[Icann-see] Reminder (deadline 12 July). Future of SEEDIG: call forcomments

[Voja Rodic]

Dear all, Dear Sorina, 

When Sorina "kindly" reminds us of a deadline, I take it seriously!

I have taken in account the arguments outlayed in your emails (by 10pm Sunday), and they have been of great help in shaping my opinion:

Financial aspects:
  a.. I made some calculations regarding my travels (mostly with "domenclatura" people meetings, very similar to IGF) in the past 4 years (3 times only to BRU) and my FPOV (financial point of view) tells me that regional travel expenses will be approx. 3 times lower for all of us, on average
  Meeting in Sofia was the first time it made sense for me to use the car (less than 400km from Belgrade), not just for myself but for two more passangers (one of them was a young student travelling on a zero budget) - compare that to 3 return airline tickets (remind you again - one passenger had zero travel budget).
  b.. I presume that SEEDIG will be awarded some funds from the usual institutional sponsors (EuroDIG, ICANN), plus the local sponsors
  c.. I translate lower expenses not only into cheaper tickets and accomodation for us on this list, I see it more as a chance to expand the number of people that could get included in our activities, and that is (should be) one of our goals.
Institutional aspects:
  a.. There is a natural link between EuroDIG and SEEDIG, and I believe it exists even if the events themselves are not place-time sequential. 
  b.. Piggybacking on a greater event brings some organizational advantages as well as meeting more "influential" colleagues in the same "corridors of Internet power".
  c.. With all due respect to input of the experience and influence of our "older" colleagues from the EU proper (or central, or I don't know if we have a name for non-SEE? :-), it is my impression that as devoted as they are to helping "newcomers", their resources are more focused on present issues they themselves have as focal point of their respective communities. Some of the problems we face were either solved such a long time ago that they hardly remember the process of solving them (and take those issues for granted), or are largelly irrelevant for their environment.
Conclusion:
  a.. SEEDIG should be a stand-alone event
  b.. If possible staple it to EuroDIG (coordinate as a pre-event if EuroDIG is in any of the cities of the region)
  c.. If EuroDIG is elsewhere - have SEEDIG as a separate event, output of which will be one of inputs for EuroDIG
  d.. Possible locations for SEEDIG2016 - as Belgrade was mentioned several times today, and as I have some personal (as a member of a team) organizational experience with a SEEDIG2015 pre-event (part of our DIDS2015 event), I feel confident that Belgrade has the necessary facilities and organizing team experience for an event that will meet our expectations.
  e.. I even have other cities in mind for 2017 and 2018, but let's take one step at a time :-)
best regards
Vojislav Rodic



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sorina Teleanu" <sorina.teleanu at cdep.ro>
To: <icann-see at rnids.rs>
Cc: <see at intgovforum.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2015 4:57 PM
Subject: [Icann-see] Reminder (deadline 12 July). Future of SEEDIG: call forcomments


Dear all,

This is to kindly remind you that the deadline for call for comments on the future of SEEDIG is tomorrow, 12 July. Your input would be highly appreciated.

Thank you!

Best regards,

Sorina

________________________________________
De la: Sorina Teleanu [sorina.teleanu at cdep.ro]
Trimis: 6 iulie 2015 09:28
Către: icann-see at rnids.rs
Cc: see at intgovforum.org
Subiect: Future of SEEDIG: call for comments (DL: 12 July)

Dear all,

On behalf of the SEEDIG executive committee, I am writing to you with regards to the future of SEEDIG, and, more specifically, a potential SEEDIG 2016 meeting.

As you know, SEEDIG 2015 was organised in conjunction with the eighth EuroDIG, for several reasons. The most important ones were related to the fact that EuroDIG itself was held in the SEE region, and that we had an opportunity to create some connections between SEE Internet governance-related realities and the pan-European debates. The funds allocated from the EuroDIG budget (for logistics, catering, travel support, as detailed in our report), as well as the general support from EuroDIG Secretariat for a first SEEDIG meeting have been equally important.

I. Key questions
As there seems to be at least a majority of views that SEEDIG should continue (and not remain a one time event), we need to determine how this moving forward should/could actually happen.
The two main questions that we now need to ask ourselves are the following:

A. Should a SEEDIG 2016 meeting be held again in conjunction with the EuroDIG meeting to be hosted in Brussels? OR
B. Should a SEEDIG 2016 meeting be held in the SEE region, as a stand-alone event?


II. Issues to consider
However, determining how SEEDIG 2016 would look like is not just a matter of picking a location, as there are several important issues that need to be considered before making a decision:

  1.  participation (attendance at the meeting) and influencing factors (travel costs, travel funds, etc.);

  2.  financial resources /sponsors;

  3.  host for the meeting (including broad-based stakeholder conditions in the host country);

  4.  partners/supporters;

  5.  maintaining linkages between SEE and the wider Europe.


