[Governance] Invitation to sign on : Civil society calls for a virtual IGF 2021 to strengthen inclusivity
Valeria Betancourt
valeriab at apc.org
Mon Aug 9 10:41:53 EDT 2021
Dear Farzaneh, Deirdre and Andrey and all,
Thank you for your messages, questions and suggestions.
Let me please clarify that we are not calling upon the cancellation of
the in-person meeting. APC has been committed and engaged with the IGF
since its inception and we have seen and contributed to the efforts
towards inclusivity, particularly of stakeholders from the global South.
There are practical restrictions and inequalities related to transborder
mobility at the moment, including for instance the fact that some
Covid-19 vaccines are not broadly accepted as valid ones to apply for
Schengen visas for people who need them to enter the EU territory. We
are concerned that those type of restrictions will impact the real
possibility of specific stakeholders from the global South to actually
travel to the IGF this year.
We are not questioning the hybrid model per se but expressing our
concern that in the specific context of the pandemic, there are risks
associated to using it as the leading model for the December IGF
meeting. In that sense, our call is for putting together mechanisms to
ensure that onsite and remote participation is balanced. Our suggestion
is that the virtual modality of the hybrid model is the default
parameter to organise the IGF annual event. This, we believe, would
influence how the event deals with time zone concerns and attendance
support schemes, for example.
The statement is not an end in itself. We expect to engage with the IGF
with concrete suggestions of measures to ensure a truly inclusive
meeting, building on what the IGF has been doing for years. Our goal is
not to alter decisions that are now already being implemented, but to
make a call to the IGF community to place these concerns at the center
of the planning and preparatory activities underway between now and
December.
I hope it clarifies the spirit of the statement.
Best,
Valeria
On 9/8/21 06:36, Deirdre Williams via Governance wrote:
> I agree with Farzaneh about the need to add some concrete suggestions.
> It is perhaps a little revolutionary but how about something like "IGF
> 16 will be held virtually in Poland, with accommodations being made
> for in situ participants" which makes a clear definition of
> priorities. Another option could be like something I had proposed
> before when the physical meeting was in Bali - produce the programme
> early with the presentation content so that the workshop addresses
> direct discussion of issues which can also be made accessible in a
> more static manner for people with bandwidth challenges. I realise
> that this would require proactive willing participants, the management
> of a large amount of data, truly excellent moderatos and a great deal
> of work, but it would largely obviate the time problem, help with
> language issues and give everyone possible a chance to join in.
> There is a tendency for the IG conversation to be held by a clique
> (albeit a large and multistakeholder clique) of interested parties
> somehow in parallel with a lot of what is really going on in the world???
> I am in sympathy with the statement that points to a VERY real problem
> particularly this year. Whatever happens the IGF will need some type
> of Plan B for if it becomes necessary to manage in a situation of
> draconian travel restrictions, or practically non-existent travel.
> Best wishes from Saint Lucia where numbers are rising again
> Stay safe
> De
>
> On Sun, 8 Aug 2021 at 23:34, farzaneh badii via Governance
> <governance at lists.igcaucus.org <mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>>
> wrote:
>
> To solve the multi-interpretations, perhaps we can make more
> concrete suggestions as to how they can improve upon including
> remote participants other than using the unevilly WebEx? I was
> hoping that on the absence of some very key figures, we put more
> emphasis on including them and make the process better.
> Unfortunately remote participation failures most of the time comes
> down to the process and not just the tools. People onsite don’t
> have to communicate with people online.
>
> On Sunday, August 8, 2021, Shcherbovich Andrey <dvbirve at yandex.ru
> <mailto:dvbirve at yandex.ru>> wrote:
>
> But the general position of the statement means calling upon
> the cancellation of the in-person meeting. I don't think it is
> right solution.
>
> With kind regards, Andrey
>
> 09.08.2021, 06:06, "farzaneh badii" <farzaneh.badii at gmail.com
> <mailto:farzaneh.badii at gmail.com>>:
>
> I don’t think the statement is saying anything against
> going back to the normal life. It just has some broad
> suggestions that are very legit considering “hybrid”
> models never really worked even outside of COVID what was
> normal for some wasn’t normal for remote participants.
