[governance] Message to the IGC

Mon Aug 12 03:27:47 EDT 2013

Dear All,

Firstly warm greetings from a wintry Auckland!  I trust that you are all
well and in excellent health. This is just a brief message to the IGC on
some housekeeping matters.

*1) Welcome to all the new subscribers on the list.*

 We are excited that you are joining us because you will bring your rich
and diverse experiences, view points and perspective to the world of
Internet Governance. Please feel free to initiate discussions and post
threads to stimulate dialogue and discussion.
*
*
*2) Brief Message *

This brief note is in response to some of tone that the discussions have
been taking lately.  It is a polite reminder and call to be aware of our
environment. The internet as we know is a multifaceted combination of
networks and includes all kinds of people to make it what it is today,
whether they are  internet service providers, network operators, Number
Registries, Domain name Registries and Registrars, standards bodies,
internet users (companies, communities, organisations, individuals).

It is quite difficult to fit people or organisations into boxes such as
civil society, public sector and private sector in the world as we live in
a world far more fluid than boxes can ever attempt to hold us. Attempts to
categorise people and communities can be self defeating when discussing
critical internet governance issues. For instance, there are key
telecommunications and ICT infrastructure that are facilitated by the
private sector in some jurisdictions, by governments in other jurisdictions
and civil society in other jurisdictions. To this end, each context is
different and as much as possible it is good to keep an open mind when
communicating with other stakeholders. Each context differs (for countries.
regions etc) and as we gather globally, there must be some level of
appreciation for the global diversity. There have been certain threads and
discussions where it has become apparent that we could perhaps improve in
how we view each other and diverse stakeholders on the internet for the
purposes of discussing issues amicably.

Advocacy as we know transcends lists and forums such as the IGC. There are
many on this list who whilst being part of civil society are also heavily
engaged in policy debates and discussions within organisations such as
ICANN, IETF, ISOC and others in organisations such as the ICC-Basis or
National Chambers of Commerce. There are others in civil society who also
have the "ear" of their governments and regional government organisations
that provide expertise on ICT issues and matters of Internet Governance. As
such diplomacy is needed to engage in discussing issues affecting us all.
Diplomacy does not necessarily mean the absence of forthright discussions -
it just means being aware of the environment and knowing how to navigate.

The spirit and culture of the IGC is a cumulative and consolidated
reflection of how we engage with each other as we dialogue and interact. I
would ask that as we continue our dialogue and engagement that we do so
with the understanding that there will be people who hold views contrary to
our own but that we can discuss, seek out their points of view and that
whilst we can agree on some things, we can also disagree on other things.
When disagreeing, please do so in a manner that encourages dialogue and
that does not threaten people or discourage others from posting for fear of
being subjected to bullying. Bullying, goading will not be tolerated on
this list. Unwarranted and unnecessary attacks on persons are also
discouraged and polite offlist warnings will be sent to parties.
*
*
*3) Questionnaire of the Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation*
The IGC will be filling in a response and we will be setting up a
collaborative response and we will be inviting you to help us put together
our response before we submit the same as an IGC response. We can open this
for comment and consolidate feedback. We will be doing this in a separate
thread. We will be weaving your comments and feedback together to put
forward our collective response. Thank you Joy for alerting the list.

*4) Development of Key Initiatives or Tangible Outcomes for the 2013 IGF*
We would like to invite you to give your feedback on what you think the IGC
should be pushing or advocating at the IGC 2013. Feel free to send in your
thoughts, suggestions and ideas.

*5) Profiling Civil Society work in different countries*
It will be interesting to discover and find out what the different civil
society representatives have been engaged in, in terms of advocacy in their
respective countries, including those in regional and global forums and
organisations. This might assist in informing us of the level of activities
that are being undertaken. We would also like to know what the key issues
concerning Internet Governance have been in your countries. This is still
at seed stage (thought - only). We are considering a survey to gather this
information.
*
*
*6)NomCom*
The NomCom is still deliberating and will provide an update as they
progress.

If there are any other issues, that you feel that the coordinators need to
consider, please feel free to send us an email on <coordinators at igcaucus.org
>.

Kind Regards,

-- 
Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala

(co-coordinator)
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