From adats@vsnl.com
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2004 21:47:44 +0530
Subject: [anitaandedwin] Govindpur IV
GOVINDPUR IV
Dear friends,
Several friends and colleagues, including Abba Bhaiya, Ajit Muricken, Anil Chaudhary, Bablu Ganguly, Badal Sengupta, Duarte Baretto, Fons v.d.Velden, Indrani Sinha, Kalanand Mani, Kamala Bhasin, Kirtee Shah, Malla Reddy, Nava Kishore, Pradeep Esteves, Prem John, Ragini Prem, Ram Dayal Munda, Sailesh Chakravorty, Siddartha, Tamthing, William Stanley and others met/discussed over a period of time from July to October 2004 and took the decision to hold Govindpur IV from 7 to 12 February 2005 at Anantapur, A.P.
* Badal Sengupa and I have together agreed to be the Moderators with overall responsibility to design and implement the process. We will, with your valuable suggestions, select the actual issues, determine the thematic methodology and, once again with your active help and cooperation, facilitate the 100 day long run-up debate leading to the actual event at Anantapur, and contribute to drafting the Govindpur IV declaration.
* Each of the 12 identified themes will have a Theme Moderator who, in turn, will appoint Regional Theme Moderators to assist in non-internet participation through focus group discussions, state level workshops, etc.
* RDT, Anantapur, has generously agreed to host the 6 day event and Malla Reddy will be the Events Manager.
* Pradeep Esteves will be the Administrator who coordinates everyone's efforts and also look after finances. With the active assistance of the Voluntary Agency Network Anantapur, he will run the Govindpur IV Secretariat from: VANA, 12-2-315 Housing Road, Near Subba Naidu Building, Anantapur, A.P. (phone +91 (8554) 225842)
Our respective email ids are badal@govindpur.com , ram@govindpur.com , malla@govindpur.com and pradeep@govindpur.com .
The brochure is being readied and a formal invitation letter should be sent out in the first week of November 2004. In the meanwhile, would you please visit the Govindpur IV website at www.govindpur.com . This time around we are trying to see if Govindpur IV can have a slightly different format from the workshops/conference style that has earlier been followed. We have decided on a 2 pronged strategy:
1. A 100 day long debate on 12 identified themes topped off by theme workshops (presentations, group discussions and plenary sessions) at Anantapur in February 2005.
2. Stall presentations by development workers, activists, NGOs, CBOs, etc.
The www.govindpur.com website is designed to enable the simultaneous debates and also manage the logistics of the actual event - i.e. stall requirements, food, accommodation, etc. We realise that only a fraction of development workers, activists, NGOs and CBOs are e-enabled. Yet we thought that a website was the most appropriate tool available to record and facilitate a transparent and bottom-up process of discussing, sharing and finding a common ground.
* Please click on the "Structure and Format" page to see how we envisage the 100 day run-up, as well as the 6 day event.
* At the bottom of the page on "Objectives" is a diagram (please click to enlarge in another webpage) which describes the thematic content of the debate.
* The page on "Organizers" describes the sheer slog that many of us have to put in to make Govindpur IV a success.
Being a Theme Moderator, for example, would imply writing a draft Theme Position Paper, inviting online comments and reactions from Participants, and periodic updating of the Theme Position Paper till it reaches some definite shape by the date of the actual event - i.e. between 7 and 12 February 2005 at Anantapur. She will also have to facilitate offline input by prodding as many Regional Theme Moderators as needed to get the opinions and reactions of non e-enabled people - be they remote NGOs or CBOs or those who are not comfortable with English.
Will all of you please pitch?
* At the very minimum, by individually registering yourselves as Participants - we do need a critical number of at least 500 registered Participants for the process to take off.
* Secondly by booking a Stall to make your own unique contribution to the event.
* Thirdly by contributing PDF files to the Theme Libraries - many people are in desperate need of literature to update themselves on various issues. You could upload them yourselves into the www.govindpur.com <http://www.govindpur.com/> website.
* Fourthly by agreeing to facilitate regional processes - i.e. feed in the views and opinions of your constituency (be they village folk, slum dwellers, domestic workers, child labourers, Dalit women, Tribals, unorganised workers or whoever) using the "Comment" boxes under each Theme Summary.
We will be most grateful since without the active participation of persons like you, we cannot have a participative process!
Thanking you and with every best wishes,
Ram Esteves