[discuss] [bestbits] [governance] Internet Social Forum

Tue Jan 27 17:01:46 UTC 2015

Quoting a CircleID piece by Philip Corwin:

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20150125_occupy_ig_internet_social_forum_targets_netmundial_initiative/

"The author is not familiar with most of the groups constituting ISF. As
always, a good rule for understanding true intent is "follow the money".
We'd find it illuminating to know where they get their funding and whether
any state actors are involved (and a colleague more familiar with the
global IG scene advises that at least several are indeed closely linked to
their national governments, and are unsurprisingly more favorable toward
the government-led multilateral approach on IG than the private sector
oriented MSM). So there is some question as to whether ISF is a genuine
grassroots Netizen movement — or a convergence of government-dominated
organizations pairing with "useful idiot
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot>” entities to pursue a broader
and more pernicious agenda of undermining the MSM and replacing it with a
UN-led, government-dominated one. "

On Sat, Jan 24, 2015 at 1:23 AM, Jean-Christophe NOTHIAS I The Global
Journal <jc.nothias at theglobaljournal.net> wrote:

> Quoted a Register piece written by Kieren McCarthy
> Hibernating NetMundial continues to rattle internet governance world
> reg.cx/2dZG <http://t.co/0D2vSUtqqf>
>
> As to NetMundial's three-month consultation period, that will seemingly be
> led by respected internet governance academic and ICANN Board member
> Wolfgang Kleinwachter. The NetMundial organizers did not reveal how much
> they will pay Kleinwachter to lend the initiative his credibility, but his
> first attempt to make the internet community learn to love the idea came in
> the form of a blog post
> <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20150103_internet_governance_outlook_2015_2_processes_many_venues_4_baskets/> at
> the start of the year.
>
>
>
> Le 24 janv. 2015 à 00:21, parminder a écrit :
>
>
> On Friday 23 January 2015 11:31 PM, "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang" wrote:
>
> Hi Parminder,
>
>
> how the ISF is linked to the IGF?
>
>
> Hi Wolfgang
>
> One is a civil society forum, the other a multistakeholder one. One
> develops people's and civil society's positions on the key issue of the
> global Internet, the other is a place where such positions can enter into
> dialogue with holders of political and economic power - the governments and
> the corporate actors.
>
> Unless now the whole idea and concept of civil society - and along with
> those of people's movements, grassroots, activism, and so on - has been
> fully coopted in some people's mind with that of multistakeholderism
> (whatever one actually means by it, something that has remained notoriously
> unclear), the connection or link that you inquire about is extremely clear
> to me.
>
> Internet is not the first thing for which there has been felt a need for
> 'independently' forming a people's conception and set of hopes,
> expectations and demands - away from conclaves of power. There have been
> scores of others, and newer ones continue to arise. Accordingly if people's
> and civil society forums etc have been meaningful and needed in these
> areas, it is incumbent upon *those* who think they are *not needed* in the
> Internet space to explain why it is so, then the other way around.
>
> To put is somewhat flippantly, ISF is also a reaction of people who are
> fed up with an ongoing IG charade where for instance Fadi Chehade can with
> a straight face call the WEF's Net Mundial Initiative as the 'mother of all
> bottom -up processes' - even jokes require some plausibility limits!
>
> To take the example of one of the latest international global forums on a
> key global governance issue, the Lima meeting on climate change, you will
> perhaps know that parallel to it a people's meeting was held. Internet and
> its governance also needs such meetings, that is the simple logic of the
> Internet Social Forum. If you think that in the Internet's case, such
> meetings and forums are not needed, I would of course be curious to hear
> your case.
>
> I am happy to engage further with you on this issue, and answer your
> questions.
>
> Lastly, let me invite you to join the ISF process. We work under the World
> Social Forum (WSF) process and principles - whereby its meetings are open
> to all civil society participants subject to very inimum conditions that
> are listed on their website.
>
> Further, if the discussion is to now turn to the WSF, its meaning,
> relevance, etc, I am as happy to engage with you on that subject.
>
> Regards, parminder
>
>
> Wolfgang
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
>
> Von: governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org im Auftrag von parminder
>
> Gesendet: Do 22.01.2015 17:01
>
> An: governance at lists.igcaucus.org
>
> Betreff: Re: [governance] Internet Social Forum
>
>  Enclosed Spanish version... parminder
>
>
>
> On Thursday 22 January 2015 07:06 PM, Norbert Bollow wrote:
>
> Global Civil Society launches the Internet Social Forum
>
> - With a call to occupy the Internet
>
>
> PRESS RELEASE. Geneva, Switzerland, 22st January, 2015.
>
>
> A group of civil society organisations from around the world has
>
> announced the Internet Social Forum, to bring together and articulate
>
> bottom-up perspectives on the 'Internet we want'. Taking inspiration
>
> from the World Social Forum, and its clarion call, 'Another World is
>
> possible', the group seeks to draw urgent attention to the increasing
>
> centralization of the Internet for extraction of monopoly rents and for
>