> Equal footing in hybrid models during or outside of covid
> restrictions has unfortunately been unattainable. Pasted
> the paragraph from APC statement just to point out what
> they are actually arguing:
>
>
> “We remain fully committed to the IGF and to making the
> 16th annual meeting a success story. This is why we call
> on organisers to carefully shape the hybrid event to
> address our concerns and ensure a successful, inclusive
> and balanced meeting.
>
> In particular, we recommend that mechanisms are put in
> place to tackle the issue of time zones and connectivity
> costs. Adopting the Polish time as the single standard
> would significantly limit participation of those based in
> incompatible time zones. Also, participants should have
> access to a data support scheme, in addition to the travel
> support already announced, to ensure participation is
> affordable to all, especially those coming from countries
> where broadband connectivity is not the default and data
> packages are expensive.
>
> The signatories of this statement express their
> willingness to participate in the discussion and
> implementation of ideas, structures, methodologies and
> technologies to ensure meaningful remote participation
> during all phases of the annual event. The key challenge
> of ensuring meaningful remote participation in the IGF as
> valued and impactful as in-person participation cannot be
> overstated or taken for granted. This is an essential part
> in the present and future of making the IGF a more open,
> inclusive and globally relevant process.”
>
>
> On Sunday, August 8, 2021, Shcherbovich Andrey via
> Governance <governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> <mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>> wrote:
>
> Dear all!
>
> Strictly against. Let's return to the normal life and
> restore all links.
>
> 07.08.2021, 03:27, "Christian Nzhie via Governance"
> <governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> <mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>>:
>
> Hi,
> Dear @Valeria, thanks for sharing.
> While we welcome the initiative, kindly not that
> the link provided is not accessible.
> /PDOException/: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] Connection
> refused in /lock_may_be_available()/ (line /167/
> of
> //var/drupal-core-v7/drupal-7.81/includes/lock.inc/)
>
> Best,
>
> Christian.
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 6, 2021 at 7:19 PM Valeria Betancourt
> via Governance <governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> <mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> The 2021 IGF has been announced as a hybrid
> event. APC considers that it
> is important to make a call to ensure
> inclusiveness and balanced
> participation of stakeholders, particularly
> the ones from the Global South.
>
> In our view, the pandemic has multiplied
> inequalities in access and
> participation in policy processes, especially
> global and regional ones
> where travel is required. We fear that the
> adoption of a hybrid model,
> while mobility constraints imposed by the
> pandemic have not yet been
> fully lifted, will contribute to exacerbating
> those inequalities and
> limit opportunities for meaningful
> participation and engagement. We urge
> the organisers to ensure that the decision of
> adopting a hybrid model is
> accompanied by relevant measures to ensure a
> truly inclusive meeting.
>
> We've prepared a statement in this regard and
> would like to invite you
> to join us in raising these issues.
>
> Here is the link to the draft and the form to
> endorse it: Civil society
> calls for a virtual IGF 2021 to strengthen
> inclusivity | Association for
> Progressive Communications (apc.org
> <http://apc.org/>):
> https://crm.apc.org/statement/VirtualParticipation-IGF2021
> <https://crm.apc.org/statement/VirtualParticipation-IGF2021>
>
> The statement will be made public on Tuesday
> Aug 10th and submitted
> formally to the IGF Secretariat and MAG.
>
> We would kindly ask you to confirm your
> endorsement by Monday 10pm ET.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Valeria
>
> --
> Valeria Betancourt
> Directora / Manager
> Programa de Políticas de Information y
> Comunicación / Communication and
> Information Policy Programme
> Asociación para el Progreso de las
> Comunicaciones / Association for
> Progressive Communications, APC
> http://www.apc.org <http://www.apc.org/>
>
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> --
> Farzaneh
>
>
>
> --
> Farzaneh
>
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>
> --
> “The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir
> William Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
>
--
Valeria Betancourt
Directora / Manager
Programa de Políticas de Information y Comunicación / Communication and
Information Policy Programme
Asociación para el Progreso de las Comunicaciones / Association for
Progressive Communications, APC
http://www.apc.org
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