[WSIS CS-Plenary] Public Voice Briefing on UN meeting, meeting with Kummer,
Upcoming meetings
Frannie Wellings
wellings at epic.org
Wed Apr 28 22:06:32 BST 2004
The Public Voice Briefing
April 27, 2004
http://www.thepublicvoice.org
Contents:
Summary of Public Voice Meeting at Ford/UN ICT TF Forum 3/26/04
Report from Meeting with Markus Kummer 4/26/04
Public Voice Sourcebook Publication and Calendar
Upcoming Meetings:
The next Public Voice meeting will take place
during EPIC's Freedom 2.0 conference in
Washington, DC, May20-22, 2004
(http://www.epic04.org).
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Summary of Public Voice Meeting
Friday, March 26, 2004 following the UN ICT Task Force Meeting
Ford Foundation, New York, NY
In Attendance:
Frannie Wellings (EPIC), Marc Rotenberg (EPIC),
Derrick Cogburn (University of Michigan), Ralf
Bendrath (Heinrich Boll), Robin Gross (IP
Justice), Hans Klein (Georgia Tech), Karl
Auerbach (himself), Rik Panganiban (WFM), Marc
Bench (WPFC), Michael Gurstein (New Jersey
Institute of Technology), Rikke Frank Joergensen
(Danish Institute for Human Rights), Jane
Finnerup (FN-forbundet/Danish UN Association),
DeeDee Halleck (Deep Dish), Saskia Fischer (UCC),
Bertrand de la Chappelle (wsis_online), Andrea
Taylor (Education Development Center), Robert
Latham (Social Science Research Council), Aliza
Dichter (CIMA), Vittorio Bertola (ICANN
At-Large), Bill McIver (University of Albany),
Milton Mueller (Syracuse University), YJ Park
(Syracuse University), Desiree Milosevic
(Afilias), Veni Markovski (ICANN), Valentina
Azzarello (UNDP), Stefan (prev Canadian Govt.),
Bobson Wong (researcher), Bahiyyih Chaffers
(Baha'I International Community's UN office),
Olinca Marino (APC Mexico), Chris Chiu (ACLU),
Nick Moraitis (Taking IT Global), Sarah Tierney
(Taking IT Global), Catherine Bruce (University
of South Carolina), Robert Guerra (Privaterra),
Sasha Costanza-Chock (Free Press), Cari Rotenberg
(student at Univ. of Michigan), Deborah Hurley,
Jeff Porten (IT consultant), Francisco Bermudez
Lopez (Auditoria Democratica Andina), Becky Lentz
(Ford Foundation).
Goals:
Assess the UN ICT TF meeting
Outline needs and goals for moving forward
Brief History of the Public Voice project:
The Public Voice Project began 10 years ago as
the OECD was considering IT related issues.
Government traditionally brought in business
interests to consult, but didn't work to interact
with civil society groups.
The project has focused on getting NGO's
involved in IT policy decision making. The Public
Voice website is http://www.thepublicvoice.org
Reflections on UN ICT TF Forum:
Process: There was disagreement about the
degree to which this UN forum was actually a
Multi-Stakeholder model. Some thought the
process was improving in this regard.
Substance: It was all about reaffirmation of
55-year-old human rights principles rather than
actual implementation. There were also lots of
warm fuzzies around the digital divide at the ICT
TF meeting, but no substance.
Participation: Some felt it was nice to get an
ability to rant in the breakout sections and get
it placed in the report; the rapporteurs will
note what we said about free speech, privacy,
etc. However, it was hard to get a chance to
speak at the microphone in the Forum. Some civil
society groups got to sit up front - we should
select who speaks.
A few people felt that civil society is doing
well in this process and that the forum was
actually focused on the issues - they seemed to
be the minority, though. Most felt there was
lots of lip service on the ability of government
to assist, but no specificity.
Someone pointed out that maybe our expectations for the TF were too high.
Many were disappointed by the lack of
participation from developing countries.
