<DIV>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. </DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
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<DIV>How do you propose we reach consensus ? - open to ideas that we can implement</DIV>
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<DIV>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 ! </DIV>
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<DIV>We can leave it as an open discussion where we revert to the more formal structure if discussions get out of hand.</DIV>
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<DIV>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. <STRONG>However, at WSIS persons residing in NA have a right to be represented as well, although the focus is on the developing countries. </STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV>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</DIV>
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<DIV>Will look in to a mechanism to inform all about who is participating on the list.</DIV>
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<DIV>Comments from others welcome, thanks !</DIV>
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<DIV>Amali<BR><BR><B><I>dbronson@ichrdd.ca</I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Hello</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>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. </FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>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"</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>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 ?</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Those are my thoughts, Let's loosen up so its workable. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2><BR>Diana Bronson<BR>Rights and Democracy/Droits et Démocratie<BR>www.ichrdd.ca<BR></FONT><BR><BR><BR>
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<TD width="40%"><FONT face=sans-serif size=1><B>Amali De Silva <amalidesilva@yahoo.com></B> </FONT><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=1>Sent by: n_america-admin@wsis-cs.org</FONT>
<P><FONT face=sans-serif size=1>27-11-2003 07:56 PM</FONT> </P>
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<TD vAlign=top><FONT face=sans-serif size=1>n_america@wsis-cs.org</FONT>
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<DIV align=right><FONT face=sans-serif size=1>Subject</FONT></DIV>
<TD vAlign=top><FONT face=sans-serif size=1>[n_america] FYI IMPORTANT - NA Caucus Structure</FONT></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
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<TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><FONT size=3><B><U>IMPORTANT - PLEASE DOWNLOAD ATTACHMENT</U></B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3><B><U>North American Caucus</U></B></FONT> <BR><FONT size=4><B><U> </U></B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=4><B><U>Members</U></B></FONT> <BR><FONT size=3><B> </B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3><B>Full and voting members</B> - Representatives of accredited organizations at WSIS </FONT><BR><FONT size=3><B> </B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3><B>Observers</B> – 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.</FONT> <BR><FONT size=4><B> </B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=4><B>Mission & Guiding Principles </B></FONT><BR><FONT size=3> </FO
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<LI value=1><FONT size=3>To facilitate discussion amongst organizations head-quartered in the North American region which are of interest to them</FONT>
<LI value=2><FONT size=3>To highlight issues of particular interest to the North American region</FONT>
<LI value=3><FONT size=3>Provide a structure through which organizations can provide input to the Content and Themes group</FONT>
<LI value=4><FONT size=3>To act as a source for media </FONT>
<LI value=5><FONT size=3>To advocate Civil Society issues </FONT>
<LI value=6><FONT size=3>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</FONT>
<LI value=7><FONT size=3>To enable a transparent, accountable and democratic processes through which member organizations can participate at WSIS</FONT>
<LI value=8><FONT size=3>To provide position papers / briefings / press releases reflecting the North American region position as needed</FONT>
<LI value=9><FONT size=3>The caucus will make a commitment to promoting on-line transparency in general and support the activities of the virtual plenary</FONT></LI></OL><BR><FONT size=4><B><U> </U></B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=4><B><U>Voting</U></B></FONT> <BR><FONT size=3><B> </B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3><B>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.</B></FONT> <BR><FONT size=3> </FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3> </FONT> <BR><FONT size=4><B><U> </U></B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=4><B><U>Structure of the North American Caucus </U></B></FONT><BR><FONT size=3><B> </B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3><
B>North
American Civil Society Caucus Representatives at WSIS:</B></FONT> <BR><FONT size=3> </FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3>Robert Guerra ( Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, USA / Canada)</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3>Amali De Silva-Mitchell ( Vancouver Community Network, Canada)</FONT> <BR><FONT size=2> </FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2><B><U>North American Caucus Administration & Drafting Team</U></B> ( reports to the above)</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2>1. Robert Guerra</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2>2. Amali De Silva-Mitchell</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2>3. Michael Gurstein</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2>4. Andy Carvin</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2>5. Open </FONT><BR><BR><FONT size=2>6. Open</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2><B><U>Thematic Leaders</U> -</B> Open ( reports to Caucus administration team )</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2><B><U>Special Representatives</U> -</B> Open ( reports to Caucus administration team )</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2><B>Please refer to the att
achment
as well - thank you !</B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=2> </FONT> <BR><BR><BR><BR><FONT size=3><B>Amali De Silva-Mitchell MSc.</B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3>Tel: 604-736-9012 & Email: </FONT><A href="mailto:amalidesilva@yahoo.com"><FONT color=blue size=3><U>amalidesilva@yahoo.com</U></FONT></A> <BR><BR><FONT size=3> </FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3> </FONT> <BR><BR><FONT size=3> </FONT> <BR><BR><BR><BR>> ATTACHMENT part 2 application/octet-stream name=North American Caucus Mission, Principles & Structure.doc<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><DIV>
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<P><STRONG>Amali De Silva-Mitchell MSc.</STRONG></P>
<P>Tel: 604-736-9012 & Email: <A href="mailto:amalidesilva@yahoo.com">amalidesilva@yahoo.com</A></P>
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