----- Original Message -----
From: <charles.geiger@itu.int>
To: <evan@protest.net>; <crisinfo@comunica.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 12:24 AM
Subject: RE: [CRIS Info] WSF CRIS Strategy Meeting Notes
> CRIS Info is a public list for information and questions about the
campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
http://crisinfo.org
> CRIS also has a Latin American regional list at:
http://comunica.org/mailman/listinfo/crisal_comunica.org
> <
> ________________________________________
>
>
> Dear Evan
>
> I would like to comment on your Summary (second para), last asterix:
>
> According to the Rules of Procedure for the Preparatory Committee (see
> http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/pc1/official/rules_procedure_pc.doc) , rule
50,
> Plenary meetings and Subcommittee meetings are public, i.e. open to the
> observers, unless decided otherwise by the body concerned. There has been
no
> decision by Governments that the second week is closed.
>
> There is of course the possibility that Governments decide, with regard to
> the Subcommittee-2 meetings of the second week, to split up in working
> groups and informal meetings, including perhaps a drafting committee.
> Governments will have to decide if such groups are public or not. No
> decision has been taken on this yet, and final decisions on the private or
> public character of these meetings will, if ever, be taken only at the
> PrepCom-2 itself. Therefore I think the information you got at the WSF
> meeting at Porto Alegre is in our view only a guess of some participants,
> but not a fact or a decision.
>
> Sincerely yours
>
> Charles Geiger
> Senior Policy Adviser
> Executive Secretariat
> World Summit on the Information Society
> c/o ITU, Place des Nations
> CH-1211 Geneva 20
> Switzerland
> e-mail: charles.geiger@ties.itu.int
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: evan@protest.net [mailto:evan@protest.net]
> Sent: dimanche, 26. janvier 2003 16:38
> To: crisinfo@comunica.org
> Subject: [CRIS Info] WSF CRIS Strategy Meeting Notes
>
>
> CRIS Info is a public list for information and questions about the
campaign
> for Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
> http://crisinfo.org
> CRIS also has a Latin American regional list at:
> http://comunica.org/mailman/listinfo/crisal_comunica.org
> <
> ________________________________________
>
>
> These notes are a very rough sketch of what was discussed today at the
> World Social Forum organizing meeting which took place today in Porto
> Alegre. I only sat in on the group talking about working inside the WSIS
> although most of the people participated in the outside/protest/counter
> forum discussion. These are not reflecting everything that was said, but
> just want I was able to take notes on. I hope these notes are helpful for
> people to follow what was discussed. Apologies for their incoherence. Just
> a personal introduction, i'm an activist with indymedia and have been on
> the CRIS list for a year following the discussion.
>
> Summary:
> * We need to work on a civil society statement. Concrete with
> the content we'd like the WSIS to work on. This needs to be
> ready by the 14th of Feb.
>
> * Secondly we discussed what workshops at PrepCom 2. Which will
> take place in the first day or before PrepCom 2 so ngo's can
> coordinate their campaign. During the 1st week we want
> participation in the official multi-stakeholder meetings. Also
> during the first week we want topical issues on spectrum.
>
> * There was an renewed call to update and have relevant
> information on the CRIS website.
>
> * Pressure / Support the official civil society division to
> support us and advocate for more civil society participation
> and influence.
>
> * There are groups in CRIS (AMARC, APC, WACC, etc) who have
> official UN consultative status and can use that as a way to get
> in the door.
>
> * PrepCom 2 is in Geneva starting on the 14th. The first week is
> open to ngo's but the second week is closed to just governments.
>
> These are general notes. Much of it is just writing down what people said,
> so when I say "I" and "We" Im often quoting other people and not talking
> for myself because Ive just been following the CRIS process at a distance
> and not participating much in the organizing.
>
>
> WSIS/CRIS Inside Lobbying Breakout Group Discussion Notes:
>
> There is a possibly of working through the PrepCom's at the civil society
> coordinating group which was formed at PrepCom. It's been recognized by
> ITU. If we were going to put together a recommendation from WSF we should
> go through this coordinating group. It's an informal group.
>
> There have been a number of regional prep meetings as well as three big
> PrepComs in Geneva. The regional meetings have been more open to NGO's
> than the big global PrepComs. The degree to which the meetings where open
> seem to have a direct correlation to how much local ngo's were able to
> work and help with the organizing of the meetings.
> * Bucharest was semi open
> * Tokyo was quite open
> * Upcoming regional meeting will be more closed
>
>
> Local NGO's are able to design in space for NGO's if they are involved in
> the organizing.
>
> ITU set up a general statement that the WSIS would be multi-stakeholder.
>
> Two summits, first in Geneva in 2003 and second in Tunisia in 2005.
>
> Strategies. Define minimal content which would go in to the declaration.
> We need to have workshops done by ngo's which are attended by government
> types. Define what levels of participation for civil society.
>
> There is a draft declaration of the heads of government which will be
> drafted and adopted by governments.
>
> The NGO's are working through CONGO (Confederation of NGO's at the UN).
> AMARC, WACC, APC are members of CONGO.
> When the ITU setup things there are three secretariats. Government,
> private, and civil society division and the executive secretariat. That we
> have a tripartite system for WSIS is quite novel and innovative.
>
> But we can't rely on them to give NGO's a voice because the civil society
> division is very difficult position. It's not been able to get information
> to civil society, and we've had to push to get all the information we've
> gotten. The reason is they have no in house support, no resources.
>
> What has worked is when ngo's have worked with the local government in
> shaping and working on the organizing. This is what worked so well in
> Japan.
>
> Knowing who are in charge in the governments working on these issues is
> critical information and getting the contacts form the ITU site and
> reaching out to them. There is still a lot of debate going on between
> different parts of the governments. We need to go beyond the people who
> are in Geneva but rather to the people they answer to in their home
> countries.
>
> There is an APC has site for WSIS information on groups in Latin America.
>
> The conversation has gone to what to discuss. Strategies for short term
> organizing and how we can share information. Or do we discuss more of what
> platform.
>
> Talk about looking at more information on specifics of what we are
> demanding and what will need to go in to WSIS's declaration. There are a
> number of groups already who are producing drafts and doing the work but
> there isn't the coordination. The problem is people need coordination and
> work to help for PrepCom 2 in a couple weeks.
>
> The first week it will be open to civil society, the second week is
> closed. The PrepCom 2 meeting will decide the agenda for WSIS.
>
> Folks needed a push to have concrete demands to be pushing on the
> government to implement. We can be loud the first week, and we should be
> making our big statements when they have to listen not when we are
> excluded during the second week. Our tool needs to be a one to two page
> bulleted document of the critical important issues.
>
> Talk about needing concrete documents and demands to be prepared before
> PrepCom 2 on the 14th. There are multistakeholder panels. It is not clear
> who is on them or if we could get more NGO's on those panels.
>
> There might be a panel about multi-stakeholderism within the WSIS during
> the first week. People talked about wanting to have some of the CRIS ngo's
> on the some of the multi-stakeholder panels so we can reach beyond the ngo
> ghetto and have government rep's hear our perspective.
>
> in solidarity,
> evan
>
> --
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> _______________________________________________
> Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
> For more information see http://www.crisinfo.org/
> act@crisinfo.org
>
> Crisinfo mailing list
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