Actions regarding the UN ICT TF Forum:
We provided Anriette with three main points
from this meeting to take into the private Task
Force meeting the next day (Saturday, March 27).
They were: 1) there was too much talk of
reaffirmation of principles and not enough talk
of implementation - we hope the taskforce will
move beyond the reaffirmation of human rights; 2)
the selection of the working group and the
coordination of the group should be transparent;
and 3) the working group should involve all
stakeholders.
Significant Points:
Voice -
There were differing opinions on whether we as
civil society must have just one voice (meaning
portray the same message) in order to be
effective versus whether this is even possible or
desirable. It was thought by most participants,
it seemed, that there is a diversity of
viewpoints within civil society and it is more
important to have a voice, the ability to speak
and be heard, rather than to have a homogenous
message.
There was also a concern over an ineffective
voice - should it be broad or narrow in focus?
Outreach -
Participants discussed the need to make these
issues meaningful to communities on a local
level, to make the global processes connect with
what's happening on a locally. We need to find
ways to generate content that gets through.
There was discussion of the use of regional
coordination as a basis to move forward. Phase 2
provides is an opportunity to reactivate regional
connections.
Action in terms of Outreach:
The Public Voice project is publishing a
sourcebook to use for outreach/education which is
a compilation of documents explaining and
assessing the wsis process.
Resources -
Funding: Civil Society depended on resources
from the ITU and the Swiss in Phase 1 that are no
longer there in Phase 2.
Work: we need to know who's doing what and who's best at what.
Action in terms of Resources:
In terms of funding for this 2nd phase, it was
suggested we write an open letter to Tunisia
asking that they provide us with equipment
(copying, faxing, printing, etc.).
CIMA is currently surveying groups involved in
wsis to see who is doing what and how.
Participation issues -
Active participation is difficult and getting
worse. How do we collaborate? Organize?
Participants expressed interest in another
physical meeting as well as interest in virtual
participation. There was recognition of problems
associated with both such as funding for travel
costs, but also the difficulties for those in
developing countries and on dial-up connections
for virtual participation.
Action in terms of Participation:
Regarding our approach to Tunis, it was felt we
need an adequate showing and we have to figure
out who can get out there. We must directly
engage government - we should watch out for a
purely intergovernmental meeting in Tunisia.
Some in the group are working on improving collaborative technologies.
Efficiency of Civil Society in the Process -
This Phase won't work in the same way as Phase
1. Phase 2 will be more complex than phase 1 and
civil society needs to be more professional,
coordinated, effective, and better prepared.
Training sessions were suggested.
We need to work on capacity building.
We need to be able to engage with high-level decision makers.
It was debated, but many thought the past
couple of meetings have improved in terms of
multi-stakeholder involvement. Individuals were
able to speak as people at the ICT meeting and
Tunis operated in a similar fashion last month.
Now, how do we get our act together? How do we
account for the diverse voices and diverse
messages among us?
Action in terms of Engaging High-Level Decision Makers:
Regarding the Internet Governance Working Group
specifically, it was suggested we write a public
letter to Markus Kummer.
Substance -
As Rikke said, the ICT TF meeting involved
reaffirming Human Rights standards from 55 years
ago. We need to talk about implementation rather
than affirmation. Do we need more guidelines,
etc. or to impose rights at a national level. We
need to develop indicators. To measure Human
Rights compliance at a national level. EPIC's
"Privacy and Human Rights" survey is a great
start. We're going to need even more precise
measurement, more precise tools.
We were reminded not forget traditional media
and keep in mind community technologies.
We were also reminded that even though we'd
just spent two days at a meeting discussing
internet governance, we shouldn't confuse the
Internet Governance Working Group with the entire
process.
Public Voice Dinner - Friday, March 26th
We also organized a dinner at a restaurant in the
East Village, Via Della Pace, which was a lot of
fun and I believe very useful for post-meeting
conversations, networking, etc. Thank you to
everyone there for making it such a super
evening. I look forward to more of these dinners
in the future!
