[LINK] Internet enhanced meetings for post-Copenhagen

[David Lochrin]

On Tuesday 22 December 2009 21:10, Stephen Wilson wrote:
> Anyone who seriously wants to consign an exercise as important as 
> climate change negotiation to what is really a beta test of online 
> collaboration tools barely out of the lab, has got their priorities 
> totally arse-about.

Absolutely!

On the broader question of the size of the meeting, "Rear Vision" on ABC Radio National this morning had an interesting item on The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 following WW1.  (The transcript and audio are available from http://www.abc.net.au/rn/rearvision/ and the final installment on the longer term results will be broadcast next week.)

Quote:
-- 
Annabelle Quince: So how did they structure the talks, when you've got that many different groups, and people bringing the problems of the world to Paris, and these four major powers, how did they put something together that was workable?

Margaret McMillan: Well they started out with a complete illusion, and that was really to do with Woodrow Wilson, that they could have open discussions and everyone could see what they were saying to each other, and they could have all the different countries there, and that, it became clear in a very, very short time indeed, was completely unworkable, and if you were doing to get anything done, you probably had to get the big players to talk among themselves, and you probably had to do it and air sort of confidence, because if everything was out in the open, then of course public opinion would get involved and people would start backing off in positions and so on.
-- 

David