft proposal that Mark Costa circulated which I
believe, except in some details, is the broad consensus position being
promoted.
 
I'd like to start my remarks by saying that my read of the Seoul conference
was rather different from what seems to be reflected in the proposal.  My
overall impression was not that the OECD endorsed the participation of Civil
Society "organizations" as advisors to the OECD but rather that they
endorsed the participation of Civil Society in that role.  
 
And even further my reading was that the OECD Ministers with a few and
predictable exceptions (the US being the most notable) were much less
concerned with how "civil society" reacted to their initiatives and the
emergence of the Information Society/Economy than they were with how
citizens and particularly those most at risk and disadvantaged in the
overall Information Society/Economy development) were responding and being
impacted.
 
What I see in this proposal is a, dare I say, impertinent and even arrogant
conflation/confusion of (the usual suspect) Civil Society organizations as
listed in the proposal, with "Civil Society" as a whole, and further with
"civil society" understood as not simply those with the means and skills to
organize themselves for participation in august chambers such as those of
the OECD but civil society as understood as being those at the grassroots
impacted by Information Society developments.
 
Looking through the list of usual suspect organizations and through the
forwarded proposal I neither see organizations with any significant links
into those at the grassroots who have the most to lose (and to gain) from
ICTs nor do I see any interest or attention in linking the activities of the
CSISAC into any of those self same folks or their concerns and initiatives.
 
Where in this proposal are the voices of disadvantaged and marginalized
communities, the disabled, the unemployed and homeless, indigenous peoples
and how will their concerns be introduced as "advice" to the OECD?   
 
Michael Gurstein
 

-----Original Message-----
From: coalition-bounces at mailman.thepublicvoice.org
[mailto:coalition-bounces at mailman.thepublicvoice.org] On Behalf Of Mark
Costa
Sent: October-29-08 10:42 PM
To: Public Voice
Subject: [Coalition] Draft Proposal


All,

Attached is a draft proposal for the CSISAC charter that builds upon the
proposal submitted by EPIC, while simultaneously addressing the main
concerns expressed by Karen and others in the Geneva group. All of the
changes are located in sections 3 & 4. I apologize for adding to the
confusion, but work started on this document before the recent flurry of
activity on the wiki.

-- 
Mark R. Costa
Internet Governance Project


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