[governance] Re: Choice of venue for meetings

[Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro]

@ Ginger, as I reflect on your post, these are some things that come to
mind. There are numerous reasons why countries want to host global events.
They could be because of:-


   - convenience (there may be other meetings held in conjunction or
   immediately preceding the meeting;
   - affordability - cheaper to have it adjoining;
   - accessibility - for meeting participants if they have been brought in
   for other meetings;
   - convergence of a pool of global knowledge manifesting in the form of
   experts, resource persons, best practices, challenges etc which they can
   draw from to develop certain areas in country;
   - (from Liz's excerpt) showcasing national assets - it is natural for
   countries to have a sense of patriotism and desire to show off their
   country;
   - if they have been subject to bad press or reported to have been
   "mischievous", then to improve media relations etc;

So bottom line the question is "what's in it for them?". I think the
question is also a two way street. Where one must also examine the persons
doing the selection because this also affects the type of decisions that
are made. For instance, if  country A is at war  with country B, then there
is a greater likelihood that country A if they have a say in the selection
process will not want to country B to host such a global meeting.

So it follows that it more or less is a subjective experience hence the
need to discuss whether there should be a consistent set of rules that
should be applicable when selecting host countries. And in the course of
these discussions, it must also never be forgotten that sometimes
engagement rather than confrontation can be a catalyst for change.

Thoughts from the far seas,
Sala

On Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 6:51 AM, Ginger Paque <gpaque at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have been wondering how/why venues are chosen for global meetings.
> Obviously, a host country must offer, and not every country will be willing
> to invest the time, money and energy into the work involved, so options may
> be limited. There are so many pros and cons for the topics/principles, the
> host and the participants--it is mind-boggling.
>
> A (more or less) recent blog post 'No such thing as bad publicity'
> http://www.diplomacy.edu/blog/no-such-thing-bad-publicity#comment-2258 by
> Liz Galvez explored this question from a slightly different angle: why
> would prospective hosts expose their vulnerabilities to public discussion?
> With Azerbaijan on the horizon, I have revisited the topic, and you may
> find it interesting as well.
>
> Does the choice of Azerbaijan as the venue for IGF 2012 affect your
> decision to attend/not attend?
>
> An excerpt from Liz's post:
> "It seems the temptation proves irresistible for the leaders of some
> countries which are seldom in the global eye to push ahead with staging a
> grand event to showcase their country’s assets. Their population can bask
> in an orgy of nationalist sentiment and propaganda while the media will be
> so carried away by the spectacular organisation, or the beauty of the
> hostesses, or the excitement of the event itself, that they will ignore the
> political context and any nasty goings-on beneath the surface.  They hope
> the mismatch between official image and reality remains hidden. Or they may
> simply underestimate the media’s appetite to ferret out bad news. But in
> what world would anyone with even a remote understanding of independent
> media expect a high-profile sports or cultural event to be covered purely
> for its own  sake, particularly when the host country does its best to
> smother controversial stories? Credibility is an essential element in any
> image-building endeavour. Where it is missing, it is difficult to regain,
> as the US Administration have learnt the hard way."
>
> Ginger
>
>
> Ginger (Virginia) Paque
>
> VirginiaP at diplomacy.edu
> Diplo Foundation
> Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme
> www.diplomacy.edu/ig
> **
> **
>
>


-- 
Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala
P.O. Box 17862
Suva
Fiji

Twitter: @SalanietaT
Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro
Fiji Cell: +679 998 2851
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