[governance] Re: [bestbits] IGF - and the corporatisation scandal

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

It would help enormously if you could clarify just what scandal you are 
referring to, without calling paul's leadership or integrity into question.

I realize that it might be difficult for you to do so, but please do make 
an effort.

--srs (htc one x)



On 27 July 2013 3:44:11 PM parminder <parminder at itforchange.net> wrote:
>
> On Saturday 27 July 2013 02:55 PM, Paul Wilson wrote:
> > Pardon me Parminder, but where exactly is the "scandal"?  It would help 
> if you could explain what position you are taking.
>
> Paul (and Nick)
>
> What is the scandal here? Well, I can give a long response and then we can 
> keep arguing over it. And I dont think this is a point that I consider open 
> for arguments. So I will give a short one, even at the risk of sounding 
> blunt for which I apologise in advance. If you dont see a scandal here, 
> either you dont understand democracy or you dont value it. Period.
>
> (I am further sorry that you have these views since you are also the chair 
> of the so-called Asia Pacific regional IGF. Shows how deep the malaise has 
> gone, while Nero plays on his flute.)
>
> BYW, would you allow the parliament of Australia, or even the public 
> assemblies at your local town hall, to get corporatised in this manner? I 
> mean, poor financial conditions of governments can always be cited as the 
> convenient reason.
>
> parminder
>
>
> >
> > This organising committee has been "delegated" the task of hosting the 
> IGF, and simply cannot raise the funds through donations.  The Government 
> has been unable to contribute (recently declining yet again, and proposing 
> to cancel the event); and the UN, far from supporting the event 
> financially, requires substantial costs to be paid for secure, staff, 
> travel and other.
> >
> > The Indonesian committee is a multistakeholder grouping, including 
> industry and community.  They are unable to attract donations, so they are 
> proposing, it seems, to attract funding by providing some traditional 
> "value" back to contributors.  The deal is nothing new - it seems to be a 
> rather standard sponsorship arrangement.
> >
> > As far as I am aware there has been no clearance given from anyone for 
> this particular approach; so I assume it is still a "proposal".  For a 
> hard-working committee, which has been more-or-less cut adrift, this kind 
> of additional fund-raising work was not expected, on top of the big job of 
> making the event happen.  They are largely alone and trying to do their 
> best, to support an event which is supposed to be inclusive and supportive 
> of new modes of organisation, yet support seems to be sadly lacking.
> >
> > Rather than cries of "scandal" I'm sure that constructive contributions 
> would be far more welcomed, by those who are actually doing the work.
> >
> > Paul.
> >
> >
> >
> > On 27/07/2013, at 5:42 PM, parminder <parminder at itforchange.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Following up on the current IGF cancellation imbroglio, I happened to 
> see what is called as the 'fund raising proposal' of the managing committee 
> of Bali IGF..... Sorry to say, but it is a pure scandal....
> >>
> >> Against donations, it promises funders to be able to recommend speakers 
> in the closing ceremony, organising of events, invitation to high level 
> meeting, banners all around inside the venue (hundreds of them), special 
> promotional feature in the IGF book, logos on the website, on the daily IGF 
> bulletin, on various equipment in the venue and many other things..... 
> Government can make donations and in return "may lead a session in the IGF 
> and be responsible for opening, summary, and the closing of events....."
> >>
> >> Scandalous!! This is selling off the UN, selling off of global public 
> policy spaces... The fact is, I dont want to go to such an IGF. I want to 
> have nothing to do with it.
> >>
> >> Who authorised all this? Can the MAG please respond. They certainly knew 
> about the mentioned 'fund raising proposal' and about how the 2013 IGF was 
> being organised. Why did they remain complicit, or is it that they actively 
> promoted it?  (For a start the civil society members in the MAG who are on 
> this list may please clarify.) Who authorised selling off the global IG 
> policy dialogue space in this way... Does this correspond to the ground 
> rules of a UN convened and run event which in my understanding the IGF 
> continues to be.
> >>
> >>   It was certainly never intended in the WSIS mandate of the IGF... At 
> the WG on IGF improvements too we were quite clear that IGF is a government 
> hosted UN event. How was such a big shift be accomplished. And done without 
> people getting a whiff or it, what to say, a public discussion.. I have 
> seen many problematic changes inside the MAG-IGF structure over the last 
> year or so, which are aimed at a kind of capture, but this one simply takes 
> the cake.
> >>
> >> Does the civil society want to speak up on this issue.
> >>
> >> (As I said earlier, when, at the Baku IGF, the Indonesian government 
> showed its unwillingness to host 21013 IGF, MAG, IGF secretariat, UNDESA or 
> whoever, had no business to allocate it to a private group, even if under 
> government’s weak tutelage. They should have offered it to other 
> governments, one of which would  certainly have taken the offer. What has 
> happened is a natural flow from what is euphemistically called as a 
> multistakeholder convened/ funded IGF, largely free from UN and 
> governmental linkages. And this is what so many - including on this list - 
> have been promoting. It is basically a corporate controlled and run IGF  )
> >>
> >>
> >> parminder
> >>
> >>
>
>



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