[WSIS CS-Plenary] Opening ceremony speaker

[Michael Gurstein]

I wonder if any of those proposing to have Stallman as the Opening
Ceremony Speaker have ever seen him speak.  

I have had the opportunity on several occasions, and I should say that
his mode of presentation, delivery and content is dare I say somewhat
"unusual", and perhaps not precisely what Civil Society might wish to
convey to the world, irrespective of the particular content of his
message.

Best,

MG

-----Original Message-----
From: plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org] On
Behalf Of Jeanette Hofmann
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 2:13 PM
To: plenary at wsis-cs.org
Cc: hr-wsis at iris.sgdg.org
Subject: Re: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Opening ceremony speaker


On 6 Nov 2003 at 17:10, Meryem Marzouki wrote:

> My very personal point of view (not the HR caucus one, which has not
> yet discussed this issue) is that, if nominating a 5mn CS speaker for 
> the opening ceremony has any meaning (and I am not quite sure it has 
> one), we should avoid sectoral issues. And free software, though very 
> important, is one among many others.
> 
> So, if a speaker should be nominated, s/he should be _really_
> high-level, with a true vision, and speaking on _truly_ essential
issue.

I agree with Meryem's point of view and would like to add another one.
We 
need a person who is able to make herself understand and convey a 
message to a very heterogeneous audience. We need somebody who 
convinces people and doesn't put them off. I am not sure RS is the best 
choice for this task.  

Jeanette 
> 
> At this point, the best candidate in my opinion would be Aminata 
> Traoré
> (I assume there is no need to introduce her). She will be in Geneva, 
> for a Cardoso's Un High Level panel meeting, and I am not sure she 
> would accept to leave the panel for yet another speech related to
WSIS. 
> But it is worth trying to get her for the opening ceremony, too.
> 
> Meryem
> PS1. Ms Ebadi being unavailable at this time, since she's will be
> receiving the peace nobel prize.
> PS2. Even if Aminata Traoré cannot make it for the opening ceremony, I

> don't think Stallman could be the right person, for many reasons 
> already raised by othe people on this list.
> 
> 
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