[Kictanet] [internet governance] IGF Workshops call for proposals

[Alice Wanjira]

>From http://www.intgovforum.org/workshops.html
http://www.intgovforum.org/workshops.html>



Workshops
This is a call for proposals for workshops which will be held in
parallel to the General Sessions. Organizers of workshops are asked
to present their proposals making use of the template posted below.
Proposals should respect the organizational principles and criteria
for the selection of workshops. The Advisory Group will assess the
proposals and establish a final programme for the Athens meeting in
light of the proposals received. An online workshop proposal form
will be posted on this Web site next week.

Organizational Principles
- The guiding organizational principle for holding workshops is the
multi-stakeholder approach. Geographical diversity is an equally
relevant factor.
- There is no distinction between different types of meetings other
than the one referring to General Sessions and Workshops.
- All workshops will be held under the auspices of the Advisory Group
and coordinated by the IGF Secretariat.
- All proposals fulfilling the selection criteria and using the
template will be posted on the IGF Web site.
- Proposals should preferably be submitted in English. 24 August 2006
is set as the final deadline for submitting proposals in English. The
deadline for submitting proposals in UN languages other than English
is 31 July 2006.
- Interested parties are encouraged to submit their proposals as
early as possible, as the selection process will take place on an
ongoing basis. An early decision will facilitate the planning of workshops.
- The final selection will be made by the Advisory Group at its
meeting on 7-8 September 2006.
- The rooms reserved for workshops and all equipment, including a
screen and a PC or laptop for projections and a projector (XGA/SVGA
Data), will be available free of charge. Details related to the
logistics will be made available in due course. No Secretariat
funding is available for the organization of workshops.
- There will be no interpretation available for workshops.

Content and format
- Workshops will focus on the specific issues relevant to the Athens
meeting themes as well as on other topics of relevance to Internet
Governance.
- Most workshops are expected to deal with the first meeting's four
broad themes. A number of workshop slots will be made available to
deal with important topics that do not fit easily within the main
themes of the conference but which are nonetheless of importance to
many of the stakeholders.
- Workshops dealing with topics that are addressed in the main
meeting will not be scheduled at the same time as the main meeting.
- Workshops should explore a theme from different angles and
different stakeholders' perspectives. Pure advocacy workshops will
not be considered.
- All workshops will be audiocast.
- Workshops should respect the general format of meetings and should
be structured to be interactive, allowing a large portion of their
time for open discussion and interaction with meeting attendees, such
as a Q&A session. They could include keynote presentations, moderated
panels and discussions both from the floor and from remote
participants. Workshops should be designed with the format that is
most appropriate to the particular topic under discussion.

Selection criteria
- Relevance to the overriding themes and topics. Priority will be
given to proposals for workshops related to the main themes.
- Demonstratively proposed and organized through multistakeholder
collaboration.
- Capacity to improve understanding of the IGF themes and topics.
- Proven expertise and experience to manage the staging of the
workshop, including raising the funds necessary to do so.

Template for submitting proposals
- Name of the sponsors of the workshop and their affiliation to
various stakeholder groups.
- Describe your past experience in organizing similar events. What is
your budget and how do you plan to finance or raise the funds
necessary to stage the workshop?
- Describe how the sponsors/organizers will take steps to adhere to
the multi-stakeholder principle, including geographical diversity.
- Describe how the workshop would include different perspectives of
different stakeholders and ensure an overall balance of views.
- A concise formulation for the proposed workshop theme. Proposals
for workshops on topics not related to the main themes should include
an explanation as to why they should be discussed during the first
IGF meeting.
- Describe the workshop's conformity with the Tunis Agenda in terms
of substance, and explain which paragraph(s) the workshop theme is
referring to.
- Describe its conformity with the mandate of the IGF as set out in para 72.
- How does the workshop theme correspond to or enhance the
understanding of the four main themes of the first IGF meeting?
- Why do you think the proposed theme is important?
- Why do you think this theme should be addressed in the first IGF
meeting rather than in subsequent ones?
- Describe the main actors in the field. Have you approached them and
asked whether they would be willing to participate in the proposed workshop?
- The proposal should not exceed 1000 words.

Reporting back to the General Session
One summary report of all the workshops held in one day in a UN
working language (i.e. English or French) will be prepared by the
Secretariat in cooperation with the organizers. This report will be
read out at the recap session at the beginning of the General Session
in the Main Hall and benefit from interpretation in all UN languages
and real-time transcription. It will last no longer than 40 minutes.