Report: CS @ Intersessional

[Meryem Marzouki <marzouki@ras.eu.org>]

Dear all,

This is a message sent by Karen Banks from APC to the Content and 
Themes list. Karen is making a report on CS activities during Paris 
meeting. I'll take care of sending her the requested information on our 
caucus.
Let me make profit of this opportunity to thank Karen for her - hard - 
work to coordinate CS activities in Paris.

Meryem

Début du message réexpédié :

> De: karen banks <karenb@gn.apc.org>
> Date: Lun 21 juil 2003  13:07:00 Europe/Paris
> À: ct@wsis-cs.org
> Objet: [WSIS-CT] Fwd: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Report: CS @ Intersessional
>
> hi
>
> as noted in my message to plenary, a copy of the report just posted 
> there with a correction for the Heinrich Boll site
>
> if you are not on the plenary list, please ensure you are by 
> subscribing here:
> http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary
>
> I hope that this CT space can now be used to focus more on substantive 
> issues, rather than general report backs.
>
> Please post comments re this report, to PLENARY@wsis-cs.org and NOT to 
> this space.
>
> karen
>
>> hello to everyone
>>
>> to those of you who attended the intersessional in paris, and to the 
>> plenary list members who now number over 240..
>>
>> This is a brief report on our meeting on friday, which outlined some 
>> of the work we need to attend to between now and PrepCom III. It is 
>> not a report on substantive issues (content).
>>
>> A comprehensive report on substantive issues, participation and other 
>> matters is needed and i would propose that we approach this by way of 
>> a focussed discussion with inputs from all who attended, but wanted 
>> to post this quickly as there are a couple of things we need to move 
>> on this week.
>>
>> 1. Civil Society Meetings and notes
>> ===================================
>> Civil Society participants met in the following formations during the 
>> week. Where we have online notes, URLs are given.
>>
>> CS Plenary - daily at 0900
>> July 16th: http://prepcom.net/wsis/1058444090595
>>
>> CS Bureau - daily at 1400
>> Agenda July 15-18 and minutes from July 15-16: 
>> http://www.wsis.ethz.ch/minutes03.htm
>>
>> CS Content and themes drafting group - irregularly at 1400
>>
>> * CS Content and themes group - daily at 1800
>> July 15th: http://prepcom.net/wsis/1058443807978
>>
>> * The evening meetings were a combination of 
>> end-of-day-check-ins/report-backs; discussion of substantive issues 
>> and identification of speakers for the following day. If i'm not 
>> mistaken, we didn't have an equivalent meeting of this type during 
>> PrepCom II.
>>
>> It was a useful space but we need to do preparatory work between now 
>> and PrepCom III to clarify processes, focus and objectives of such a 
>> daily meeting, for PrepCom III.
>>
>> 2. Status of CS Priorities Document
>> ===================================
>> http://www.worldsummit2003.de/download_en/WSIS-CS-CT-Paris-071203.rtf
>>
>> The CS Priority document was endorsed by many organisations prior to 
>> the Intersessional.
>>
>> We did not release a further version of the document during the 
>> intersessional as there were still issues on which we did not reach 
>> concensus and some issues which participants felt needed to be 
>> included, prior to another round of endorsements.
>>
>> The proposal from our last meeting was to adopt a phased approach in 
>> releasing further versions of the document.
>>
>> a) to give until Friday August 1st to receive additions agreed, and 
>> incorporate any other revisions around text on which there is 
>> siginifant divergance of views. The main revisions proposed would be:
>> - to incorporate text on Disabilities
>> - to incorporate a revised text on Internet governance
>>
>> We would then release an interim version of the document, with 
>> additional endorsements received until that time, and propose we 
>> release Version 2 by August 5th.
>>
>> b) Phase two would comprise developing a more comprehensive version 
>> of the the document, which would become in effect the Civil Society 
>> 'Shadow' Declaration. This document would be developed via a process 
>> of broader consulation, with a clear timeline aiming to release for 
>> PrepCom III.
>>
>> We also talked of the need for a 'shadow' action plan  but didn't 
>> discuss it in detail. This should be considered in development of the 
