[governance] URGENT: IGF Workshop Proposal on behalf of IGC

Deirdre Williams williams.deirdre at gmail.com
Sun May 29 16:06:18 EDT 2016 

Dear All,
I made the original suggestion, but initially there wasn't very much
interest and I've been busy. Thank you to everyone who has been growing the
idea :-)

My original concern rose out of the fact that it seems we are all being
boiled down to a single, insipid?? flavour. Is this an inevitable outcome?
(The IS was in capitals for emphasis, not an acronym)

So then I wondered whether this is the outcome currently desired by the
majority of people. And depending on the answer to the first two questions
is there any action that could be taken to avoid the outcome?

In the world of politics the pendulum seems to have begun to swing back
from "come together" towards "divide". This is likely to create tension if
the online world is swinging in the opposite direction - perhaps the
tension is there already?

Connection with the SDGs? The SDGs are agreed desirable outcomes for the
world, but how you achieve the outcome at place A may not be the right
answer for place B. This issue came up recently in the Dynamic Coalition
Co-ordination meeting on the subject of the term "Best practice" - one
person's best practice may be someone else's failure. However if we are, or
are supposed to be, all one (ie homogenised) then this becomes a moot point.

Finally, within the topic, I would like to see some debate on the right to
say NO! which we seem to be losing very fast. Usually people laugh at me
when I suggest this, but I have been continuing to say it.  Most young
people go through a stage where the most important thing is conformity. At
this stage they may have no comprehension of the value of the right to say
no. It would be very sad if, when they got to the point of appreciating and
needing that right, they found it no longer existed.

It would be good if the issue could be tackled from several different
angles as has occurred here on the list, discussing and exploring rather
than prescribing. Felipe (copied above) has a somewhat parallel idea from a
technical point of view - between us we have made a similar proposal of
these issues to the LACIGF for inclusion in the regional discussion.

Best wishes
Deirdre



On 29 May 2016 at 12:52, George Sadowsky <george.sadowsky at gmail.com> wrote:

> It seems to me that this global homogenisation was already pretty far
> along already based upon satellite television, movies (Hollywood), jet air
> travel and a variety of homogenisation factors.  All airports look pretty
> much alike to me.  McDonalds restaurants exist in every country I visit.
> The stores in the GUM Department Store in Moscow are the same ones I find
> in most shopping malls in the United States.
>
> If anything, the Internet allows a display of variety that physical "shelf
> space" (in a general sense) is not limited.  Cyberspace is nearly
> infinitely stretchable, and the search mechanisms for what you want are
> enormously better than in physical space.
>
> I would turn the topic around  --  the preservation of diversity (and the
> need to nurture it) via the Internet, in contrast to existing forces for
> homogenisation.
>
> George
>
>
>
> On May 29, 2016, at 12:20 PM, Mueller, Milton L <milton at gatech.edu> wrote:
>
> Arsene
> Here are some suggestions and comments:
>
>           *Erosion of identity or homogenisation by internet - IS it
> important? Should it be prevented? Can it be prevented? How?*
>
> MM: This idea needs better definition. What kind of identity are you
> talking about? Ethnic? Linguistic? National? Gender? I think the idea that
> global communication technologies “homogenize” culture is a long-running
> debate in the communication field, going back to the advent of satellites
> in the 1970s. it is clear that some smaller languages are declining, but
> Internet’s research and coordination capabilities often help to preserve
> them. The idea that technology would lead to a single, homogenized global
> culture has been completely discredited as far as I can see, but perhaps
> there are some people who still believe that. Generally, the homogenization
> charge comes from national elites whose monopoly control of state-based
> cultural institutions is threatened by the new technology. Many of the
> threats to minority identities come from these very same elites seeking to
> achieve a homogenized national culture.
>
> However, in terms of the substantive issues it raises, this one is
> potentially the most interesting, if you can formulate some more specific
> questions you want to address.
>
>
> *-*          *A critical reflexion on the role of civil society in the
> Internet governance context*
>
> MM: another theme we have debated for a long time. I think you would need
> some more specific issues or questions you would want to discuss.
>
> *-*         *ICT for development: Harnessing the role of civil society
> for access, finance and knowledge city*
>
> MM: does “knowledge city” mean what we call “smart cities” here in the
> U.S.?  Those are interesting issues, and often intersect with what is
> called Internet of Things, but the linkage to _*global*_ internet
> governance is very weak. What would be the global angle on this topic?
>
>
> At this point, I am requesting members of the community to:
> -          Make comments on the suggested topics,
> -          Help agree on ONE topic (we will not wait for consensus but I
> just want to feel the room)
> -          Help rephrase or reorient (if appropriate) the wording on the
> chosen topics,
>
>
> After we agreed on the above, I will send another call for speakers,
> panelists, onsite/remote moderators, rapporteurs, etc. Please do get ready
> if you are planning to be in Mexico to be involved in this workshop in any
> form. We will need your expertise and experience to share during the
> workshop.
>
>
> Once this is done, then we will submit the workshop proposals to the IGF,
> using the online form at the IGF Website. Given the remaining time, we have
> less than 5 days to complete this so that by June 4th, we can submit the
> proposals for consideration to the IGC.
>
>
> I really count on your contributions within time so we can conclude this
> process.
>
>
> Regards,
> Arsene
> *------------------------------------------------------*
> *Arsène Tungali,*
> IGC Co-Coordinator,
> Co-founder & Executive Director, *Rudi International*
> <http://www.rudiinternational.org/>
> Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/arsenebaguma> - Twitter
> <http://twitter.com/arsenebaguma> - LinkedIn
> <http://www.linkedin.com/pub/arsene-tungali/40/825/344/>
> Internet Governance - Blogger - ISOC Ambassador - ICANN Fellow - Child
> Online Protection Evangelist.
> *Democratic Republic of Congo*
> ____________________________________________________________
> 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
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> 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
>
>


-- 
“The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William
Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20160529/c2d2380b/attachment.htm>
-------------- 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

More information about the Governance mailing list