Dear listers
I am posting a message I already sent to some of you (about 20-25) earlier,
informing you about a WSIS related caucus FMA is convening here to coincide
with a SEAsian workshop we are running this week in Manila. We basically are
calling for this meeting at this time (29-30 March) to "piggyback" on our
own workshop (scheduled for 26-28 March). This had become feasible of course
because there are a few key people already based in Manila (i.e., three
regional organizations--APC, ASPBAE, and Isis Intl--aside from the
Philippine CSOs). We have actually raised some funds to support about 5
other international people to come.
The note below is self-explanatory, and I am posting it to the general list
in the spirit of transparency, and also to solicit suggestions from all of
you on the important things we can talk about.
Needless to say, FMA, as organizer and host of this activity, welcomes any
constructive comments from colleagues on this list, so we may bring your
voices into the meeting even as we cannot invite everybody.
We have striven to keep the regional, gender, and functional balance in our
invitations--apologies for any lapses FMA may have had in this. Rest assured
that this is all done in good faith...
Thanks
Al Alegre
==========================================
----- Original Message -----
From: Alan G. Alegre <alalegre@fma.ph>
To: <fauves77@hotmail.com>; Gaurab Raj Upadhaya <gaurab@lahai.com>; Ramilo,
Chat Garcia <chat@apcwomen.org>; Cheekay Cinco <cheekay@apcwomen.org>;
<susanna@isiswomen.org>; Mavic Cabrera Belleza <mavic@isiswomen.org>;
<raijeli@isiswomen.org>; Garcia, Bobby <bobgar@pacific.net.ph>; Sagun,
Robert <robsagun@consultant.com>; Sacha Jotisalikorn <sacha@forumasia.org>;
Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp>; PatchA (Jinbonet) <patcha@patcha.jinbo.net>;
<antiropy@www.jinbo.net>; <nadfbronce@yahoo.com>; <taratta@jca.or.jp>;
<ehchun@peacenet.or.kr>; Tony de la cruz <tonycruz@fma.ph>
Cc: izumi aizu <izumi@anr.org>; <amkt@apcwomen.org>; Karen Banks
<karenb@gn.apc.org>; <peyer@bfa-ppp.ch>
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2003 2:58 PM
Subject: Special Asian Caucus on WSIS: Manila, 29-30 March
> Dear friends/colleagues/co-WSIS stakeholders
>
> Greetings of peace and solidarity in these troubling times of war...
>
> I am writing to formally invite you to a Special Asian CSO Caucus on WSIS,
> that we are planning for 29 March (Saturday) to 30 March (Sunday) here in
> Manila (hosted by FMA, to coincide with our Southeast Asian Knowledge
> Networking for Empowerment and Development scheduled for 26-28 March also
> here).
>
> Apologies in advance for the long note, but this is IMPORTANT AND URGENT.
>
> A. CONTEXT
>
> Many of you know that this has been in the works for the past several
weeks.
> It started as an idea we had to "piggy back" on our KnowNet conference
here,
> specially as there were a significant number of active Asian CSO WSIS
> stakeholders (from PrepCom 1 to Bangkok to Tokyo to PrepCom2) who were
> already based in Manila.
>
> The plan was to invite a few Southeast Asians to our conference and get
them
> to stay a couple of days more, while exploring some funding to get a few
> others here, specially those outside Southeast Asia. In the end, we wanted
> to have a core of about 12-15 "strategic" people--meaning people have
proven
> to be active on this, and hopefully those who had leadership/gatekeeping
> positions in the structures and processes of what we variously called: the
> Asian CSO Caucus, the AP NGO CCW; the Asia-Pacific CSO "Family".
>
> Timing it between PrepCom2 and PrepCom3 would enable us to assess the P2,
> plan for the intersessional meetings of P3, and also clarify further the
> coordinating structures and working groups we want to evolve, responding
to
> both the demands of the process as well as the organizational questions we
> had asked ourselves after the Tokyo meeting.
>
> FMA has since raised a some money for maybe 5-6 people to come and join
the
> Manila based ones. (Bread for All--thank you Chantal--has graciously
agreed
> to contribute towards the travel costs of 3-4 people, depending on their
> point of origin; FMA will try to shoulder the cost of the others via its
> workshop.)
