Thanks - very comprehensive! Jacqueline A. Morris Technology should be like oxygen: Ubiquitous, Necessary, Invisible and Free. (after Chris Lehmann ) On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 2:14 PM, <admin@bango.org.bb> wrote:

Members,

Please see responses to questions in wiki and reproduced below the link: https://community.icann.org/display/LACRALO/2012+Election+Call+-+LACRALO+Cha...

Roosevelt King Response to Question 1: What is the experience in secretariat management and administration at an organizational level?

I am the Secretary General of the Barbados Association of Non Governmental Organisations (BANGO) has been playing the role of Secretariat for organisations since its inception in 1997. BANGO was established specifically to play this role and has been the National Focal point for Civil Society in Barbados; officially recognised by government in this capacity since 2002. This is a secretariat role catering to over 1200 NGOs on the island, with a responsibility to feed-up information and local knowledge from the grassroots to impact on national policy, as well as to ensure that they are always well informed.

BANGO is also the secretariat for the Non State Actors (NSA) Panel of Barbados, which is made up of NGOs, Labour, Private Sector organisations, Government and the European Union (EU) and the Secretariat for the ACP (Africa Caribbean and Pacific) Civil Society Forum.

BANGO has been fulfilling the role of secretariat for NGOs in Barbados since 1997. We manage several lists (internet) for Barbados, the Caribbean and the ACP countries. In its role as secretariat for several developments and initiatives, BANGO has many years experience interfacing with governments, national agencies, regional bodies and agencies as well as international agencies.

In its role as Secretariat for the NSA Panel, we have been interfacing with the European Union and actually negotiated the establishment of the Panel between 2005 -2007. The reason for the Panel was to enhance civil society participation in the EU/ACP Development Cooperation process, governed by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement 2000. In negotiating this mechanism, the EU in Barbados duplicated these panels in the six countries making up the OECS, since it has responsibility for Barbados and the OECS. Hence this initiative served to enhance participation in seven countries all at once.

We have worked with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of the United Nations (UN) to establish a secretariat for a national and a regional focal committee for the small grants fund and actually established these mechanisms within the UNDP System. The secretariat became fully operational, with BANGO prescribing the terms of references and other arrangements to establish this secretariat and actually managed the secretariat for a year to establish the standards of operation, before handing it over to the GEF fully operational.

We also helped Government establish a Bureau for Returning Nationals, which gives certain benefits and exemptions to nationals returning home to live and assists them with fully relocating.

We employ various skills for our secretariat work, including legal services, secretarial services, graphic artists, researchers, facilitators, trainers, etc., including a team of proposal writers; depending on what is required.

As advocates and negotiators, we heavily involve our constituencies, because we strongly believe in win-win solutions to issues and we have learned many lessons as it relates to coming to consensus on diverse issues and ensuring that all voices are heard and considered within any national policy and decision-making exercise.

We have led many teams of NGOs into consultations and negotiations with governments and their institutions as well as international agencies. Of note are: Coordinating the national civil society consultation of 2000; leading the Barbados delegation to the Forward Together Conference and Encounter with the Heads of Governments of CARICOM in 2002; Led the initiatives of the CARICOM Civil Society Task Force 2002-2003; 2005 National Civil Society Consultations; The civil society national report to the UN Human Rights Commission and also now national coordinator for the new UN Human Rights Reporting System.

I would say that we understand the critical role a secretariat plays, especially in documenting information, collating reports, keeping minutes, guiding meetings based on evidence and/or research, interpreting rules and generally assisting in the implementation of decisions.

I therefore come along with BANGO as an ALS with considerable experience as a secretariat. BANGO has been a member of LACRALO from its inception and has been an ALS for much longer. We have been following all along and have accumulated an archive of information over this time. Hence I was able to participate in Costa Rica without having to be prompted and did so to the best of my ability knowing the background of what I was participating in.

Having seen what is happening to LACRALO and knowing that this is simply a problem of communications and structure, I offer my services to get to the bottom of this problem. In Costa Rica, I met men and women from Latin America that one could have a conversation with and be very good friends with. Indeed, I had some very memorable moments with Latin Americans, for example, on the occasion of Marcel’s birthday. I met some great people. I did not meet wild animals. There is therefore no reason we can’t get along and I offer to ensure that the two sub-regions can solve the communications problem that will set us on a brighter path.

BANGO’s success rests on its performance as a secretariat at the national, regional and international levels. Even if we did not have knowledge of the work of ICANN or LACRALO, the most important point is that we are probably the most experienced organization in the Caribbean when it comes to operating a secretariat, whether it is for our NGOs or for the United Nations. We have done it successfully every time.

You are being called upon to vote for a Secretariat. A knowledge of and participation in LACRALO is no guarantee of the effectiveness or efficiency of a Secretariat. Many of you have this experience but the matter of an proper functioning Secretariat that will not only maintain the high standard set by the present secretariat but will seek to take that professionalism one step further for LACRALO is what is required.

A vote for me, is a vote for the stability, cooperation and collaboration that LACRALO needs in order to give it a bright future. I therefore pledge sincere dedication and commitment to this task as I seek your vote to be the best Secretariat the LACRALO has ever had.

Question 2: For the record, one of the secretariat’s responsibilities has to do with translation. What do you expect to do so that translations are expedited and we can comment on public documents before the end of the public comment period?

Translation is important for there to be participation. Translation also takes a team and hence requires resources. As the Secretariat for the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Civil Society Forum, where the official languages are English and French, there are many languages in which documents must also be translated in order to facilitate participation across Africa and in the Caribbean. We rely on a central translation team located in Brussels, plus there are many members who volunteer for translation. This is all coordinated by our secretariat to ensure that the timely delivery of translated documents.

In the case of ICANN, resources must be allocated by ICANN for such an important aspect (similar to the ACP). However, in terms of LACRALO, we have in Barbados, the Venezuelan Institute which is part of the Venezuelan embassy in Barbados and they offer free courses in Spanish and we can rely on them to assist us with translation. We also have some volunteers who are part of BANGO that can assist us.

Question 3 How will you ensure that the good work of the Secretariat is maintained? How you can track the constant and ongoing management you made?

First, once elected, I will ensure that we are properly briefed by the present Secretariat so that we become even more familiar with the procedures and processes. This will be to ensure that the standard of the secretariat is maintained at the high level at which it is operating.

BANGO is very familiar with the elements that make for a good secretariat, given that we have over 15 years of experience in the field. We have staff to assist us that will make for a quick and efficient handing over of the Secretariat, if elected.

ROK Roosevelt O. King Secretary General Barbados Association of Non Governmental Organisations #10 Garrison, St. Michael Barbados, Caribbean Tel: 247-822-7707 e-mail: admin@bango.org.bb Network: http://bangoonline.igloocommunities.com

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