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  • From: Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Fairness and Equity in IPC10 Selection from Three Bids
  • Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 22:27:33 -0700

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



  • [permaculture] Fairness and Equity in IPC10 Selection from Three Bids, Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, 05/28/2010

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