> socio-political control, asserting that 'Another Internet is possible'!
>
>
> The Internet Social Forum will inter alia offer an alternative to the
>
> recently-launched World Economic Forum's 'Net Mundial Initiative' on
>
> global Internet governance. While the World Economic Forum (WEF) and
>
> the 'Net Mundial Initiative' convene global elites, the Internet Social
>
> Forum will be a participatory and bottom-up space for all those who
>
> believe that the global Internet must evolve in the public interest; a
>
> direct parallel to the launch of the World Social Forum in 2001 as a
>
> counter initiative to the WEF.
>
>
> The Internet Social Forum will reach out to grassroots groups and
>
> social movements across the world, catalysing a groundswell that
>
> challenges the entrenched elite interests that currently control how
>
> the Internet is managed. The Internet Social Forum's preparatory
>
> process will kick off during the World Social Forum to take place in
>
> Tunis, March 24th to 28th, 2015. The Internet Social Forum itself is
>
> planned to be held either late 2015 or early 2016.
>
>
> "While the world's biggest companies have every right to debate the
>
> future of the Internet, we are concerned that their perspectives should
>
> not drown out those of ordinary people who have no access to the
>
> privileged terrain WEF occupies - in the end it is this wider public
>
> interest that must be paramount in governing the Internet. We are
>
> organising the Internet Social Forum to make sure their voices can't be
>
> ignored in the corridors of power," said Norbert Bollow, Co-Convenor of
>
> the Just Net Coalition, which is one of the groups involved in the
>
> initiative.
>
>
> The Internet Social Forum, and its preparatory process, is intended as
>
> a space to vision and build the 'Internet we want'. It will be
>
> underpinned by values of democracy, human rights and social justice. It
>
> will stand for participatory policy making and promote community media.
>
> It will seek an Internet that is truly decentralized in its
>
> architecture and based on people's full rights to data, information,
>
> knowledge and other 'commons' that the Internet has enabled the world
>
> community to generate and share.
>
>
> Somewhat similar to Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee's call for a 'Magna
>
> Carta for the Internet', the Internet Social Forum proposes to develop
>
> a People's Internet Manifesto, through a bottom-up process involving
>
> all concerned social groups and movements, in different areas, from
>
> techies and ICT-for-development actors to media reform groups,
>
> democracy movements and social justice activists.
>
>
> This year will also see the 10 year high-level review of the World
>
> Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held in New York in
>
> December. As a full-scale review of a major UN summit, this will be a
>
> critical global political event. Since the WSIS, held in 2003 and 2005,
>
> the Internet, and what it means socially, has undergone a paradigm
>
> shift. The WSIS witnessed active engagement of civil society and
>
> technical groups as well as of business. However, currently, there
>
> seems to be an deliberate attempt to sideline this UN-led initiative on
>
> governance issues of the information society and Internet in favour of
>
> private, big-business-dominated initiatives like the WEF's Net Mundial
>
> Initiative. The Internet Social Forum, while remaining primarily a
>
> people's forum, will also seek to channel global civil society's
>
> engagement towards the WSIS +10 review.
>
>
> The following organisations form the initial group that is proposing
>
> the Internet Social Forum, and many more are expected to join in the
>
> immediate future. This is an open call to progressive groups from all
>
> over the world to join this initiative, and participate in developing a
>
> People's Internet Manifesto.
>
>
> Just Net Coalition, Global
>
> P2P Foundation, Global
>
> Transnational Institute, Global
>
> Forum on Communication for Integration of our America, Regional (Latin
>
> America) Arab NGO Network for Development, Regional
>
> Agencia Latinoamericana de Información, Regional
>
> Alternative Informatics Association, Turkey
>
> Knowledge Commons, India
>
> Open-Root/EUROLINC, France
>
> SLFC.in, India
>
> CODE-IP Trust, Kenya
>
> GodlyGlobal.org, Switzerland
>
> Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training,
>
> Canada IT for Change, India
>
> Association for Proper Internet Governance, Switzerland
>
> Computer Professionals Union, Philippines
>
> Free Press, USA
>
> Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, Philippines
>
> Other News, Italy
>
> Free Software Movement of India
>
> Global_Geneva, Switzerland
>
> Solidarius (Solidarity Economy Network), Italy
>
> All India Peoples Science Network, India
>
> Institute for Local Self-Reliance - Community Broadband Networks, USA
>
>
> Please contact us at secretariat at InternetSocialForum.net for further
>
> information or clarification.
>
>
> Or the following regional contacts:
>
>
> Africa:        Alex Gakaru <AlexG at InternetSocialForum.net>
>
> Asia:          Rishab Bailey <RishabB at InternetSocialForum.net>
>
> Europe:        Norbert Bollow <NorbertB at InternetSocialForum.net>
>
> North America: Micheal Gurstein <MichealG at InternetSocialForum.net>
>
> South America: Sally Burch <SallyB at InternetSocialForum.net>
>
>
>
> This press release is also available online, e.g. at
>
> http://justnetcoalition.org/ISF
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Cheers,

McTim
"A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route
indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel
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