Dear All, Please find below a message from Rudi Vansnick intended for this distribution list. -- Regards, Heidi Ullrich, Matthias Langenegger, Gisella Gruber-White, Marilyn Vernon, Kristina Nordström ICANN At-Large Staff email: staff[at]atlarge.icann.org website: www.atlarge.icann.org ------ Forwarded Message From: Rudi Vansnick <rudi.vansnick@isoc.be> Reply-To: "rudi.vansnick@isoc.be" <rudi.vansnick@isoc.be> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:04:43 -0800 To: "euralo@st.icann.org" <euralo@st.icann.org> Cc: ICANN At-Large Staff <staff@atlarge.icann.org> Subject: Meeting this evening Dear colleagues, I know, you have not heard a lot from me last 2 months. Been so busy, especially at government level. Some Belgian politicians are somehow willing to take the lead in Europe on some topics. Most often it is our minister of economic affairs Van Quickenborne (indeed he has not stolen his name as we call him Quicky). He decided to launch a project Start2Surf (november 2009) but forgot to integrate a lot of provisions and technical aspects related to accessible and affordable internet connections (do not forget Belgium being one of the most expensive countries). He also launched a new "tax" for intellectual property rights on every electronic equipment able to store data. So for each usb-stick, each flash card, every hard disk we have to pay extra money in order to cover IPR while the money goes into the pockets of management companies and not to the original author. Normal as you know, while buying a flash card I do not specify for what data I will use it, it is impossible to define the author having the rights. And do not forget that this is internet related stuff as the hard disks are bought by hosting companies and as such affects every internet user in Belgium - increasing price of internet usage and storage. On top of this tomorrow a debate on the data retention law is on the table at parliament. ISOC Belgium's task force e-Security produced a work document (some 7 pages long) which will be in discussion at that meeting too. As you see, it is not easy to combine all this together with my business activities (as that's how I can pay my bills and work also for ALAC). However, I'll be on the meeting this evening for a max of 15 to 20 minutes. A short briefing on the status of the ALS-ccTLD bridge project: During the last ccNSO meeting the topic was brought up again by my counterparty Ron Sherwood as the has been no information during the last 2 months on this topic. He stressed out that a decision from the ccNSO was expected soon as the project is in launch-phase at ALAC. It is indeed important to have the collaboration of ccTLDs otherwise it has no sense to go forward. However, as Ron is involved himself in a ccTLD and has good contacts with other ccTLDs, he pronounced the positive reaction of some of his colleagues willing to participate in our project. So, I consider the project is now in a phase of final launch, which means I have to finalize my document on this. I'll put it on my to do list for the next 3 days, so it would be available on the mailinglist and website end of the week. Sorry I've been absent but as we all have our daily duties to complete mine were just a bit to have to deal with. Hopefully our ministers will give us more time for intervention on decisions such as explained above. And of course you're all concerned as you will be in Brussels in June. Till this evening, Rudi Vansnick President Internet Society Belgium vzw Voorzitter TIK vzw Board member EURALO (ALAC - ICANN) Tel: +32 (0)70 77 39 39 GSM: +32 (0)475 28 16 32 www.internetsociety.be <http://www.internetsociety.be> - www.vansnick.eu <http://www.vansnick.eu> <--------- Recent and upcoming travels and activities ----------> 7/3 - 14/3 : 37th ICANN meetings in Nairobi - Kenya 20/6 - 27/6 : 38th ICANN meetings in Brussels - Belgium <---------------------------------------------------------------> ------ End of Forwarded Message