[n_america] Re: Comment - NA Caucus Structure

[Amali De Silva]

My concern is that a too loose a format means that the orgainzations that are knowledgeable about the overall process and have personal ties / communications have "power" over those who are not privy to such opportunities. This is important in the case of smaller organizations located in remote areas for instance. Thus a structure although a bit formal may be easier to follow. 
 
When working in very unstructured environments - a major concern is that those who shout the loudest get their way and others are forgotten, and some orgainzations new to the process feel uncomfortable / are unsure of the process of communication.
 
How do you propose we reach consensus ? - open to ideas that we can implement
 
Sure TU will have one vote - it will be quite difficult to keep track of the membership profiles of orgainzations and allocate voting weightings. When we vote in a democratic process our vote is not income determined for instance. One vote even if a person earns $5 or $500000 ! 
 
We can leave it as an open discussion where we revert to the more formal structure if discussions get out of hand.
 
NA caucus is primarily  for the discussion of issues that are important to organizations servicing persons in NA. These organizations can be carrying out similar activites in other countries. However, at WSIS persons residing in NA have a right to be represented as well, although the focus is on the developing countries. 
 
It would be wonderful if we were to find solutions in NA that could be also then be shared with the South - that would be true knowledge transfer. Also there may be innovative solutions in the South that may be used in the North and we should be open to that as well. In NA we are locally also fighting issues such as child poverty, issues relating to the disabled etc
 
Will look in to a mechanism to inform all about who is participating on the list.
 
Comments from others welcome, thanks !
 
Amali

dbronson at ichrdd.ca wrote:

Hello 

I find the proposal for a voting structure a bit formalistic and not quite appropriate for something this late in the game.     Would that mean for example that a trade union, representing thousands of people or more, would have one vote, as would a lone researcher or one-person NGO ?     It strikes me that it would be better to work by consensus.     It seems that this stucture is best suited to processes where other regions are meeting and providing input.     In my case, we are headquatered in North America (Montreal) but our mandate is to work for the benefit of developing countries.   

I am not trying to make the process more complicated, quite the contrary.    It strikes me that this grouping is more procedural than substantive and there might well be many internal conflicts in 'advocating civil society issues" 

I appreciate the efforts to organize a North American caucus and think we should keep the structure loose and informal.  If for instance we accept only accredited organizations, then Human Rights in China would remain excluded....   Would it be possible to circulate a list of people who are subscribed to this list ? 

Those are my thoughts,    Let's loosen up so its workable. 


Diana Bronson
Rights and Democracy/Droits et Démocratie
www.ichrdd.ca



Amali De Silva <amalidesilva at yahoo.com> 
Sent by: n_america-admin at wsis-cs.org 
27-11-2003 07:56 PM 
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[n_america] FYI IMPORTANT - NA Caucus Structure







IMPORTANT - PLEASE DOWNLOAD ATTACHMENT 

North American Caucus 
  

Members 
  

Full and voting members - Representatives of accredited organizations at WSIS 
  

Observers – Representative of organizations head quartered or carrying on their primary activities in the North American region and interested individuals. Observers have been admitted to the caucus so to provide additional or specialized insight and experience. Observers can make contributions to the list but do not vote. 
  

Mission & Guiding Principles 
  

   To facilitate discussion amongst organizations head-quartered in the North American region which are of interest to them 
   To highlight issues of particular interest to the North American region 
   Provide a structure through which organizations can provide input to the Content and Themes group 
   To act as a source for media 
   To advocate Civil Society issues 
   To act as a source of information and to provide analysis to the content and themes group, caucuses, private sector and government on North American region issues 
   To enable a transparent, accountable and democratic processes through which member organizations can participate at WSIS 
   To provide position papers / briefings / press releases reflecting the North American region position as needed 
   The caucus will make a commitment to promoting on-line transparency in general and support the activities of the virtual plenary

  

Voting 
  

When there is a need to vote on a particular issue, each accredited member organization ( not representative ) of the caucus will have one vote. A simple majority of one is required for the motion / issue to be carried. If organizations do not respond to the list at the time of voting it will be perceived as an abstention. A reasonable time line will be set by which time all votes have to be cast. 
  

  
  

Structure of the North American Caucus 
  

North American Civil Society Caucus Representatives at WSIS: 
  

Robert Guerra ( Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, USA / Canada) 

Amali De Silva-Mitchell ( Vancouver Community Network, Canada) 
  

North American Caucus Administration & Drafting Team ( reports to the above) 

1. Robert Guerra 

2. Amali De Silva-Mitchell 

3. Michael Gurstein 

4. Andy Carvin 

5. Open 

6. Open 

Thematic Leaders - Open  ( reports to Caucus administration team ) 

Special Representatives - Open ( reports to Caucus administration team ) 

Please refer to the attachment as well - thank you ! 

  



Amali De Silva-Mitchell MSc. 

Tel: 604-736-9012 & Email: amalidesilva at yahoo.com 

  

  

  



> ATTACHMENT part 2 application/octet-stream name=North American Caucus Mission, Principles & Structure.doc



Amali De Silva-Mitchell MSc.

Tel: 604-736-9012 & Email: amalidesilva at yahoo.com

 

 

 




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