[WSIS CS-Plenary] RE: startup post from gurstein@adm.njit.edu requires approval

Tue Apr 18 20:32:45 BST 2006

Mr. Gurstein,
I am very glad that we are on the same page on really important things.
I am a bit confused with the last two paras of your message: you seem to 
be talking about the Global Alliance for ICT and Development. However, the 
meeting that our original message referred to will be on a quite different 
subject, namely on the implementation of Action Line 11 of the Geneva Plan 
of Action of WSIS. 
In our message we say that the objective of this first meeting will be to 
discuss how coordination among diverse stakeholders should be done and 
what it should cover. The context of this discussion is the outcomes of 
WSIS, and there is a link to relevant document in the message. If there is 
anything else that this notice should address, please let me know and we 
shall work on it.
Regarding, on the other hand, the GLobal Alliance the inaugural meeting is 
planned for 19-20 June in Kuala Lumpur. As soon as the tentative programme 
for this meeting is done, it will be shared with potential participants 
and finalized on the basis of their comments. At the moment, we do not 
have the programme yet.
Please let us know if we could bring more clarity.
Best regards.
Sergei Kambalov, Chief
ECOSOC and Interorganizational Cooperation Branch
Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination/DESA
United Nations, New York
Tel:  (212) 963-4751
Fax:  (212) 963-7454
Email:  kambalov at un.org

"Gurstein, Michael" <gurstein at adm.njit.edu> 
18/04/2006 12:57 PM

To
"sergei kambalov" <kambalov at un.org>
cc
<plenary at wsis-cs.org>, <startup at unicttaskforce.org>, 
<gta at vancouvercommunity.net>
Subject
RE: startup post from gurstein at adm.njit.edu requires approval

Dear Mr. Kambalov,

Thanks for replying to my note...

And I agree with you that we should not give in to skepticism, suspicion 
or mistrust...

I think we all agree that the use of ICTs can and should contribute to the 
achievement of the MDG's and I think further we are all in agreement that 
unless those working with ICTs on the ground to support local social and 
economic development are included in these processes very little can 
usefully be achieved. 

The challenge remains how to do that, including I should say, in the issue 
areas that you have identified as being the subject of the upcoming Geneva 
meeting. 

Certainly we all recognize financial and other resource limitations on the 
part of the UN (just as the UN should recognize financial and resource 
limitations on the part of its presumed interlocutors).  One way of 
ensuring that skepticism and mistrust doesn't enter into responses to 
initiatives from and through the Global Alliance would be for example, to 
publish in advance the agenda for meetings such as this one, indicate the 
linkage between the discussions in such meetings and the broader 
structural/operational decisions and decision processes of the GA, and 
making available opportunities for broader participation/responses to 
those agenda items as for example through the use of email lists such as 
this one.

I should say that I very much appreciate your candid and pointed response 
to my note and I look forward to the opportunity of continuing this 
dialogue concerning operational and structural matters concerning the GA 
with you and others within the Global Alliance in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Gurstein
-----Original Message-----
From: sergei kambalov [mailto:kambalov at un.org] 
Sent: April 18, 2006 4:32 PM
To: Gurstein, Michael
Cc: plenary at wsis-cs.org; startup at unicttaskforce.org
Subject: Fw: startup post from gurstein at adm.njit.edu requires approval

Dear Mr. Gurstein, 
First of all, thank you for noticing my silly mistake in re-typing the 
text of the Tunis Agenda: of course it should be "public/private 
partnerships". Thank you! 
Second, the message of late yesterday sent to, among others, Renate was 
supposed to be followed today by requests to her and others to tell us who 
else from the civil society should be invited. So, thank you, once more, 
for helping us disseminate this news and the invitation. Please spread the 
word! 
BTW, I did not see Renate's message to which you refer in your message. 
Now, on a more important subject. I am expressing my own PERSONAL opinion 
here, but I take a strong exception to your statement that this 
consultation is "simply another means to perpetuate existing closed door 
exclusionary processes". 
We strongly believe that we must use ANY opportunity to build bridges and 
ensure engagement of all who care about spreading the wonders of 
information revolution. We in the ICT Task Force have been trying very 
hard to do this, by all means at our disposal, and any honest observer has 
to acknowledge that we were at least partially successful in promoting 
inclusiveness. 
We all know that many actors, primarily those from the civil society, do 
not have the means to participate physically in all events. This is why 
our consultations on the Global Alliance took almost TWO years, with 
multiple physical meetings in conjunction with all relevant events, PLUS 
virtual discussions.   
What would you like us to do in this particular case - pay for everybody 
who want/should be present in Geneva? You know full well that we in the UN 
do not have the money. Does it mean that we should not use the opportunity 
presented by the Information Week in Geneva to gather as many participants 
as we possibly can in one room? 
This will be the first in a series of consultation on Action Line 11. In 
addition to this physical meeting, there will be a web-based forum. 
I think we all should focus on ways to promote inclusiveness and 
engagement. There is too much skepticism, suspicion and mistrust already, 
so let us try to move forward together, even if in small - but practical, 
realistic and sustainable - steps. 
Best regards, 
Sergei. 

