[governance] Remote Participation

Fri Feb 17 21:06:41 EST 2012

Deirdre,

I think that there is an implicit assumption in what you have written
that if only the technical glitches could be corrected then RP would
be "equivalent" to In person participation... I think there are two
problems with this.  The first is that in practice and from my
experience except in extremely limited situations where you are
working with highly experienced people at both ends of the
communication, have access to very significant technical resources,
and a meeting structure specifically designed to accommodate effective
RP can this even be approximated.  In the real world of IG the
likelihood of these conditions being in place (ever) is highly remote.

The second issue is that even when all of the above conditions are in
place unless the decision making process in the meeting has been
redesigned specifically to accommodate remote participation
recognizing all of its practical limitations those participating
remotely will always be at a disadvantage...

This isn't to say that RP is not worth pursuing it most certainly is,
but it is to say that those pursuing it should have no illusions about
what they are asking for. (BTW, I like the suggestion of shifting in
part or at key points to full RP as it puts everyone at a similar
disadvantage or equalizes the participation opportunities for all but
I realize that may not be realistic in this instance for a variety of
reasons.)

If the intention is to ensure an opportunity for effective
participation by those without the means for f2f communication then
that will have to be specifically designed for and that means I think
not focusing specifically on the RP element (only) but rather focusing
on the decision making process as for example working through how to
have an effective "designated speaker" or representative participation
process where those not able to directly participate are able to act
through representatives or surrogates as though they were directly
participating and with a weight similar to those who are directly
participating.

Best,

Mike

On Sat, Feb 18, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Deirdre Williams
<williams.deirdre at gmail.com> wrote:
> Following the discussions of the last few days I have taken the liberty of
> putting together the contributions into a single document. I have not
> included Imran's option B  (to make some consultations/MAG meetings remote
> only and which I like very much myself) because no one else has said
> anything about it yet
>
> I have also not included in the text, although it is still there below the
> text, a large part of Sala's contribution which seems to me to deal with
> direct suggestions for improving remote participation at the IGF itself, and
> therefore (again my opinion only) would perhaps have a greater effect in a
> second document of practical suggestions.
>
> Internet Governance Civil Society Caucus (IGC)
>
> Statement on remote participation
>
>
>
> We would like to reiterate that remote participation is a crucial part of
> organizing the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and we appreciate the effort
> to provide remote participation for the Open Consultation, the
> Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) meetings, and the MAG meeting this
> month - February 2012 - which was opened to observers.
>
>
>
> We would like to commend the excellent work of the technical team
> from Politecnico di Torino, (The Polytechnic University of Turin) which was
> originally brought by our colleague Vittorio Bertola.
>
>
>
> However, we would like to point out some difficulties that occurred with the
> system during the open MAG meeting. On the third day, morning session, (the
> second day of the open MAG meeting), remote observers were effectively
> excluded because they had no access to live transcript. Also MAG members
> trying to participate online had difficulty in contacting moderators, partly
> because the moderators were serving more than one function.
>
>
>
> We strongly urge MAG and IGF secretariats and ourselves to consider the
> following for the future IGF organizing work and the IGF itself, and work
> together to bring them about:
>
> l      Ensure equal participation between online and offline participants
>
> l      Prepare a clear guideline for remote participation and its moderation
>
> l      Always assign exclusive remote participation coordinator/moderators
> (who do not have other jobs at the same time, and are responsible to
> interact between the meeting’s physical participants/current speaker, the
> Chair and the remote participants).
>
> l      Establish a clear procedure that would encourage remote participants
> to intervene. Such a system is desirable both for  those physically present
> in Geneva and those observing the meeting remotely.
>
> l      Provide as much interactivity as possible.
>
> l      Provide plural means – video, voice and text channel, as well as
> real-time transcription and video streaming - of coverage of the meeting
>
> l      Enable the meeting and remote participation through interactive
> presentations access through RP.  (This needs clarification)
>
> l      Create a select task force or Working Group created that has
> representatives from the Government, Private Sector and Civil Society that
> is dedicated to seeing  improvements of Remote Participation
>
> Because only limited funds are available for direct participation, this
> issue is crucially important to all stakeholders from all constituencies who
> are entitled to participate in the meetings, and who wish to do so from a
> remote location.
>
>
> [This text was originally proposed by Izumi and is close to the wording of
> his intervention at the end of the MAG meeting. Subsequent contributions
> from other people have also been included.]
>
>
>
> This is the rest of Sala’s suggestion. Two points are included above.
>
> We have to move beyond advocacy to listing and creating tangible outcomes to
> make improved remote participation a reality.
>
> There are regions around the world where transportation is extremely
> expensive and one such region is the Pacific which has 22 countries and
> territories. Remote participation was the only way that any of these
> countries could access the IGF. However there is room to improve processes
> and create an IGF culture where remote participation is prioritised through
> setting up parallel screens that enable people to chat and stream in to the
> sessions where those who are at the meeting can read these chats or feeds in
> text form and also see the various hubs who are participating.
>
> These improvements transcend having the appropriate technical solutions and
> should also include the following:-
>
> ·    Outreach;
>
> ·    Mapping local and regional stakeholders;
>
> ·    Coordinating with people on the ground 10 months before the IGF in a
> series of strategic roll out;
>
> ·    Identifying how the private sector, civil society and governments can
> be better involved in the remote hubs etc
>
>
>
> Deirdre
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> “The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William
> Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> To be removed from the list, visit:
>     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>
> For all other list information and functions, see:
>     http://lists.igcaucus.org/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
>

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

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/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