[Governance] Invitation to sign on : Civil society calls for a virtual IGF 2021 to strengthen inclusivity

Tue Aug 10 21:07:53 EDT 2021

Mohamed, I think we should pay attention to multilingualism but I think we
need to be realistic and target it right.

Do we aim to bring non-English speakers issues to the fore or is it to
promote certain languages.If the former then I think we can't have it with
the UN expensive style of "interpretation" only that interprets with no
context. They are not even popular. yes they are great for organizations PR
and showing that they are "inclusive" on the surface. But I think we need
to first see if multilingualism as we implement it now  during our meetings
actually helps people and find it useful.

Truly multilingual environments that are not context based cannot happen
because they are too expensive. Unless we just go selective with the
languages (like the UN does). I think language in these meetings is about
"communications" not to serve to keep a language relevant. I don't think we
help people communicate with just general interpretation, it needs more
than UN style work.
As long as we have not identified and brought along the people who cannot
communicate in English and that affects their day to day lives on the
Internet, then having interpretation is not fruitful.  I don't think our
mission in Internet governance processes is to help people who are
privileged enough to in fact speak English, to use the interpretation
services just to prove a point.

Best
Farzaneh

On Tue, Aug 10, 2021 at 7:57 PM Mohamed ElGohary via Governance <
governance at lists.igcaucus.org> wrote:

> In hybrid IGF events, interpretation should be available for both online
> and offline audiences. Multilingualism is not affected by the nature of the
> event as long as it is reliably supported.
> --
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> *Mohamed ElGohary*
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> On 10-Aug-21 10:30:48 AM, chantal lebrument <lebrument at open-root.eu>
> wrote:
> Above all, a Virtual only IGF still favors English speakers at the
> disadvantage of rich, multilingual meetings.
>
>
> *Chantal Lebrument*
> Directrice
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>
> Le mar. 10 août 2021 à 06:02, Mohamed ElGohary via Governance <
> governance at lists.igcaucus.org> a écrit :
>
>> Being a hybrid does not automatically include inclusivity when it is an
>> offline-first event, as historically it is.
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 9, 2021 at 9:54 AM sivasubramanian muthusamy via Governance <
>> governance at lists.igcaucus.org> wrote:
>>
>>> How does hybrid affect 'inclusivity'? The caption seems to imply that
>>> the IGF 2021 should be a Virtual (only) IGF, rather than a hybrid.  As
>>> hybrid includes the inclusive virtual components, what is the emphasis of
>>> this statement?  The hybrid meeting should also anticipate a large
>>> proportion of virtual participants?
>>>
>>> Sivasubramanian M
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 12:49 AM Valeria Betancourt via Governance <
>>> 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):
>>>> 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
>>>>
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