[governance] Organising for multiple forums

Tue May 31 12:15:05 EDT 2011

Hi,

First I have been among those urging caution and realism on what is possible with a loose list/caucus.  It's too easy to kill the spirit of the thing. Formalizing it into something that needs constant care and fundraising, when it lives among others with similar needs, is tricky.

Still, coming up with more support and mechanisms for more coordinated voluntary support of IGC, possibly including a new non-profit org, may have merit for (re-re-reconsideration.)

Supporting both Jeremy's and Fouad's points, if Consumers International and by extension the Ford Foundation are prepared to set an example and are offering to throw some $ or euros or yuan into an (initially only imaginary) pot, for an exploratory 12 month thing, bravo.  (Yeah I know Jeremy's timeline extends for 4 years, but at least as far as IGC is concerned, coming up with a 4 year plan before doing anything is - unlikely to reach consensus, based on our past experience around this topic.

But if that one year effort does indeed help enable more focused coordination of IGC's overall effort across more international institutions, including funding a few trips for a few select igc list participants to rep igc (and I guess ci too) at one or another meeting where such representation and contributions would otherwise be lacking, sounds good to me. 

Meaning: if CI wishes to award an X$ fellowship to the next co-coordinator of IGC, great; if that next co-coordinator can dole out a few $ for travel, great.  If after those 2 things are in place there is further evidence of the benefits, and broader support for launch of a new org instead of 'just' a virtual org as IGC now is, well that may or may not happen, we shall see what the group wants.  But there is no need for an immediate formalization of IGC for CI and Ford to begin to put some $ where they wish. Imho.    

And congrats Jeremy! : ) 

Lee
________________________________________
From: governance at lists.cpsr.org [governance at lists.cpsr.org] On Behalf Of Jeremy Malcolm [jeremy at ciroap.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 4:43 AM
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org
Subject: Re: [governance] Organising for multiple forums

On 31/05/11 15:01, Ian Peter wrote:
So I do think we need to put some effort into changing our organisation to give it the capability to represent civil society on internet governance matters in multiple forums and through multiple voices.

I do not believe that we could undertake this necessary task without at least a part time employee and some minimal travel for funding. In order to receive such funding, we may also need to have a more formal structure or at least an affiliation with a more formally constructed body able to provide the administrative functions on our behalf.

This has been raised before (including by me [0]), and there has always been a reluctance to change.  This doesn't mean that I think there is no point in discussing it again; on the contrary.  I only haven't been pushing the discussion so far because I am "on the way out" as IGC coordinator, and I think the heavy lifting will have to be done by Izumi and the next coordinator.

But if the IGC does decide to proceed along these lines, I may be able to help right away.  I put in a funding application on behalf of Consumers International to Ford Foundation, which was successful, for a project titled "Consumer Representation in the Information Society".  I'm attaching the relevant pages of the proposal.  It is possible that some of the funding could go towards contracting the next co-coordinator of the IGC on a very part-time basis.

But if I have learned anything about the IGC, it's that you can't assume that changes of any sort will go down well with everyone, so I'm going to sit back at this point and see what the reaction is.

[0] http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/arc/governance/2009-12/msg00124.html

--

Dr 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

Consumers International (CI) is the world federation of consumer groups that, working together with its members, serves as the only independent and authoritative global voice for consumers. With over 220 member organisations in 115 countries, we are building a powerful international movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere.
www.consumersinternational.org<http://www.consumersinternational.org/>
Twitter @ConsumersInt<http://twitter.com/Consumers_Int>

Read our email confidentiality notice<http://www.consumersinternational.org/email-confidentiality>. Don't print this email unless necessary.

____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t