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.