[CS Bureau] CS Bureau meeting in South Africa?

[Meigs]

Le 12/11/04 14:43, « Robert Guerra » <rguerra at privaterra.org> a écrit :


Hello Renate and all

I am completely swamped by university activities and don¹t feel that i can
attend the bureau meeting.  But maybe a teleconferencing system could be
arranged? I have facilities in my university but have to know more about
possibilities.

I am very sorry about not attending because like Robert i have qualms about
the bureau and also the ³content and themes² group. There has been some
major issues of late, like Unesco and Convention on cultural diversity and
Unesco and microsoft on which we should be able to respond as a collective
of civil society, or at least to officially support initiatives that some of
our constituent members are launching.  You will see on the plenary list
that i am making a call in such a sense... It would be great if the bureau
could push in the same direction...
Also, for all purposes, let me remind you that i am located in Paris and
that I can go to Unesco any time the bureau requires...

I also have a problem that is typical of what we can expect, and is
potentially dangerous: Beatriz Busaniche has resigned for reasons of her
own, also related to the problems with the latin american caucus. As a
result i am alone for the family on education, academia and research! I
thought I could take along the person who replaces Beatriz at
caminandoutopias but various sources tell me she is a submarine for the
government, which relates to what Robert refers to as the action of GONGOs.
So I have asked you all in early September to help me solve this problem,
still on hold.

I think the issue of trust is crucial and will appear again and again. At
this point, i suggest that one criterion for co-opting new members or
alternates should be a  certain level of participation/implication in prior
preparatory phases, so as to ensure like-minded compatibilities. Would that
help get rid of GONGOs? What other criteria of entry could do that, without
blocking entrance to active members?

Best to all
Divina

> Renate:
> 
> I would be free to attend the meeting in Cape Town. The issue is one of
> funding - for my travel and accommodation in Cape Town. I would be very
> grateful if you and/or others would be able to obtain funding for me to travel
> to the meeting from here in Toronto (Canada).
> 
> As you may know i have been travelling much the last several months on field
> work. This allowed me to contact and dialogue with numerous segments of civil
> society , particularly those working on icts , human rights and development.
> The discussion has been focused on the core mission of privaterra - namely
> human rights and icts - (security, information security and communications).
> 
> In regions that i have travelled to (central asia, moscow, berlin, budapest &
> boston) I have also made a point to discuss and seek input on WSIS. The most
> substantial discussions have been in Berlin (with german civil society, and
> the Canadian embassy), at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow, and at the recently
> held ICTs and Human rights conference held in Boston.
> 
> Being able to attend to attend the Cape Town meeting would allow me to not
> only share the comments and concerns raised, but also raise the - personal -
> concern I have about the ongoing issues of lack of transparency and
> organizational effectiveness of civil society structures at wsis, specifically
> that of the bureau. The many mails that have come as a result of the - issues
> - and lack of cohesiveness that seem to exist in the education and latin
> american caucus are , for me, very troubling indeed.
> 
> if that weren't enough - there is the  very grave concerns have come as a
> result of private communications to me from human rights networks about that
> the roles GONGOS are playing in the civil society process. We need, we must be
> more transparent, strategic, effective and prepared in the weeks and months
> leading to the next prepcom - if not, then it will end up being a larger
> fiasco then the meeting this past june in Tunis.
> 
> In summary - there indeed is much to discuss, much to plan for, and if funding
> could be obtained to have a well structured and effective meeting in Cape
> Town, then it would be great. I would be very interested in attending such a
> meeting, however could only do so if financial support (funding) could be made
> available to reimburse my flight and accommodation. Securing funding for
> myself and others would be a sign that there is indeed importance given to the
> bureau and the planned meeting.
> 
> I cross my fingers and hope for a positive reply.
> 
> regards
> 
> Robert
> 
> At 7:29 PM +0100 11/9/04, Renata Bloem wrote:
>> TO CS Bureau
>>  
>> Dear friends,
>>  
>> Could you please tell us urgently who from the existing CS Bureau could be
>> free to come to Cape Town, South Africa, around the 6-8 December, if funding
>> could be made available? The objective is to have an in depth discussion on
>> the role and way forward of the CS Bureau.
> 


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