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Meeting with Markus Kummer
April 26, 2004
Washington, DC
In attendance:
Markus Kummer with representatives from the
Center for Democracy and Technology, the
Electronic Privacy Information Center, the
American Library Association, the Internet
Society, the New America Foundation, and the
Aspen Institute.
Markus Kummer on his role and the working group itselfŠ
About himself and his approach -
He feels he has the benefit of being a blank
sheet of paper without any baggage
Kummer recognizes there is little time and
feels he is being realistic about the limitations
of this working group
He feels it's extremely important to get the
process right, that stakeholders recognize
themselves in the process and in the output of
the report
He is sure of the following results: the
process will involve multilateral diplomacy,
there will be no new organization resulting from
the process and the UN will not take over any
control of the Internet.
Some of the participants were bashing
regulation and touting self-regulation, to which
he responded that he has sympathy for
self-regulation, but he also realizes that
nothing happens outside of the law. His
viewpoint was that international organizations
should not heavily intervene, but should set a
regulatory framework. There has obviously been a
lack of international governance and this will be
the focus of future activity.
The Working Group Budget/Make-Up -
He's been given no budget and is currently going around asking for money
The group will be financed through a trust fund
(the classic UN way). He first approached the
Swiss government (his own government) asking for
a salary and money for doing the job. He will
receive money from the Swiss Development
Corporation, and he hopes countries like Ireland,
the Netherlands, Italy, etc. He met with the US
Commerce Department to try and acquire funds even
though he knew they were not enthusiastic about
the wsis process.
He is accepting/asking for private sector
funding and is meeting with business
representatives
He wants to spend money on travel funding for developing country experts
He intends to hire 7 or 8 people, including an
administrative assistant and someone to run the
web site.
They have prepared a tentative budget of
$2.3million, which is being vetted in the various
levels.
Legitimacy -
Certain countries question the legitimacy of
the working group and he wants a well-funded
process with a credible result that stands the
test of experts. He recognizes that if this is a
process filled with white, Anglo-Saxon
middle-aged Western men, it won't work.
His fear is if this is done wrong, if it
doesn't feel legitimate, there will be
fragmentation. He wants to keep everyone
involved together rather than watch as some
countries leave and set up a parallel outfit.
Deliverables -
The Mandate calls for the report to be
submitted to the summit, but it will be submitted
earlier. It will be prepared before the summer
break of 2005 and submitted to the final prepcom
which will likely be in September of 2005.
There will be no rolling document - just one
final document possibly with background papers
along the way.
I asked whether I mentioned it was important
that all documents be translated along the way
and not just the final ones that they consider to
be most important. He said he found that to be a
very good point and he would address it.
Regarding the UN ICT Forum -
Weakness - It was too big. It was also very
American. The people in prominent roles were not
from the South. There were many reasons for
this, for example: 1) China didn't want to
participate; 2) Latin American countries didn't
want the UN ICT TF to play any role; and 3) they
invited high profile people who don't always
come.
Kummer told the business community that they
shouldn't let themselves be lulled into a false
sense of security because everyone was so
agreeable at the Forum. It was very US-centered
and there will need to be a much more broad
outlook in the working group.
The working group will be much smaller and will
not involve eminent persons - no CEO profiles.
Group composition -
He will start the Secretariat with a core group
by June 1st. Probably at the Tunis meeting in
June, he will propose to the Secretary General
the nomination of a chairperson. He will hold
informal consultations setting up the group.
He aims to have the group fully operational by
October. The text of the mandate is ambiguous
only calling for him to set up a group that is
open and inclusive, including all stakeholders,
etc. Members will be selected in a consultative
process. The Secretary General will nominate but
will ask for opinions and suggestions for what
the working group will look like. Some people
have offered to work for the Secretariat and some
have said they'd volunteer as members, but he
assures people they can't buy their way in.
People have been proposing a chairman as well.