>> content and themes work plan.
>>
>> 3. Clarifying objectives and location of workspaces
>> ===================================================
>> There are several elements we would need to address the above process 
>> including:
>>
>> * Ensuring all participants (existing and prospective) are clear on 
>> where they can participate - which is primarily through the caucuses 
>> and working group spaces
>>
>> ===> could **all** caucus and working groups send me a message 
>> outlining the following using the Subject line: WSIS Caucus/WG 
>> Information
>>
>> - name of caucus or working group
>> - objective/purpose of Caucus/wg
>> - name of representative for Content and themes group
>> - list address
>> - subscription details
>>
>> I will then update the wsis-cs.org website to reflect this 
>> information and post a summary to this list.
>>
>> * Clarifying objectives of Plenary@wsis-cs.org and CT@wsis-cs.org
>>
>> The objectives and use of these two lists have become confused, 
>> overlap significantly and need to be rationalised.
>>
>> ==> PLENARY@wsis-cs.org
>> The objective of the 'plenary' list is in effect, to provide an 
>> online or 'virtual' space where we can continue to discuss matters, 
>> much in the way we do onsite, during the morning CS Plenary meetings 
>> which includes report backs from:
>>
>> - the Civil Society Bureau
>> - the Content and themes working group
>> - the WSIS secretariat
>>
>> It is not intended to be the space where we discuss content issues, 
>> but it would be the space where, for example, we post the revised 
>> priorities document and call for endorsements.
>>
>> ==> CT@wsis-cs.org
>> Issues of content should really be discussed in caucuses and working 
>> groups, and then through the CT list which should comprise 
>> representatives of all such groups. Could i ask sally and bill to 
>> post again the objectives and purpose of the Content and themes list 
>> so that we are all clear on the objectives.
>>
>> ==> Websites
>>
>> a) www.wsis-cs.org. This website is intended to be a space to list 
>> information about caucuses, working groups and links to other useful 
>> WSIS sites for Civil Society. It is not intended to contain reports, 
>> articles etc.
>>
>> b) www.prepcom.net. Rik, along with other volunteers, did a wonderful 
>> job monitoring deliberations in the main plenary and all of these 
>> notes can be found on this site. It is an incredibly valuable 
>> resource to faciliate lobbying material and as a record of 
>> proceedings. Many of the CS Interventions are posted here but will be 
>> updated to include a full listing asap.
>>
>> c) www.worldsummit2003.de. Ralf continued the work of other Heinrich 
>> Boll Stiftung colleagues from PrepCom II, in a daily posting of 
>> general commentaries and articles (as opposed to specific 
>> interventions) on this site. It also includes a calendar of WSIS 
>> related events.
>>
>> d) http://bscw.fit.fraunhofer.de/pub/bscw.cgi/0/42603238. This site 
>> is maintained by Bill McIver and is used as a repositary for all 
>> content developed by the Content and themes working group and all 
>> caucuses and working groups.
>>
>> There are many other WSIS related sites and it would be useful if we 
>> could agree amongst ourselves how to most effectively use the 
>> websites, avoid duplication of effort and ensure that they are all 
>> clearly linked back and forth to one another.
>>
>> If you are hosting a WSIS related website and would like to have it 
>> listed on, or linked to by some of the above sites, please post brief 
>> details here.
>>
>> 4. Preparations for PrepCom III
>> -------------------------------
>> a) Coordination and Logistics
>>
>> We discussed the need to work immediately on a coordination and 
>> logistics plan for PrepCom III. Louise Lassonde has asked that we 
>> submit at least a rough outline of our logistical needs this week. 
>> Ralf Bendrath has drafted a document outlining these needs, based on 
>> discussions at the end of PrepCom II and as a result of our 
>> experiences during the Intersessional.
>>
>> ===> Once ralf has posted the draft, could i ask everyone to comment 
>> by the end of  **Wednesday july 23rd** so that we can submit a rough 
>> proposal to louise. I'm sure it nwill be refined and developed in the 
>> coming weeks but Louise informed me that they are working on 
>> finalising euipment and rooms this week, in geneva. I will let her 
