[CS Bureau] Update on announced CSB secretariat..?

Wed Jan 12 12:16:07 GMT 2005

Robert,

I sent below once more the note from 5.January with some additions. Adina
will then be in contact with all of you and send a provisional state of art
of logistics for PC2, as well as a report on the GFC meeting. We need now to
constructively work together, particularly after decisions made at Cape
Town.

Best

Renata

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------- 

In response to some of your comments and questions...

1.    CONGO has a long track record as an independent CS interface to United
Nations Conferences, meetings etc. see www.ngocongo.org 

2.    Due to increasing workloads within a very small staff structure we had
for some time asked for support for an additional staff person, in
particular for WSIS activities. This met with the ideas of some donors that
some sort of additional (other what exists in the WSIS ES) support for CS,
in particular for the CS Bureau, should be given to CONGO. 

3.    After some back and forth between several donor entities, an ok was
received late in December. As it was known to many CS entities that we were
looking - I had mentioned it at several occasions, -including in Berlin- I
had received many CVs. However, I could start interviewing only after Cape
Town and between Christmas and New Year. 

4.    Criteria included: core skills and competencies, work achievements,
languages, availability and valid Swiss working papers. 

5.    I believe, we found a very good person in Adina Fulga Radi, a Romanian
national with Swiss Permit B, (and married to a British national)  fluent
English/French, reasonable Spanish, Italian, Russian and Romanian mother
tongue, holds degrees in International Relations, Gender studies, Business
Administration and Journalism and Communication from Bucharest and Geneva
Universities.  Her work experience include Media and Press Officer at AIDS
Conference in Lausanne, HEI Graduate Institute, at various functions at
UNHCR, WHO, video news releases at UNCTAD and WTO as well as field missions
in Yugoslavia, BBC World Service Correspondent (1999-present) And she was
Media Officer at the 2003 WSIS Summit. She will need some days to work
herself into the complex CS structures and sensitivities, and will then be
in contact with you. 

      In serving the CS Bureau and (CS at large if necessary) and in close
contact with NGLS and ICV, she will 

1.    Have an overview of all WSIS related tracks and in
helping/facilitating the participation of relevant CSOs with a view to bring
the many processes back to WSIS.

2.    Participate in, follow closely and monitor and report back from the
PrepComs, regional and thematic meetings and establish relevant links with
CS Bureau and WSIS core groups. 

3.    Establish good working Liaison with the host country

4.    Follow all or most of the list-serves 

5.    Help mobilize more mainstream NGOs (*) 

6.    Be systematically in contact with all stakeholders and the ES

7.    Help to facilitate balanced participation, including establishing
likeminded groups 

8.    Be proactive in fundraising or accessing existing funds for CS
participation

9.    Help with organizing Tunis/Summit interaction and with Side Events

Renate Bloem, CSB member and Focal Point for NGOs

President of the Conference of NGOs (CONGO)

11, Avenue de la Paix

CH-1202 Geneva

Tel: +41 22 301 1000

Fax: +41 22 301 2000

E-mil: rbloem at ngocongo.org

Website: www.ngocongo.org

-----Message d'origine-----
De : bureau-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:bureau-admin at wsis-cs.org] De la part
de Robert Guerra
Envoyé : mardi, 11. janvier 2005 21:49
À : bureau at wsis-cs.org
Objet : [CS Bureau] Update on announced CSB secretariat..?

It's been about a month now since the announcement was made about the 

creation of a CSB secretariat, and  some time too since it was 

mentioned by Renate that a person has been selected and funded for 

said position.

Yet despite assurances that information would be forthcoming, and 

details announced -  has not yet come.

My constituency - particularly key members of the  European caucus 

are complaining about the lack of transparency, and there is not much 

I can say. My answer to them, is that I have raised the concern 

numerous times, been very emphatic about it - yet, nothing has come 

as a result.

I can pick up the phone and call  Geneva, and no doubt get some 

details - but that's not the point, it should not have to come to 

that. So, please - I ask again, can we :

a. get more details on the CSB secretariat person that has been hired, and

b. start committing to actually getting the logistics prepared for 

the coming PrepCom.

It is my belief that for the bureau to work - to get the job done- 

the responsibility should, and must be shared among all those 

involved . Specifically those who - commit - to be involved. If 

that's not the case and it's been assumed by one person, or by one 

organization to handle - please do let me know so that I can 

appropriately inform my constituency.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Guerra

CSB Bureau Member, Focal Point for North America & Europe

-- 

###

Robert Guerra <rguerra at privaterra.org>

Privaterra - <http://www.privaterra.org>

_______________________________________________

Bureau mailing list

Bureau at wsis-cs.org

http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/bureau

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/pipermail/bureau/attachments/20050112/43461cf2/attachment.html