[governance] the forthcoming MAG meeting and open consultations

[parminder]

Hi All

I wonder who all will attend the forthcoming open consultations and the 
MAG meeting (which, as on the last few occasions, is expected to be 
partly open). I myself am unable to attend because of the absence of 
funding support.

I see a few important new elements vis a vis the forthcoming meeting, 
which I bring to your collective attention

1) Unlike all earlier times, the MAG has not been re-constituted before 
the May meeting. I am not sure why, and what does this mean.

2) There is no funding support for civil society MAG members from 
developing countries, unlike earlier times, and I expect most to them to 
be unable to attend. This puts a huge question-mark on the legitimacy of 
the preparatory process, especially from civil society point of view. I 
think we should raise this issue. I expect the room to be filled by 
non-government actors from developed countries, and obviously the 
conversation will be determined and lead by them (which, because of a 
variety of factors, do often happen in any case; it will simply be, 
shall I say, much worse this time).  I have on numerous occasions asked 
the IGF secretariat for  data about additional participants that turn up 
in open MAG meeting. I have even sent reminders but never got  a 
response. So much for transparency.

3) Interestingly, for the first time, registration for open 
consultations and attending MAG meetings is a part of the registration 
for the WSIS forum. While I am all for convergences and doing a dialogue 
in common spaces with shared participants etc, I wonder if this new 
arrangement is entirely innocent, and if some may want to read something 
in this new development. I must mention here that one country at the WG 
on IGF improvements meeting strongly advocated for some kind of merger 
of the IGF process with the WSIS forum process.

Parminder
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