[governance] CSO Statement @IGF

[Grace Githaiga]

Good people
I hope you are all keeping well.
 
Please find below the points that I used yesterday to make the speech (this was the original script). You will note that I did not say everything since we had to respect the 4 minutes and those 'traffic lights' were kinda saying 'time to finish'.
 
Once again, thank you all for choosing me to make this statement on your behalf. And since some of you saw me, could you kindly stop me if you happen to spot me? It would be nice to put faces to names :).
 
Have a great day.
Rgds
Grace
 
 
STATEMENT BY GRACE GITHAIGA ON BEHALF OF CIVIL SOCIETY @IGF
 
The theme of IGF policy improvements 
·         In its first five years, the IGF proved itself as a discussion forum. The next five years rather than simply replicating the previous five should therefore see the evolution continue. 
·         The IGF has the potential to be a public sphere in miniature for the Internet, where otherwise disenfranchised voices can have a real impact in shaping policy decisions taken elsewhere.
·         It should therefore provide itself up to the task of offering concrete and useful inputs into the policy development processes of various institutions involved in IG issues.
·         In most other fora, the influence of the economically powerful, such as the entertainment and pharmaceutical industries, can cloud policy-makers' view of the broader public interest.
·         The IGF does not suffer from that same limitation, to the extent that all participants have equal status. But we must continue to improve the IGF's accessibility, including through online means.
·         There is need for revision of the Multi Stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) members of the IGF. The previous members were given a one year extension of their MAG membership. However, the status has changed and with the passage of time, revision and expansion of the memberships is required. 
·         Appreciate the ongoing work for inclusion through remote participation, and support for continuing development of multistakeholderism as a model for other global policy processes.
·         We underscore the importance of regional IGFs and their results
·         Recognise the need for meetings and capacity building in other languages. 
 
The role of civil society
·         The involvement of civil society adds democratic legitimacy to Internet governance processes, by presenting often overlooked perspectives, including those that transcend national borders. There is need therefore to provide Civil Societies equal opportunity and privileges in this process. 
·         There is need to offer Fellowships and Travel Support program for persons from Developing Countries to participate in IGF Meetings. 
·         Formal letters of invitation go from the UN IG Secretariat to the UN Points of Presence (Pop), EU PoPs and other intergovernmental organisations and international organisations in the Pacific to get them involved in the remote Hubs and encourage support through the creation of multiple Hubs.
·         In terms of the Kenyan perspective CS usually comes together for example through kictanet (first online and then face to face if necessary) to give input on policy and in areas that the government is focusing on in terms of enabling environment. This has resulted in innovation and in growth of business and for example Kenya is a world leader in mobile money, lots of mobile app (and mobile app labs) development, thriving social entrepreneurship in the tech space, etc. It has also resulted in concrete policy contributions from stakeholders which has created better understanding of concerns and less conflicts.
 
Conclusion
You all remember the big earthquake and Tsunami that hit East Japan earlier this year, after the big earthquake in Christchurch in NZ.

In both cases, Internet was used to help mitigate the burden, and though it did not help save many lives directly, it helped people find and share the kind of information they needed badly. Some of the services developed in Kenya, Ushahidi, and elsewhere, Sahana, carried over to other disasters. Twitter was used to  a certain degree to share the critical information as well. Most relief works are done in muliti-stakeholder modality. But there is room for improvement on use of Internet and ICT in natural and man-made severe disasters. However, it important to note that it is people, and NOT the technology that really work during the severe period. CSOs, we are happy to see the word "catalyst" in the theme, with its indication that the Internet is NOT the thing itself. The people are the "thing itself".
 
Civil society is key in democratic governance. It is therefore important that CS has equal participation in building an internet of the future. The current multistakeholder model that provides for a non threatening environment for robust discussions to take place is simply excellent. The multistakeholder model provides an avenue for powerful collaboration and robust discussions where we can argue about issues and yet walk away and share a cup of tea.
 
 

 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have the strength to survive, you have the power to succeed. Life is all about choices we make depending upon the situation we are in. Go forth and rule the World!
 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20110928/7a41e4dd/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
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