[governance] Fwd: [cs-coord] Civil Society Speakers for IGF Closing Ceremony

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

agree, sort of - but Milton, having represented my day job in industry associations before, I can assure you that consensus plays just as large a role there. 

There is a lot more cohesion though, mostly from a perception that everybody is on the same side and with shared interests, which this caucus sorely lacks from what I can see.

So yes, please do present your own positions. I find myself agreeing with them more often than not, these days :)

--srs (iPad)

> On 28-Aug-2014, at 0:38, Robert Guerra <rguerra at privaterra.org> wrote:
> 
> Milton,
> 
> Very well said. I wholeheartedly and without reservation trust your judgement on this.
> 
> regards
> 
> Robert
> 
> 
> 
>> On Aug 27, 2014, at 12:26 PM, Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> A few words about the broader issues related to speaker selection:
>> 
>> In a group as large and diverse as this, any speaker who does not make any one of us just a little bit uncomfortable is probably not saying anything meaningful or worthwhile. This is one of the reasons IGF as a whole is perilously close to being broken; there are too many lowest common denominator filtering mechanisms that prevent anything challenging from being said or done, especially in main sessions.
>> 
>> The idea that any speaker would speak for all of civil society, much less every individual on this list,  is not just an impossible standard; to my mind it reflects a misunderstanding of what civil society is supposed to be and to do in these environments. We are the free and diverse elements of the governance institution; we are supposed to reflect new and challenging ideas, not to conform or be acceptable. There is not now and never will be a "peak association" that speaks for all of us as if we were a trade association of oil producers or farmers.
>> 
>> I have 15 years of history in fighting for an institutionalized presence for civil society in Internet governance institutions; I was there when IGF was created and played a role shaping its initial consultations. Throughout that process I've helped to provide representation, speaking platforms and even funding to many people I don't agree with wholly, but am willing to fight for their right to be heard. As a scholar and writer I've taken a number of well-considered positions and performed analyses of key issues. I suspect that the committee chose me for those reasons.
>> 
>> Drawing on that experience, and these perspectives, I will say what I believe needs to be said in the context of the IGF closing. 
>> 
>> Milton L Mueller
>> Laura J and L. Douglas Meredith Professor 
>> Syracuse University School of Information Studies
>> http://faculty.ischool.syr.edu/mueller/ 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Suresh Ramasubramanian [mailto:suresh at hserus.net]
>>> Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 4:43 AM
>>> To: Jean-Christophe Nothias
>>> Cc: governance at lists.igcaucus.org; Ian Peter; Milton L Mueller; Mawaki
>>> Chango
>>> Subject: Re: [governance] Fwd: [cs-coord] Civil Society Speakers for IGF
>>> Closing Ceremony
>>> 
>>> Jean-Christophe Nothias [27/08/14 10:31 +0200]:
>>>> "...opinions are, rightly, excluded..."
>>>> That must reflect on your highly democratic conception of an open debate.
>>>> To exclude rightly is usually part of the extreme right parties narrative.
>>>> Weren't you a multistakeholder equal footing blabla model advocate?
>>> 
>>> Let us put it this way -
>>> 
>>> Personally, I am a centrist. I disagree with the extreme left just as much as I
>>> do the extreme right.
>>> 
>>> In this case, I am a believer in a consensus, which in this case, forms a bell
>>> curve from which the tail has, necessarily, to be excluded in order to get a
>>> sense of what the vast majority of the group wants.
>> 
>> 
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