permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

hi everyone
   to answer Scott's question about the selection process and Cuba at 
IPC9 Malawi, this report was posted on the IPC9 blog during the 
conference later on the IPC9 listserves, and again posted to the IPC9 
listserve this week
hope this helps explain the process which took over 3 meetings
wes

.The  Report below was prepared by Rosemary Morrow  from the 
International Permaculture Support  committee meetings at the IPC9 in 
Malawi, this was the process developed at IPC8 in Brasil for 
selecting the host of the next IPC
wes

http://www.ipcon.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=231&Itemid=143

Fairness and Equity in IPC10 Selection from Three Bids

Dear Permaculturists:    

As we permaculturists try to be as accountable and transparent as 
possible, this seemed a  good occasion to report on the process of 
selection of the next site for IPC10.  I have tried to record it as 
faithfully as I can and if there are errors and omissions then they 
are all mine.    

At Brazil for the IPC8, basic criteria for selection had been 
developed to ensure IPCs can be held successfully.   At IPC9 this 
year in Malawi they were refined.  At IPC8  a vote was taken by all 
attendees and resulted in 82 to 14 in favour of Sub-saharan Africa 
and here Cuba generously supported the vote and said they could get 
behind Africa.

The IPC10 selection process took several meetings over the week of IPC9.

First Meeting to look at and consider the bids for IPC10

This was an open attendance meeting at which:
*the application from Cuba was read out by Julio from Brazil  and 
heard appreciatively.  Then Maria from USA spoke very strongly in 
support.  At this first meeting there was only this one serious bid 
although Jordan had expressed interest.   The Jordan delegates 
arrived late due to plane delays.

*No Cubans were at IPC9 and the organisers explained how hard they 
had tried to get Cuban representation. They had expected to be funded 
by the South Africans but that funding did not appear.  When the 
Support Group learned of this, offered to quickly raise funds, but 
the Cubans said it was too late at this point to arrange travel.

After this first meeting, clarification points on some of the 
criteria which  required an answer. The Support Group sent three 
emails before the Convergence with a list of questions that would 
help clarify issues and answer the criteria below for making a bid 
for IPC10.  No response was received.  (If you would like a copy of 
this document ask the Santa Barbara Network cc'd on this email.)

Between first and second meetings two more bids were received.

Second Meeting to Select IPC10 site:

By the second/third meeting there were three bids on the table Nepal, 
Jordan and Cuba.  Past convenors were there as part of the  present 
IPC9 support group, for their wisdom and continuity of knowledge of 
the history of the selection process.

Below are the criteria used in the selection process:

1. Potential technological restrictions- and this is key because live 
interactive broadcast facility as a livestream TV channel is now 
possible.  It was to be a big feature of IPC9 but turned out  too 
difficult because of the upload speed in Malawi.  This would allow 
any person anywhere in the world with web access to participate in 
IPCs and also achieve maximum global coverage.
2. Travel challenges for attendees - difficulties around visas,  ease 
of access, safety of country and site.
3. Reducing the total expenses of attending IPCs, which can siphon 
funds from scholarships as it  did this time, and effort will be made 
to avoid it next time
4. Having a lead organising group already established and ready to 
start almost immediately after the last IPC finishes is critical.
5. Ease of payment - this was very difficult in Malawi and - so this 
drains organiser upfront funds for deposits on venues etc.
6. Likely stability of the political climate - in two year's time.
7. Time of year - eg. Africans planned their timing to avoid the malaria 
season
8. Time line - able to do the IPC in two years - Africans found two 
years rather difficult.
9. Preparedness at the time of the bid
10.  History of region catchment - can it draw in the whole region? - 
eg. Middle East has had many many PDCs and in Malawi there were many 
workshops and involvement of other countries and government.

The final deciding factor was that someone from the country must be 
there to make the bid.   This is the number one priority because 
without it there is no way to get questions answered.

Before the final vote the Nepali contingent  put forward a strong bid 
for IPC10 to the whole table. In the general question-and-answer 
period  the Nepali delegation  after being reminded that Nepal had 
already had an IPC, and when someone lightly said "fair share", 
Govinda and Umesh immediately and beautifully graciously rescinded 
their bid and transferred their support to Jordan.   Everyone 
honoured them.

This process took considerable time to review, query, clarify, 
understand each applicant's strengths and weaknesses.


Then occurred the voting process -

Support ocmmittee reviews all bids and makes a preliminary vote. 
Twenty three people attended this meeting,  19 people voted for 
Jordan while  four supported Cuba. However when consulted again, the 
four people for Cuba were able to say that they could work with the 
group decision.   Maria still had reservations.

The International Suport Group  then arrived at a recommendation and 
took it to the full IPC convergence Assembly where comments were 
invited from anyone who wished to speak.    Maria spoke again in 
favour of Cuba but the IPC9 participants while speaking of concern 
for Cuba's disappointment supported the Jordon decision.  The 
Assembly in the end approved Jordan representing the Middle East to 
host IPC10. (delegates from Yemen, Syria, and Jordan came to present 
the bid, and an attendee from Israel supported the bid).  The theme 
for IPC10 will be Water, which is critical and at an emergency status 
currently in Jordan, and represents the future for many other regions 
of the world.  

I do hope this process is as clear and as fair as was possible to 
make and that you will all get behind it and support many people to 
attend especially those from India,  and SE Asia where there was no 
representation.

I will be in Ethiopia with extremely limited electricity, water and 
uncertain web access for the next month and so I would appreciate 
your directing your queries to the Santa Barbara network, or wait for 
a month until I can answer them.

In love and peace to all of you working to heal and restore our Earth.

Rosemary Morrow