The team behind the scenes: a few of the many volunteers for the World Civil Society Forum take a rare break.

Where does the news come from?

Randy Schmieder, m.c. art design communications
Posted Thurs 09:32 GMT

During the course of the Forum, summaries of the main conclusions and points of interest from the sessions are being posted on this web site. As the summaries become available, they are linked to the program at left. You can also find original speeches and other documents. Where is all this material coming from?

If you were able to attend each session at the same time time, you would notice that somewhere in the room, there is one or more "delegates" diligently taking notes on everything that is happening.

Armed with a pencil and a template to take notes, each volunteer attends the session along with the delegates. But instead of taking a coffee break after the session concludes, the volunteer reporters head back to the computer to type up a summary of what they saw.

Meet Cheryl, Volunteer Reporter
We caught up with one of the volunteer reporters and were able to get a few insights into what it is like from a volunteer perspective.

Cheryl Fischer is originally from Louisiana, and now lives in Springfield Missouri, USA. Cheryl came out to Europe to help out with both the XIV World AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, and the World Civil Society Forum in Geneva. “I am really enjoying it. It’s a lot of work; a lot of responsibility. I’m kind of a note taker by nature.”

According to Cheryl, summarizing sessions is exciting and enjoyable: “It’s a chance to listen to interesting, provocative discussions. It’s really a chance to learn. For example, I attended a session on environment and biodiversity and acquired lots of information I never knew about. I want to remember what I heave heard and refer to it in the future.”

So is it difficult to take notes for others?

“I do feel a keen responsibility of capturing the essence of what is presented. But I have done this type of work with others, such as IMADR, the International Movement Against Discrimination and Racism, and reports on trafficking children in Asia.”

Like many volunteers, Cheryl applies skills from her professional life to her unpaid work.

“I work in civil rights professionally. As part of my job, I have to write up complaints in a presentable manner to send to city, state and even federal government representatives. I do this two, three, four times per week. I have also done work with the Buraku-man-- the lowest caste during feudal Japan. Even after Japan became modernized, there is still discrimination.”

At the end of the day, why does someone with such skills decide to work the long hours required to summarize sessions from a conference?

Cheryl Fisher was one of many volunteers who helped contribute summaries to the online news for the World Civil Society Forum.

“I find it enjoyable. I feel glad to be a part. It’s a way to learn, keep up editorial skills, and experience other cultures. It really provides information and experiences to take back with me.”

The Online News has been coordinated by International Conference Volunteers (ICV), m.c. art design communications and Mandat International (MI). Volunteer reporters from ICV, SCI, the International Peace Bureau, the Pacific Telecommunications Council and the Hague Appeal produced the session summaries.

Training for Journalists
Feature stories were written by the journalists who participated in the Training for Journalists. The training was an opportunity for journalists from developing countries to gain experience with writing about international issues and share good practices with their colleagues in Geneva.

Feature Story Writers

Saleem Al-Habash (Pyalara ­ Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership And Rights Activation) Ronnate Asirwatham (Daily Mirror, Colombo) Zahi Haddad (ICV) Fatoumata Aumarceu Hama Kamel Bouzeboudjen (Reporters sans frontières) Godefroid Bwiti Lumisa (Syfia International) Souleymane Mhamane Cisse Amina Iro Moustapha Franck Kodbaye Franck Kinninvo (Jeunesse pour le développement)	Eliazar Mafuru Edwin Perez Marcelo Netto Rodrigues (Independent Journalist and Landless Workers Movement of Brazil's - Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, militant) Randy Schmieder (mcart) Ali Shaukat (Kashmir Journalists Forum) Mohamed Si Belkacem (Umazigh - langue Berbère) Anne Trehern (MI) Charlemagne Zannou

Feature Story Editors

Adullatif Fakhfakh (Verité Action/MI) Emmanual De Smackers (MI/SCI) Victor Frimpong (MI) Keith Hindell (former BBC)	Viola Krebs (ICV) Carla Ruta (MI) Randy Schmieder (mcart) Anne Trehern (MI)

Coordination of Volunteer Reporters

John Copland (ICV) Sarah Caudwell (MI/SCI) Viola Krebs (ICV)	Randy Schmieder (mcart) Nancy Troxler (ICV) Antoinette Wills (ICV)

Volunteer Reporters and Contributors

Youth Forum
David Alfon Myriam Bouverat Kelvin Cheung (ICV) Colleen Costello Christina Campisi Amanda Chawansky Huang Tzu Chi Mireland Demers Jocelyn Gretz	Shamina de Gonzaga Nicholas Langsford (MI/SCI) Kimberly Lux Olivia Martin (Hague Appeal) Mavis Su Juan Selgado Susan Singh Cheng Wen Ju Jonah Wittkamper
Main Forum
Dina Abousamra (ICV) Jamil Abousamra (ICV) Julie Archer (ICV) Ashleigh Arledge (International Peace Bureau - IPB) Alexandra Biod (ICV) Marc Brightman (ICV) Kelvin Cheung (ICV) John Copland (ICV) Emilie Della Corte (ICV) Lorraine M. Culverhouse (ICV) Emmanuelle Diehl (IPB) Djeneba Dialla (ICV) Stephen J. Doggett (ICV) Yasmine El Rifai (IPB) Cheryl Fischer (ICV) Jean-Damascène Gasanabo (ICV) Gabrielle Gerelle (ICV) Silke Hattendorf (ICV) David Hay-Edie (IPB) Jenny Hery-Jaona (ICV) Kamel Jain (IPB)	Rekha Juncker (ICV) Lamine Kane (ICV) Nkatha Kobia (ICV) Sarah Krasker (ICV) Stefania Kregel (ICV) Yoshiko Kurisaki (Pacific Telecommunications Council) Anna-Maria Lancianese (ICV) Karen Lee (ICV) Kane Lamine (ICV) Sophie Lilley (ICV) Vilay Luang (ICV) Adalbert Nouga (ICV) Luis-Alberto Perez-Portugal (ICV) Edith Rojas (ICV) Julia Richter (ICV) Laeiticia Marie Sanchez (IPB) Agnieska Stankiewicz Cosima Strasser (ICV) Martha Tepepa (ICV) Claudine Vigna (ICV) Zhenying Wu (ICV)

Click here for all available presenters' documents
Click here for all available summaries