III. Possible approach
Drawing on several informal discussions held with some of you in the weeks following SEEDIG (including the ICANN meeting in Buenos Aires), one possible approach for SEEDIG 2016 could be to:

  *   keep the SEEDIG and EuroDIG preparatory processes together, but have the SEEDIG meeting organised somewhere in the region, at a time that precedes the EuroDIG meeting.

III.1. Implications
In practical terms, the approach above would mean that:

  1.  The call for proposals for topics for SEEDIG and EuroDIG 2016 are launched at the same time (October until December 2015), as part of a single process.

  2.  SEEDIG is represented at the EuroDIG preparatory meeting. A preparatory meeting for SEEDIG is also intended to be held in the host country (for the purpose of checking the logistics and related issues).

  3.  SEEDIG-related content continues to be hosted on the EuroDIG website and wiki.

  4.  SEEDIG takes place in a country within SEE and the neighbouring area, some time before the EuroDIG meeting, and becomes an integrated milestone in the EuroDIG preparatory process. Results should feed directly into the EuroDIG session planning process and become an inclusive part of the EuroDIG programme. SEEDIG could actually be the place to prepare, inter alia, a SEE-focused session at EuroDIG.

III.2. Advantages
Such an approach would have several advantages, among which:

  1.  SEEDIG, as a meeting, remains in the region. This would respond to the concerns raised by some of you with regards to both the difficulty for most stakeholders in SEE to attend an event outside the region, as well as to a potentially limited relevance of having a SEE event held in Western Europe. And it could/should encourage significant participation from within the region, given that the travel costs involved are expected to be self-manageable by many potential participants.

  2.  SEEDIG and EuroDIG remain interlinked, thus responding to the need to ensure that the voices of SEE stakeholders go beyond the SEE region and that the pan-European debates on Internet governance are also considering SEE concerns.

  3.  SEEDIG continues to benefit from support from EuroDIG (in terms of preparatory process, hosting content and funding for some SEE attendees to participate in the EuroDIG meeting), and, possibly, its partners, thus gaining more recognition within the Internet governance ecosystem.


III.3. Challenges
There are, of course, a number of challenges that would need to be dealt with, in the case of this approach being taken forward:

  1.  Financial resources. SEEDIG will need to have its own budget, and, thus engage in fund raising activities, including within the region. Additionally, legal issues will have to be considered, such as: setting up a bank account, responsibility and liability in terms of managing contracts, invoices, reporting on the finances (i.e. what entity would do this?), etc.

  2.  Keeping the SEEDIG 2015 supporters as partners. We would need to finding a way to enhance such partnerships, as they would demonstrate that SEEDIG is backed by others and does not try to isolate itself from other entities and processes in the Internet governance ecosystem. Having this kind of institutional support would also help us when approaching possible sponsors.

  3.  Ensuring that the linkages with EuroDIG mean more than just having SEEDIG messages presented at EuroDIG. Finding a way to bring a significant number of SEE participants to EuroDIG (in addition to them participating in SEEDIG) and to actively involve them in the EuroDIG process and meeting is an important aspect to consider. (More travel and time resources will be needed.)

  4.  Identifying a host. During the discussions in Buenos Aires, Serbia/Belgrade was mentioned as a possible location, given that the country has a working multistakeholder Internet governance model in place and this can be useful as an example for participants in SEEDIG. In addition, another argument invoked for having the next SEEDIG meeting in Serbia was related to the experience the various entities in the country have in organising/hosting Internet governance events (EuroDIG 2011, DIDS, etc.).

  5.  Human resources to run the preparatory process. Organising SEEDIG as a stand-alone event would require more efforts, both in terms of logistics and programme. The organising group would, therefore, need to be reinforced, and more volunteers would have to be involved in the process.


IV. Call for comments
Given all of the above, you are all kindly invited to provide your input with regards to the future of SEEDIG, in the form of comments, suggestions, support for or disagreement with the aforementioned possible approach, etc., until Sunday, 12 July 2015. Please send your input to this mailing list and to see at intgovforum.org.

All input will be compiled by the executive committee, shared with the list, and further discussed at a virtual meeting, to be held after the above-mentioned deadline (details to be communicated later). It is expected that a final decision  regarding the approach for a SEEDIG 2016 meeting (questions at point I.A and B above) will be taken at this virtual meeting. Once this decision is made, further discussions will be held with regards to the preparatory process for SEEDIG 2016.

Thank you and we are looking forward to your feedback.

Best regards,

Sorina
(on behalf of the executive committee)


---

Sorina Teleanu
Parliamentary assistant
Chamber of Deputies
Parliament of Romania
2-4 Izvor Street, Bucharest, Romania
Tel: +40 21 414 1842
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