[ga] Re: [Ecommerce] Internet Governance Forum ends on high note

[Jeff Williams <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michelle and all,

  Seems Paul Twomey can't seem to tell the truth. INEGroup
has been in existence sense 1999.  I can only guess Paul has
had his head in the sand.

Michelle Childs wrote:

> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/02/igf_meeting_ends/
> United Nations lauds internet's 'arranged marriage'
> Internet Governance Forum ends on high note
> By Kieren McCarthy in Athens
>  Published Thursday 2nd November 2006 15:48
>
> The closing day of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) has ended on a high
> note with attendees from across the world (from business, government,
> international organisations and civil society) all expressing their
> delight at the experimental forum.
>
> When the forum opened its doors in Athens four days ago it was uncertain
> whether the meeting would work, or would even continue next year, despite
> its five-year remit. But following a series of changes introduced to its
> structure while the meeting itself was going on, the final session saw two
> countries vying to host the event in 2010 - Azerbaijan and Lithunia - and
> the host for next year, Brazil, announcing the date and location for the
> meeting.
>
>  "We are here, we are ready, and we are ready to participate," said a
> joyous representative from the Women's Centre, who also announced a
> "dynamic coalition" of a number of organisations for discussing online
> gender issues. Jamie Love, director of the Consumer Project on
> Technology, explained that he was searching for words to explain "just
> that I feel good about this meeting". He settled for: "This is the right
> thing to do at the right time for the internet."
>
> IGF head honcho Nitin Desai made a joke this time last year when he was
> asked about the forum's likely success: "Every United Nations meeting is
> either a success or a great success." We asked him which it was after the
> end of the closing session. "It was an outstanding success," he smiled.
>
> Warning
> That feeling was reiterated by ICANN chief exec Paul Twomey who presented
> himself as the head of the only other organisation that has tried to build
> a multi-stakeholder organisation surrounding the internet.
>
> But Twomey also had some advice and a warning. Such organisations "are not
> easy to put together and to manage at all", he warned. "I'll be a little
> heretical here. I will particularly challenge business and civil society
> in the dialogues that many people are talking about as they go between
> here and Rio. The test I'll put to you is: are you sure that the
> governments are engaged in the dialogue?"
>
> A number of governments had stood up during the course of the session and
> all were complimentary, but many also had suggestions for changes. Former
> Mali minister and the head of the first part of the WSIS process Adama
> Samassekou said. "I was just wondering as to the actual format of the
> forum in terms of overall results. After the wonderful discussions we've
> had, why shouldn't we have something specific come out of it?"
>
> Decision making thorn
> This issue of whether the IGF should be decision-making body is a thorny
> topic. Desai resisted efforts to move the forum to a more legislative
> basis. "Decision-making means having a legislative capacity and it means
> you have to have a defined membership. The IGF is an open door. This is a
> controversial issue but the IGF is not a membership-based model."
>
> The same view was reiterated by the IGF Secretariat head Markus Kummer,
> who stressed that he wanted to keep the forum's "open doors policy" when
> asked if he would consider accrediting particular organisations.
>
> Desai warned there was still much to do, however, referring to the three
> widely different cultures of the governments, non-governmental
> organisations, and civil society that had sat down in Athens. The first
> has its protocols, the second has strong views, and the third wants things
> done now, he explained.
>
> "I think in all three cultures we need a little adjustment. I think
> governments will have to accept that in a multi-stakeholder forum will be
> a little more frank than a normal democratic conference would be and that
> they have to participate in it in that spirit. Equally, I believe civil
> society has to accept that if the purpose of this exercise is ultimately
> to lead to joint action, then a certain degree of restraint - they have to
> approach this in a different way. If you want to work with somebody, you
> are not going to be able to work with somebody if you start calling that
> somebody names straight away."
>
> Arranged marriage
> And then, in a characteristic flourish, Desai provided an analogy for the
> IGF and the way forward. "In my country, when people get married, we have
> arranged marriages, and usually the first meeting between the boy and the
> girl, they are scoping each other out, so the conversation tends to cover
> everything. And at the second and the third meeting they start talking
> about more specific things, what are your tastes in this area or that
> area? And it is some time before they actually start holding hands. So
> let's just treat this as a first meeting where people have just gotten to
> know one another and maybe it will lead to marriage."
>
> Desai was confident the IGF will have the full five-year run originally
> planned, and Kummer was also optimistic about getting more funding for
> next year - "now the first meeting is over, we have a great product to
> sell potential donors".
>
> The next IGF meeting will be held on 12-14 November 2007 in Rio de Janeiro. ®
>
> --
> Michelle Childs -Head of European Affairs
> Consumer Project on Technology in London
> 24, Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX,UK.
> Tel:+44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252.
> Mob:+44(0)790 386 4642. Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607
> http://www.cptech.org
>
> Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC
> 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA .Tel.:
> +1.202.332.2670,Fax: +1.202.332.2673
>
> Consumer Project on Technology in Geneva
> 1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
> Tel: +41 22 791 6727
>
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Regards,
--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
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