Sergei Kambalov, Chief
ECOSOC and Interorganizational Cooperation Branch
Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination/DESA
United Nations, New York
Tel:  (212) 963-4751
Fax:  (212) 963-7454
Email:  kambalov at un.org 
----- Forwarded by sergei kambalov/NY/UNO on 18/04/2006 08:40 AM ----- 
startup-owner at unicttaskforce.org 
Sent by: mailman-bounces at unicttaskforce.org 
18/04/2006 07:23 AM 

To
startup-owner at unicttaskforce.org 
cc

Subject
startup post from gurstein at adm.njit.edu requires approval

As list administrator, your authorization is requested for the
following mailing list posting:

   List:    startup at unicttaskforce.org
   From:    gurstein at adm.njit.edu
   Subject: FW: [startup] Consultations on Action Line 11 of WSIS
   Reason:  Post by non-member to a members-only list

At your convenience, visit:

   http://www.unicttf.org/mailman/admindb/startup

to approve or deny the request.

----- Message from "Gurstein, Michael" <gurstein at ADM.NJIT.EDU> on Tue, 18 
Apr 2006 07:22:15 -0400 ----- 
To:
<plenary at wsis-cs.org> 
cc:
<gta at vancouvercommunity.net>, <startup at unicttaskforce.org> 
Subject:
FW: [startup] Consultations on Action Line 11 of WSIS

Further to Renate's note of yesterday please see the below... 

I'm wondering if it might be possible, on behalf of the Plenary to reply 
to this "invitation" that a stakeholder "consultation" "to discuss ways to 
enhance collaboration among diverse stakeholders in ensuring effective 
multi-stakeholder implementation, at the international level, of the 
outcomes of WSIS as regards international and regional cooperation" held 
for 3 hours in a meeting room in Geneva is not a "consultation" but simply 
another means to perpetuate existing closed door exclusionary processes 
since only those already available in Geneva or with the requisite budgets 
to attend in Geneva for such a meeting will have an opportunity to 
participate. 

Those without such resources who will, I assume, include most of those 
(including their representative organizations and "caucuses") with the 
most direct and immediate interest in "information exchange, creation of 
knowledge, sharing of best practices, and assistance in developing 
multi-stakeholder and policy/private (sic?) partnerships" as the sources 
and originators and ultimately end users of such knowledge will be 
excluded from participation. 

MG 

 -----Original Message-----
From: startup-bounces at unicttaskforce.org 
[mailto:startup-bounces at unicttaskforce.org] On Behalf Of sergei kambalov
Sent: April 18, 2006 12:23 AM
To: shoji.nishimoto at undp.org; Amir Dossal; Aida Opoku-Mensah; Joao Carlos 
FERRAZ; Mansour Farah; aw.khan at unesco.org; arthur.levin at itu.int; Georg 
Kell; richard.manning at oecd.org; walter.fust at deza.admin.ch; 
astrid.dufborg at sida.se; guy.sebban at iccwbo.org; amiller at itaa.org; 
rbloem at ngocongo.org; bruck at research.at; rrogers at giic.org; 
mfleeton at dgfoundation.org; grossda at state.gov; doris.bertrand at bmaa.gv.at; 
mission.tunisia at ties.itu.ch; mission.pakistan at ties.itu.ch; mb at hq.unu.edu; 
Marcel BOISARD; wendy.mann at fao.org; bridge at unicttaskforce.org; 
advisors at unicttaskforce.org; startup at unicttaskforce.org
Cc: Guido Bertucci; max-henri.cadet at itu.int; Makane Faye; Omar Bizri; 
Nikhil Chandavarkar; charles.geiger at itu.int; Haiyan Qian; 
Harry.De-Backer at cec.eu.int; Guennady Fedorov; michael.roeskau at cecd.org; 
Hans Hansell; masood.hatiif at gmail.com; Gerolf.Weigel at deza.admin.ch; 
john.dryden at oecd.org; raul.zambrano at undp.org; Patrizio Civili; 
david.benfield at fao.org; Denis Gilhooly; rinalia at gkps.org.my; 
radhika.lal at undp.org; Gherardo Casini; ayesha.hassan at iccwbo.org; 
smelhem at worldbank.org; Martin HILBERT; konstantinova at icnm.net
Subject: [startup] Consultations on Action Line 11 of WSIS

Dear colleagues, 

We are pleased to invite you to attend a first consultation that DESA, in 
its capacity of "provisional focal point" for facilitation of Action Line 
11 of the Geneva Plan of Action of the World Summit on the Information 
Society, will convene on 15 May 2005  in Salle XXV of the Palais de 
Nations, Geneva. The meeting will be open to all relevant stakeholders. 
The exact time of the meeting (most probably in the afternoon) will be 
communicated later. 
This meeting, convened in line with paragraph 108 of the Tunis Agenda for 
the Information Society, will provide an opportunity to discuss ways to 
enhance collaboration among diverse stakeholders in ensuring effective 
multi-stakeholder implementation, at the international level, of the 
outcomes of WSIS as regards international and regional cooperation. The 
other facilitators for this Action Line are the Regional Commissions, 
UNDP, ITU and UNESCO. 
As stated in paragraph 110 of the Tunis Agenda, "the cordination of 
multi-stakeholder implementation activities would help to avoid 
duplication of activities. This should ionclude. inter alia, information 
exchange, creation of knowledge, sharing of best practices, and assistance 
in developing multi-stakeholder and policy/private partnerships". We hope 
that at the forthcoming meeting, interested stakeholders will present 
their proposals on optimal modalities for this work, bearing in mind the 
specific  tasks under Action Line 11 (see paragraph 26 of the Geneva Plan 
of Action here: 
http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/03/wsis/doc/S03-WSIS-DOC-0005!!MSW-E.doc
). 
We look forward to a productive discussion. 
Best regards, 

S. Khan, Director, Office for Ecosoc Support and Coordination 
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations 
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