[WSIS CS-Plenary] Future of this list...?

[Rik Panganiban]

Dear Colleagues,

I will re-state what I said at the close CS plenary in Tunis.

All the structures and modalities that were developed over the course  
of the last four years in the WSIS process have effectively completed  
their mandates with the conclusion of the WSIS on 18 November.  Thus  
all of our caucuses, working groups, Content and Themes, the Bureau,  
and Plenary itself should be considered as defunct unless  
specifically re-constituted and re-chartered.

I understand that the Internet Governance caucus wishes to continue  
as a caucus into the future, but I that's the only one I have heard  
about.

With the creation of the Internet Governance Forum and the renewed  
mandate of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development  
there will be new opportunities for civil society at the global level  
to impact the policy process.  We can not presume that our old  
structures and methods are the most effective or democratic ones for  
achieving maximum impact and participation.  In fact we can assume  
that they are not.

The draft of the Civil Society statement on the WSIS indicates that  
we will evolve our own processes:

> Civil society will work on the continued evolution of the current  
> structures. This will include the use of existing thematic caucuses  
> and working groups, the possible creation of new caucuses, and the  
> use of the Civil Society Plenary, the Civil Society Bureau, and the  
> Civil Society Content and Themes Group. We will organise at a date  
> to be determined to launch the process of creating a Civil Society  
> charter.

Presumably whoever signs on to the final statement agrees to work  
this evolution and a new CS charter.

As always, we seem to act when a deadline approaches. I suggest that  
at the latest we have until July 2006. This is because ECOSOC has  
been tasked with the following:

> 105. We request that ECOSOC oversees the system- wide follow-up of  
> the Geneva and Tunis outcomes of WSIS. To this end, we request that  
> ECOSOC, at its substantive session of 2006, reviews the mandate,  
> agenda and composition of the Commission on Science and Technology  
> for Development (CSTD), including considering the strengthening of  
> the Commission, taking into account the multi-stakeholder approach.

The ECOSOC substantive session takes place over the month of July.   
Thus we might see this as a deadline to come to some basic level of  
consensus on how we operate together by July if we are going to have  
any kind of structured input into this discussion.

Obviously it would be better if we had our act together before this.   
But this gives all of our respective organizations and ourselves time  
for internal discussions about how we wish to be involved from this  
point forward and how much we will need to coordinate with each other.

Rik Panganiban
CONGO

On Dec 2, 2005, at 12:21 PM, Robert Guerra wrote:

> With the Tunis phase over,  the WSIS process has concluded. The  
> discussions on and  internet governance, ICT4D and other  
> information society related issues enter a new phase of discussion.
>
> In that context, what do people on this and other WSIS related  
> thematic discussions think about how to best follow and discuss the  
> issues as the develop. For example, should this list (and others)  
> continue as is, or should their mission be re-articulated and/or  
> refocused in some way.
>
> regards
>
> Robert
>
> --
> Robert Guerra <rguerra at privaterra.org>
> Director, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
> Tel +1 416 893 0377 Fax +1 416 893 0374
>
>


===============================================
RIK PANGANIBAN       Communications Coordinator
Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United  
Nations (CONGO)
web: http://www.ngocongo.org
email: rik.panganiban at ngocongo.org
mobile: (+1) 917-710-5524

* Information on the WSIS at http://www.ngocongo.org/wsis
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