>
>
> B. POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS
> (pardon me if I missed some of your roles/functions)
>
> Manila-based:
>
> 1. Bobby Garcia (ASPBAE/Regional; Tokyo Content Group)*
> 2. Chat Garcia Ramilo (APC/Regional; Gender Caucus +)*
> 3. Cheekay Cinco (APC/Regional; Gender Caucus; Info/Outreach?)*
> 4. Robert Sagun (YVSD/Philippines; Youth Caucus)*
> 5. Roentgen Bronce (YVSD/Philippines; Youth Caucus)
> 6. Susanna George (Isis International/Regional; Gender Caucus; P1/Bkk
> Content Group)
> 7. Mavic Cabrera Belleza (Isis International/Regional; Gender Caucus;
Tokyo
> Content Group)
> 8. Raijeli Nicole (Isis International/Regional; Gender Caucus)
> 9. Al Alegre (FMA/Philippines; CSO Facilitator-Convenor, P1/Tokyo/P2; P2
CS
> Bureau Rep)*
> 10. Tony de la Cruz (FMA/Philippines; Info/Outreach Group)*
>
> Non-Manila-Based :
>
> 11. Gaurab Raj Upadhaya (CITI/Nepal; Youth Caucus; Tokyo CSO Rapporteur;
> Nepalese delegation)*
> 12. Sacha Jotisalikorn (Forum Asia/Regional; Bkk convenor; Tokyo Content
> Grp)*
> 13. Adam Peake (GloCom/Japan; Tokyo Meeting convenor; CSB Finance Grp)
>
> ===============
> (all of the above invited to the FMA KnowNet workshop; those with and *
are
> initially confirmed. Others who were sounded out earlier for our workshop
> but who have sent regrets already:)
> - Izumi Aizu (GloCom/Japan; Tokyo Meeting convenor; CSO rapporteur +)
> - Angela Kuga Thas (KHRYSS-APC/Malaysia; Gender Caucus; P2 CS Bureau Rep)
> - Anil Jaggi (India) - initially thought he could pay their own way
> - Reza Salim (BFES/Bangla Desh; WSIS-GKP South Asia convenor) - initially
> thought he could pay their own way
> ===============
>
> Other potential participants I am sounding out via this letter:
> 14. Patcha Kim Jeong Woo (Jinbonet/Korea; Info and Outreach Grp; P2
Content
> Group?) **
> 15. Oh Byoung Il (Jinbonet/Korea; P2 Content Group?) **
> 15 Hamada Taratta Tadahisa (JCANet/Japan; Info and Outreach Grp;
wsis-asia
> mailing list admin) **
> 16 Chiting Serena Chuang (Taiwan; Tokyo Content Group)**
> 17. Chun Eung Hwi (PeaceNet/Korea; Tokyo Content Group)**
>
Have sinced added a couple of people because some have sent their regrets
already:
18. Amir Barmaki (Iran)
19. Myung Jun or YJ Park (Korea)
20. Anoop Sukamaran (Thailand)
21. Arfa (Malaysia)
> C. POTENTIAL AGENDA
>
> I imagine that this meeting will be informal and free-wheeling, but we can
> structure a formal agenda--this week via email, or when we start the
caucus
> itself. This agenda could include the following:
>
> 1. Evaluation of Prepcom2
> 2. Tasks for the Intersessional Period
> 3. Content and Themes Concerns
> 4. Finance Issues:
> 5. Organizational Assessment of the Asia-Pacific Caucus/Family:
> - Sub-region and Country spread + outreach imperatives;
> - strengthening our working groups;
> - mapping our relationship/participation in other WSIS working
> groups/families
> 6. Leadership Issues: reps in CS Bureau, Steering Comm?
> 7. Parallel Communication Rights Summit
>
> ============================
>
> Hope this serves as a complete overview/status report. Lastly:
>
> 6: Question > Is this meeting limited to the people I mentioned?
>
> By all means NO. But with limited funds, we have had to make initial
> inquiries so KEY PEOPLE we thought should be in the meeting. I am sure
there
> are others who may want to attend and who have something to contribute.
But
> since we are funding it from funds raised, FMA exercised a little bit of
> prerogative in sounding out the people I did.
>
> Forgive me if I missed out on some deserving people. But if anyone on this
> list would like to suggest any other names, I think FMA is still open to
> suggestions--but only if they will be alternates of people on this list OR
> they can fund their own travel. I hope this is reasonable enough for most
of
> you.
>
> I will announce this caucus shortly on the communication asia list, in the
> spirit of transparency and for people to suggest agenda items.
>
> This task of organizing a meeting like this only means more work, as you
> know. So please forgive any lapses we may have made in this--in the midst
of
> preparing for an international workshop, and managing this in a period of
> global uncertainty.
>
> Thank you all and hope to hear from all of you soon (no matter how short
the
> message).
>
> Peace
> Al
>