Names continue to be suggested for membership and
the chairmanship, but aren't desired at this
point.
Before taking names, they want to talk of
profiles and representationŠ which countries,
communities, stakeholders? There will be a
dialogue with all interested parties.
He recognized the need for groups to nominate
from within rather than be selected by outsiders,
and the significance of this in terms of working
group legitimacy.
Consultations -
The process will likely be organized into three
tiers: 1) working group discussion, 2) less
formalized hearings or some such way to address
interests, and 3) open ended meetings with
experts.
There will be a heavy workload for those
involved. There will probably be three or four
3-day meetings with a travel day either end,
which will mean a 3-4 week absence in total.
Papers will need to be prepared.
Media Message -
Kummer recognized that members of the media
have enjoyed printing a story of the UN taking
over the Internet. He thinks this needs to be
addressed somehow.
The group might meet with members of the media
to listen and talk with them and to try and
explain what's happening.
Defining Internet Governance -
He was asked how it's possible to set up the
working group when we still don't know how
broadly or narrowly to conceptualize Internet
governance. Representatives from ISOC wanted to
know if Internet Governance in question would
involve purely domain names, standards setting,
pricing etc. or other, more broad layers. Kummer
answered that politically and tactically we
should be broad and more inclusive. There are
issues we need to respect. We do not need to
reinvent the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, however.
The ISOC and CDT representatives in the room
were interested in convincing Kummer that 1) the
ITU should not be allowed any responsibility here
and 2) there already are groups responsible for
standards setting (ie for problem resolution, go
to the IETF), intellectual property (WIPO),
trade/monopoly restrictions (WTO), etc. Kummer
responded saying that he's fully aware of the
problems with the ITU. On the issue of
pre-existing structures and their ability to
handle all of the issues, Kummer believes that
governance is working fine on a national level,
but that structure is lacking on an international
level. He feels there is a missing layer and that
is what this working group will address. One
issue for example that has no resolution is the
allocation of ccTLDs. There is much unhappiness
across the board and the working group will have
to focus on this. Governments see this as a
sovereignty issue. Multilingualism is another
issue that needs resolution and has no place to
go.
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Public Voice Sourcebook Publication - Use of Calendar on the Public Voice site
The Public Voice Project has compiled a group of
documents and analytical articles on the World
Summit on the Information Society, which is being
published as a Sourcebook explaining the WSIS.
The book is currently at the publishers, but
we'll begin distribution at the end of May. On
the Public Voice website, there is a listing of
events across the globe that relate to the issues
of the World Summit
(http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/2004_csonetwork.html),
which could be useful for outreach. We would
like to make the Sourcebook available for people
who may be attending these events and have the
opportunity to educate and encourage involvement
in wsis civil society participation. Please
e-mail Frannie at wellings at epic.org with any
questions about the Sourcebook or suggestions for
additional events, etc.
Calendar: http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/2004_csonetwork.html
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Upcoming Meetings:
The next Public Voice meeting will take place at
EPIC's conference in Washington, DC, May 20-22,
2004. The conference title is Freedom 2.0:
Distributed Democracy and the web site is
http://www.epic04.org. The four themes of the
conference are democracy, transparency, public
voice, and There will be a panel on the World
Summit on Friday afternoon (5/21) and a Public
Voice workshop on Saturday (5/22) led by
Stephanie Perrin of Canada, Deborah Hurley of the
US, and Pedro Mendizabal of Peru. The Freedom
2.0 Announcement follows in English (with Spanish
and French versions at the end of the e-mail):
FREEDOM 2.0
Washington, DC, May 20-22
Register at http://www.epic04.org/
Registration is open for "Freedom 2.0:
Distributed Democracy, Dialogue for a Connected
World" on May 20-22, 2004 at the Washington Club
in Washington, DC. This leading technology
policy conference, hosted by the Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC), features an
all-star line-up of speakers discussing
democracy, transparency, privacy and public voice.
