Civil
Society at the WSIS: Basic Structures
by Seán Ó Siochrú, Wolfgang
Kleinwaechter and Renata Bloem
from www.globalcn.org
A short statement of the current structures,
so that all entities involved have a basic understanding and to help orient
new people coming in. This is not intended as a 'legally binding' document
- just a guideline for us all on a common understanding. The following describes
in summary the basic structures that civil society has developed over
the preparatory process of the WSIS.
Akey principle underlying the structures of civil society is that there
must be multiple avenues and means for participation, and that all civil
society entities can select the nature, level and extent of participation
according to their needs and interests.
Civil Society can constitute itself into a Plenary (CSP) at every official
convening of the WSIS process, such as Regional Conferences, PrepComs,
Intersessional meetings and Summits. The CSP is open to the participation
of all civil society participants. When convened, it is the ultimate civil
society authority in the WSIS process, in relation to the mandate and
scope of the specific event. At PrepCom II, CSP endorsed the existence
and terms of the Civil Society Content & Themes Group and the Civil
Society Bureau.
The Civil Society Content and Themes Group (CS C&T) coordinates the
work of numerous self-constituting civil society Caucuses, Working Groups
and other content related entities. It is charged with facilitating
agreement on and taking decisions on content-related issues, while respecting
the domain expertise and competence of Caucuses and Content Groups.
It reports regularly to the CS plenary on decisions taken.
The Civil Society Bureau (CSB) functions as an interlinkage between civil
society participants and the intergovernmental Bureau and process, with
regard to operational and logistical needs, procedures and interactions.
It does not concern itself with content-related issues. The Bureau is
constituted by 21 ‘family nodal points’ , that enable any civil society
entity to find a ‘home’, and it enhances interaction between all sections
of civil society and between civil society and others.
The Civil Society Division of the WSIS Secretariat provides the Secretariat
for the CS Bureau. The Bureau reports regularly to the CS Plenary
on decisions taken.
The Civil Society Division of the WSIS Secretariat (CSD) supports the activities
of all civil society participants and entities in the Summit, including
the above. It may also provide support to participants who chose
not to associate with some or all of the above entities, in a manner that
respects the functions and authority of the above.
The CSP approved a Virtual CS Plenary group as an electronic forum between
physical meetings of the CSP, to promote debate and greater transparency
in the organisation of civil society during the Summit preparatory process,
including between the various entities above. It is not a decision making
entity, but decisions of other entities will be circulated there. It is
open to all accredited entities, to registered bodies at WSIS meetings,
and to all civil society entities with an active interest in the WSIS.
The
e-mail address is plenary@wsis-cs.org
All the above entities will take action to ensure that, within the available
resources, key decisions are taken only after consideration of the issues
in the working languages of the Summit: English, French and Spanish .
Seán
Ó Siochrú
Wolfgang Kleinwaechter
Renata Bloem