[WSIS CS-Plenary] "Civil Society Caucus on follow-up"

[Bertrand de LA CHAPELLE]

Hi Meryem,

you raised an important question : 

>Hi,
>
>Can we have more information about this "Civil Society 
Caucus on follow-up" (members, objectives, etc.) ? I'm 
wondering how the follow-up issue, which would be mainly 
determined by the Action Plan, can be dealt with by a 
caucus, instead of being addressed by a general group made 
up of all caucus representatives, like the Content and 
Themes group.
The follow-up concerns all groups and participants in WSIS, 
and all the regions and themes addressed by caucuses.
>

Actually, the same remark was made by karen in a separate 
email. Maybe the preliminary answer I made her will address 
some of your concerns. But the ideal format is open to 
discussion. My only concern is to put the issue on the table 
(at the process level) and to provide a space to address it. 
As mentionned below, caucus is probably not the right 
expression here (issue group ?). All participants are 
welcome.

 

Hi Karen, 

you wrote : 

>ok - this is done..  though i would have thought follow up 
is something almost everyone would be interested/involved 
in? 
> 

I do agree and it is an excellent opportunity for me to 
clarify my thoughts and explain the notion of "issue 
networks". 

1) follow-up covers at least three different aspects : 
preparation of the Tunis Event, monitoring progress and 
facilitating implementation; and I agree all actors are 
concerned with the three dimensions; this list is dealing 
only with how this should be organized at the institutional 
level; basically, this is a list for those interested in the 
summit's process; content issues are and should be addressed 
elsewhere; 

2) setting up a group and a distinct mailing list is only a 
way to identify an issue and gather those who are interested 
in it; I believe it is an issue of key importance for Civil 
Society as a whole, but find absolutely natural that only 
certain people devote time to it; as I am glad that others 
address the issue of Human rights on my behalf; 

3) this is still probably a little different from most CS 
caucusses who are more formed around an advocacy position 
(gender, human rights, etc...) or the representation of 
certain interests (regional for instance); there is no 
advocacy here, except maybe a slight tendency to rpomote 
multi-stakeholder discussions :-), maybe this group should 
not be called a caucus, but for whatever reason I like the 
term; 

4) the purpose here is to raise awareness on the issue of 
follow-up and provide a space for information and debate; 
individuals and entities participating in this debate can 
have different viewpoints and conduct different activities 
on their own; 

5) I imagine people participating at four different levels 
(and positionning themselves as such) : visitors simply 
consulting the archives once in a while to see what is 
happening (the "interested"); subscribers to the mailing 
list that will post mostly as a response to "Request for 
comments"  issued when a topic has reached a certain 
maturity (the "consulted"); subscribers actively posting on 
a regular basis (the "participants"); the most regular and 
active members taking the responsibility of animating the 
discussion (the "convenors") 

The creation of issue caucusses within civil society is for 
me more important than the creation of the Bureau, which is 
merely mimicking the governmental process. Caucusses (moving 
from the spontaneoous and informal to more structured 
agendas) are the blueprint for a new way to work and they 
may be the main contribution civil society will bring to 
this summit. I see the period between geneva and tunis 
organized aroung issue networks - in a format closer to 
civil society caucusses than goverenmental working groups. 

I think civil society is essential to the period between 
Geneva and Tunis and that without it, there simply is no 
possible implementation of the Action Plan. My self-defined 
mission is to ensure that its participation is fully 
recognized during that period and that institutional 
mechanisms (formal and informal) are built in that spirit. 
This is in particular what I try to do with the WSIS-online 
platform and with the organization during the summit of 
interactive seminars to give more visibility to the 
convenors of summit events (more on that soon). 

I am exploring while walking, as we all are, but thanks for 
having forced me to clarify my own thoughts. 


All the best 

Bertrand    


Bertrand de LA CHAPELLE
OpenWSIS Initiative
lachapelle at openwsis.org
tel : 33 (0)6 11 88 33 32


About OpenWSIS 
OpenWSIS Initiative is piloting an open consultation and 
cooperation process for all categories of stakeholders to 
jointly identify and formalize Issues of Common Concern 
or Interest (ICCIs), to facilitate implementation of the 
WSIS Action Plan between  Geneva and Tunis.

A propos de l'OpenWSIS
OpenWSIS est un processus pilote de 
consultation et de coopération visant à faciliter l'identification et la formalisation par toutes les parties prenantes concernées 
des sujets de préoccupation ou d'intérêt communs 
(SPICs)qui faciliteront la mise en oeuvre du plan d'action 
du SMSI pendant la période de Genève à Tunis.