>> know that this proposal is coming.
>>
>> b) Resources for Civil Society meetings at national and regional level
>>
>> Sally made a proposal prior to the Intersessional outlining the 
>> importance of Civil Society having the time, resources and space to 
>> develop it's own 'shadow' positions (as has been common in many past 
>> UN conferences). Developing such positions online, or during the 
>> hectic mania of the onsite meetings is difficult. We did not 
>> unfortunately have time to discuss this in detail during the 
>> intersessional,  but i did raise the issue with Louise Lassonde.
>>
>> I would ask if sally could update everyone on those ideas and 
>> apologise for not being able to take the proposal forward more 
>> comprehensivley during the week.
>>
>> there is a proposal from the Secretariat to host a 2 day 
>> orientation/briefing period, prior to PrepCom III, which of course 
>> would be very useful, but if it is to be successful, we need to begin 
>> planning quite soon and ensure that all participants can factor this 
>> into their plans. (please see below)
>>
>> 5. Questions/clarifications for the CS Bureau
>> ---------------------------------------------
>> Several questions were raised during the final day which we need to 
>> follow up on, primarily with colleagues in the CS Bureau including:
>>
>> - status of 'side-events' during PrepCom III
>> - status of fellowship grants for PrepCom III
>> - proposal for official CS participation in Sub-Committee II 
>> negotiations during PrepCom III (the proposal read by Wolfgang 
>> Kleinwachter can be read here: http://prepcom.net/wsis/1058537670660)
>> - Orientation days prior to PrepCom III (september 13/14th)
>>
>> Could i ask colleagues in the CSB to share with the plenary space, 
>> reports on the above as soon as possible?
>>
>> 6. Other matters
>> ----------------
>> Many other issues were raised during the week and i'm noting a couple 
>> here that i can recall,  but would ask others to contribute:
>>
>> a) mapping of resources, handbooks, 'FAQ's (frequently asked 
>> questions), evaluations.
>>
>> Several organisations are planning to develop resources for PrepCom 
>> III, the Summit or beyond. It would seem useful if those of us who 
>> are involved in such work, to link up with one another to see where 
>> we can collaborate and avoid duplication of effort. If you are 
>> developing, or planning to develop such resources, please let us know 
>> here.
>>
>> b) Evaluation of developing country participation in the WSIS process
>>
>> The lack of representation for southern participants continues to be 
>> a major area of concern. There is a proposal to initiate a small 
>> project to evaluate participation in WSIS with a view to making 
>> recommendations for the 2003-2005 phase. I would be interested to 
>> connect with people who are interested in participation in such a 
>> project.
>>
>> I'll leave it there for now. There are a lot of other issues we need 
>> to discuss, the foremost of which is the status of the WSIS Agenda in 
>> terms of substantive issues. I would ask sally and bill to take a 
>> lead on proposing how we might most effectively do that as our next 
>> main task.
>>
>> It was a tough week but i thoroughly enjoyed meeting with so many of 
>> you and grappling our way through the CS plenary meetings ;) Thanks 
>> to steve buckley and valerie peugot for their support in facilitating 
>> the meetings, to renate, louise and other colleagues in the CS 
>> Bureau, to the wonderful team of volunteer translators coordinated by 
>> viola for their commitment to our work, their patience and 
>> understanding, and to everyone who i think made great efforts to 
>> collaborate during the week.
>>
>> ** when you are replying to this message, please try to only quote 
>> the text that is essential
>>
>> *** i am not ccing this message to the 'CT' list (but will forward a 
>> copy) and propose that this be the last message sent to both 
>> 'PLENARY' and 'CT' lists
>>
>> **** apologies in advance for any oversights or omissions, no doubt 
>> you will contribute to fill any gaps i have left
>>
>> a good week to you all
>>
>> karen
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Plenary mailing list
>> Plenary@wsis-cs.org
>> http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary
>
>
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