[WSIS CS-Plenary] Global Alliance: Consultation

[Rik Panganiban]

Adam, et al,

This is my understanding of the current thinking around the structure 
of the Global Alliance.  Basically there are only 3 assumptions:

1. It will have some formal association with the United Nations
2. It will be multi-stakeholder in character
3. It will have a "light" structure, i.e. no huge secretariat or budget

Beyond that, the canvas is empty.  Also I should say that it is not 
conceived of as simply extending the mandate or structure of the 
current UN ICT Task Force, nor will it simply be the implementing body 
of the WSIS.

As to Lisa's question about whether or not the Alliance will "happen" 
or not, I  think it is more useful to think about what kind of 
effective, transparent and participatory Global Alliance would we like 
to exist and how should it function?  What kind of Global Alliance 
would we wish to have no formal association with?  The whole idea may 
go down in flames in November, or it could have wide endorsement by 
governments and almost none by civil society.  Or vice-versa.  It is 
not really possible to predict at this point.

As I see it, our job at this point is to conceive of what we would see 
as the most acceptable and functional and democratic Global Alliance 
structure that we would endorse?  Write that down, send it in to the UN 
ICT Task Force.  We can always chose to reject or opt out of what 
emerges later.  But we don't know enough to accept or reject anything 
yet, in my opinion.

Respectfully,

Rik Panganiban
CONGO

On Mar 13, 2005, at 10:38 AM, Adam Peake wrote:

> My understanding of the Global Alliance is that it will be open ended, 
> no formal or invited membership. If this is the case civil society 
> wouldn't be represented by any organization(s), we'd each chose to 
> participate or not. Perhaps I misunderstood. Rik, can you clarify?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Adam
>
>
>
>> Is the truth of the matter that the Global Alliance is going to 
>> "happen" regardless of the decisions of some CS organizations that 
>> have identified ourselves as partners in the WSIS process (at least 
>> at one time)? I can't help but think so in reading Rik's message: 
>> "Consultations will continue until mid-April with various 
>> stakeholders on the Global Alliance. At the next UN ICT Task Force 
>> meeting in April in Dublin, these consultations will be brought 
>> together. On 13 September they plan to hold a roundtable in New York 
>> on the Global Alliance, and then to formally launch the Alliance at 
>> the WSIS in November in Tunis."
>>
>> To whom does "they" refer? I thought that "they" involved" "us" at 
>> some level? What is happening here? A rhetorical question, really. at 
>> this point.
>>
>> I would hope that we'd remember the lessons of history, or else we 
>> likely are condemned to repeat the mistakes--of the NWICO debate, of 
>> a "Global Compact" that has been a disaster in most cases, launched 
>> with the acquiescence of a few big NGOs, some of which have come to 
>> regret their compliance in an alliance in which big corporations are 
>> not asked to comply with anything on a mandated basis. On this list, 
>> some have wondered why so many CS organizations have "dropped out" 
>> after the first phase and have attributed the problem to lack of 
>> knowledge of the intricacies of internet governance. I applaud 
>> efforts to educate the rest of us on ICANN and other details because 
>> that is important, but it also might be worth considering whether 
>> some CS organizations simply have become disgusted with the process, 
>> for any (many) number of reasons. 
>> Regards,
>>
>> Lisa
>>
>
===============================================
RIK PANGANIBAN       Communications Coordinator
Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations 
(CONGO)
web: http://www.ngocongo.org
email: rik.panganiban at ngocongo.org
mobile: (+1) 917-710-5524
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