[governance] [4 of 6] How best to organize open consultations?

[Jeremy Malcolm]

Moving on to the next question in the MAG questionnaire on reforms to the IGF (and thanks for the valuable contributions so far), we come to the question:

How best to organize open consultations?

The IGF"s open consultation meetings continue a tradition dating back from the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG).  Held in Geneva, their purpose is to provide an open forum for discussion of themes and processes for the annual meeting.  The ideas put forward during the open consultation meeting (and in written contributions made beforehand) are taken as input into the MAG meeting that follows, where decisions on them (or recommendations for decisions) are made.

Issues that we might address in our comments on this question could include:

Should the consultation meetings continue to be held in Geneva, with remote participation from elsewhere, or could they be held elsewhere, with remote participation from Geneva?
Should the meeting be made more deliberative than its present moderated roundtable format?  There are many specific options, but for example, the meeting could split into table groups to discuss and synthesize specific proposals, and a whiteboard (real or virtual) could be used to visually represent and group proposals.
Should a more focussed use of online processes be used in planning for the IGF?  Quite apart from remote participation, should there be better use of a central mailing list and/or wiki for preparatory purposes?
What groups are currently effectively excluded from the open consultation meetings, and what can be done to include them more effectively?

Thoughts on these or any other issues relating to the organisation of the open consultation meetings are welcome.

-- 
Jeremy Malcolm
Project Coordinator
Consumers International
Kuala Lumpur Office for Asia Pacific and the Middle East
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599

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