[governance] Draft statement - preamble

Thu Jan 14 09:34:31 EST 2010

Baudouin,

Perhaps we should not look inward to contribution.  The highest value in contribution is outward. And it is obvious that your few words are of higher value than my many. Thank you for your reminder, for us to intend that our words, be crafted in such a way as to promote multilingual comprehension.

--- On Thu, 1/14/10, Baudouin SCHOMBE <b.schombe at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Baudouin SCHOMBE <b.schombe at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [governance] Draft statement - preamble
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org, "Bertrand de La Chapelle" <bdelachapelle at gmail.com>
Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 12:21 PM

Among those members with few post, evereaday I am online and follow all contributions but my english is not fluent to allow me for a regular contributing.

Major credibility factors for external actors are the diversity of the membership, the sheer amount of subscribers (more than 400) even if much fewer actually post, and above all, the quality of the contributions that result from intense exchanges.

Baudouin

2010/1/14, Bertrand de La Chapelle <bdelachapelle at gmail.com>:
Dear all,

Interesting exchange as usual. A suggestion below regarding formulation of the Preamble and its transformation into a point at the end of the document under the title : "About the Internet Governance Caucus". plus some more general remarks. 

1. We have had recurring discussions on the nature of this list between very open debate space and the development of advocacy positions. The delicate balance between the two complementary dimensions is important to preserve.  

In that context, the way the IGC presents itself in such contributions to the IGF has an impact. The following description is the first paragraph of the Charter :

"The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) was originally created by individual and organizational civil society actors who came together in the context of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to promote global public interest objectives in Internet governance policy making."

I have always believed that this notion of the promotion of the global public interest (and the necessary work to define what it exactly is) is what actually unites the participants of the Caucus, and not their belonging to one type of organization or another. 

The value of this space is its inclusiveness : criteria for participation is only the endorsement of such values. As the Charter states : 
"The members of the IGC are individuals, acting in personal capacity, who subscribe to the charter of the caucus. All members are equal and have the same rights and duties." 

Major credibility factors for external actors are the diversity of the membership, the sheer amount of subscribers (more than 400) even if much fewer actually post, and above all, the quality of the contributions that result from intense exchanges.

I would therefore suggest that we do not lose too much time on the question of the Preamble. The presentation of the IGC woudl be better placed in the end under the title : "About the IGC". The Internet Governance Caucus is a well-established brand and this is common practice for contributions. 

Leveraging the Charter's first sentences, the paragraph could read : 

About the Internet Governance Caucus

The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) was originally created by individual and organizational civil society actors who came together in the context of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to promote global public interest objectives in Internet governance policy making. It now comprises more than 400 individual subscribers to its mailing list, who have subscribed to its Charter. More information is available at : http://www.igcaucus.org.

2. This spirit of inclusion is the very spirit of the Internet Governance Forum. And it should be of no surprise, given the influence of the IGC and many of its members in the creation of the IGF itself, and since 2006, in the open consultations and the MAG discussions that have helped shape the current IGF working methods. 

The IGF can and should be continuously improved, as it has already in its first four years. In suggesting such improvements, it is important for the IGC to balance the recognition of the achievements this innovation already represents and the constructive impatience regarding what can be further accomplished. The co-coordinators have a fundamental responsibility in ensuring such a balance that truly reflect the broad consensus among all participants. I trust this is what Jeremy is trying to accomplish here.

3. Finally, I'd like to highlight Eric Dierker's point regarding the influence discussions on this list have in broader circles. Let's not forget that a lot of actors, including governments and businesses are actually subscribed to the list - even if they do not post. 

In many cases, I've had exchanges with government colleagues and people from other circles who were perfectly aware of the arguments exchanged and - consciously or unconsciously - integrated them in their own analyzes. This is good and should be kept in mind.

I hope this helps.

Best

Bertrand

On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 11:09 PM, David Souter <david.souter at runbox.com> wrote:

My point about the preamble is simply this:  If the IGC is an association of
individuals, it should not represent itself as a coalition of organisations
- a description which it could not sustain if it were challenged.  I would
suggest something like "an association of individuals in civil society who
are actively engaged in internet governance and the IGF."  But there are
many formulations that would work.

David Souter

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-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Malcolm [mailto:jeremy at ciroap.org]
Sent: 13 January 2010 20:19
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org; McTim
Subject: Re: [governance] PLEASE RESPOND - draft statement on reform of the

On 13/01/2010, at 7:24 PM, McTim wrote:

> David,
>
> On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 9:48 PM, David Souter <david.souter at runbox.com>
wrote:
>> Dear Jeremy:
>>
>> I think there is a question here about IGC membership and how the IGC
>> presents itself.
>>
>> According to the Charter, “the members of the IGC are individuals, acting
in
>> personal capacity, who subscribe to the charter of the caucus.  All
members
>> are equal and have the same rights and duties.”
>>
>> Can it really, therefore, introduce itself as “a global coalition of
civil
>> society and non governmental organisations and individuals”, as in the
>> preamble to this draft?

FWIW, this preamble was taken verbatim from a previous statement made in
June last year.  But even so, please suggest specific improvements.

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____________________
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SCHOMBE BAUDOUIN
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