Special events include a Thursday night reception
featuring the SWIPE Project, a performance piece
addressing the gathering of data from driver's
licenses. Friday night's reception will be
hosted at the International Spy Museum and
include exclusive access to the museum's
collection.
The first EPIC Champion of Freedom Award will
also be presented at the conference.
The early registration deadline is May 5. To register for Freedom 2.0:
http://regmaster.com/epic04.html
Registration is limited. Be sure to register
soon. For more information about the conference,
see the Freedom 2.0 web site:
http://www.epic04.org/
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There will be another meeting the following month
in Berlin after the Wizards of OS3 Conference.
European / North American WSIS Civil Society Meeting
Berlin, Germany, June 13, 2004
More Information, Contact: Ralf Bendrath <bendrath(at)zedat.fu-berlin.de>
Objective: To discuss and strategize for the
involvement of European and North American NGOs
in WSIS phase two. The meeting will be used to
prepare for PrepCom 1 of phase two that will take
place ten days later. Possible topics include:
Assessment of summit outcomes; action plan
implementation; ideas for summit documents 2005;
further discussion of overall civil society
strategy; how to deal with Tunisia; capacity
building for civil society participation and
influence; future interaction with EU officials;
better coordination with other European and North
American initiatives. The meeting will be held
one day after the third "Wizards of OS"
conference that deals with "liberation movements
in the information society" and alongside a
number of other NGO events that take place in
Berlin during the whole week.
Attendance: Open to all interested civil society members.
----------------------------------------------------------
Websites: http://www.epic04.org and http://www.worldsummit2005.org
EPIC Conference Information in Spanish and French:
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LIBERTAD 2.0
Washington, D.C.,
Mayo 20-22
http://www.epic04.org/
El registro está abierto para el "Freedom 2.0:
Democracia Distribuida, Diálogo para un Mundo
Conectado," el Mayo 20-22, 2004 en el Club de
Washington en Washington, D.C. Esta conferencia
principal de la política de la tecnología, por
the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC),
ofrece una discussion de democracia, la
transparencia, la aislamiento y la voz del
público.
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L'ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER (EPIC)
présente
LIBERTE 2.0
Démocratie distribuée - Dialogue pour un monde connecté
20-22 MAI 2004
Washington Club
Washington, DC (Etats-Unis)
Le Centre d'information sur la vie privée
électronique (EPIC) a le plaisir de vous inviter
à participer à :
LIBERTE 2.0
Washington, DC (Etats-Unis)
20-22 mai 2004
Enregistrez-vous à http://www.epic04.org/
Cette conférence rassemblera des experts et
orateurs renommés, ainsi que d'importants
décideurs politiques, dans les domaines suivants :
- L'impact des nouvelles technologies sur la vie privée (Vie privée);
- La representation du public dans la mise en
oeuvre de politiques de développement des
nouvelles technologies (Démocratie);
- Le rôle de la société civile (Voix du public);
- Le besoin de transparence dans la mise en
oeuvre de politiques liées aux nouvelles
technologies (Transparence);
Evénements en marge de la conférence :
- Jeudi soir : réception et présentation du
projet "SWIPE" illustrant les dangers pour la vie
privée provenant de la collection de données
personnelles de pièces d'identité.
- Vendredi soir : réception au nouveau musée
"Espion international" ("International Spy
Museum") lors duquel EPIC décernera le prix
"Champion de la Liberté".
Clôture des inscriptions: le 5 mai 2004.
Pour vous inscrire à Liberté 2.0, visitez http://regmaster.com/epic04.html
Les places sont en nombre limité.
Pour plus d'informations sur la conférence, visitez le site web "Freedom 2.0":
http://www.epic04.org/
--
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Frannie Wellings
Policy Analyst, Electronic Privacy Information Center
Coordinator, The Public Voice
1718 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20009 USA
wellings at epic.org
+1 202 483 1140 extension 107 (telephone)
+1 202 483 1248 (fax)
http://www.epic.org
http://www.thepublicvoice.org
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