Nov. 17, 2008
11:22 a.m.
Robert et.al. Please see my intewrsaced comments to Robert's recent posting below... CLO > Evan, > The issue of local user participation ended up being less then > optimal due to a couple of reasons. <CLO> Many in the ICANN Community have agreed and complained about the standard of Public and Remote participation at this Cairo meeting... The matter of ICANN Meeting participation and our ( ALAC & At-Large's) response to this issue will be a matter for discussion at the next ALAC Meeting on the 25th > First, repeated requests for a room to host users was blocked - > ewith the excuse given that rooms were not free. Of course that was > not the case as the at large room was pretty well free when we were > nothere. <CLO> Robert it would be so much easier if you Do NOT mix Apples and Oranges=> please you are referring to a meeting of public interest (Local Bloggers) that was hoping to have a meeting at the ICANN Venue so that some of us could interface with them if we so desired... Your request for a room for this activity was sent to Nick and I on the 30th of October at 2300 hrs AEDST and in it (it is inserted below) you indicate sponsorship from other entities to assist you in this independent venture (well in as much as you were writing from the POV of your role/ capacity as Project Director, Internet Freedom, Freedom House... I do NOT see any outcome of this as a Public Participation in ICANN Meetings matter... And the community should note that Nick replied within a few hours and and you responded on the 31st that YOU had not seen the video in question (see snip below) > Icann and some alac members expressed the vire informally that a > local user event was not in "in the remit of at-large" any sensitive > ssues might require that "a formal appology" be given to thee > egyptian govt offcials. <CLO> My statements were in regards to conversation threads that were critical of the host country of an ICANN meeting being conducted on what I believe was an ICANN related ALAC in Cairo Chat space... that was fixed at the time, to at least my satisfaction as Chair of the ALAC and is unrelated to public participation and I stand by all of my actions. When aked directly if the video could be shown at the enf of at alac meeting cheryl stated to me that it was possible, only if it was screen by her. I was not awarethat the chair has ever had vetting righs on content <CLO> Cheryl stated that "to get into the very tight agenda time we had for our ALAC meetings within the ICANN meeting the ALAC or at least the ExCom would have needed to see the video to even consider the logistics and planning at that time" YOU stated you had still not seen it... that is ALL that I said regarding video footage being added under and any other business in any meeting and you should note that this is a procedural meeting matter The Chair has total control of the Agenda of an ALAC meeting according to the ROP's and again this is NOT a matter of Public Participation in th ICANN Meeting... > Local users did want to come, but with no possible ok from the chair > or nick, an adhoc session had to be organized. With little adcance > notice - of course few people came. Whilei was very disappointed > with the turnout - it was good to see who did attend. It was mainly > just the north americans. The rest , well did not seem interested. <CL0> Local users could have entered any publiuc ( open meeting space in any part of the ICANN meeting in Cairo and specifically with regards to a video veiwing where ALAC people and those interested in ICANN could attend at the venue, you were able to organise a room, it was mentioned/ advertised on our lists and chats and those who turned up turned up +> AGAIN this is NOT a Public Participation in ICANN meeting matter. > That alac and at large present did seem interested does not mean > that local users did not want to meet us. Comments and blog posting > in key MENA sites clearly show that the locals did want to meet us. > On the larger issue of engagement, namely virtual participation - I > was shocked by the lack of effort undertaken. No dial-in, no open > skype (voice) chat, no virtual questions. While in the past (san > juan, la, etc) dial-ups did take place - nothing was done in cairo. > Voip, is easy to do - and there is no excuse not to allow for > virtual participation. In an age where we are more connected then > ever, to do nothing - well, if not to care in the least. Indeed, a > formal complaint should b e lodged and actions taken to make sure > virtual participation - at alac meetings and other icann sessions is > not just considered, but actually done in a way that is effective > and participatory. Icann can do better on this, it must .. <CLO> All valid point and issues of great frustration to many of us involved, THESE ARE matters we can discuss as an ALAC and as I said it will be on our Agenda d=for the 25th (and your apologies are noted) > As for the public forum - indeed it seems that the "public > participation director" seems to have had little effect in enhancing > public participation at meetings. Can one not learn from the US > election and use youtube to seek questions and comments and play > them back at thr meeting. Sigh. <CLO> I am more than happy to organise a single topic call with the ALAC/At-Large and the Public Participation Director to further this important discussion (in fact I had started to discuss this with Kieren in Cairo on the Saturday) > In summary, I think there is a bottom up interest for participation > and dialogue - but these are resisted by management who prefer to > control the agenda and keep desenting views to a min. What can be done - well, comment and participate using other channels . Perhaps interested actors would be well advised to submit a letter not to the board, but instead to the incoming adminstration . <CLO> I couldn't agree more Robert <insert of request email on 30th October> (resending - was in my queue, not sure if sent last night) Nick & Cheryl: I have been in touch over the last several weeks with Gemy Hood,who is the Editor in Chief of El Dostor Daily News www.dostor.org and quite actively involved in the Egyptian blogosphere. Thanks to funds I have been able to raise, Gemy and his colleagues, have - in less then a week - been able to develop a short 20 min video (arabic with english subtitles) that documents the issues & challenges faced by Egyptian Internet users. I would like to propose to show at at the ICANN meeting . .org (PIR) has graciously agreed to contribute 2,000 USD to sponsor a small reception / outreach event so that participants of the ICANN meeting can get a better understanding of the issues and challenges faced by local internet users, and local users can learn about ways of more actively participating at ICANN and Internet Governance processes. If At-large is interested in collaborating in the session - then it would be great. It would be a wonderful opportunity for us to better know our local counterparts .. and encourage them to register as an ALAC. We are missing participation from MENA region, and getting one or more groups from Cairo to get involved would demonstrate that At-Large is able to do outreach at meetings. As for dates - Thursday Nov 6th between 4-5pm works well for Gemy and others in the city. The next step, perhaps with both of your help - is to book a space at the conference venue, and arrange logistics for a reception. As I mentioned below, there is a small amount available for hosting the reception. I would be more then open to have some ALAC and/or ICANN staff at the start of the session if there's an interest to do so regards Robert --- R. Guerra Project Director, Internet Freedom, Freedom House 131 Connecticut Ave. NW Fl.6, Washington, DC 20036 Direct: +1 202 747 7067, Main: +1 202 296 5101 Mobile +1 202 569 1800, Fax: +1 202 293 2840 Email: guerra@freedomhouse.org CONFIDENTIALITY CAUTION AND DISCLAIMER This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and contains information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately at +1 (202) 296-5101 and delete the original message. If you are the intended recipient of this message, we remind you that electronic mail on the Internet may not be secure and that this message was not and future messages will not be encrypted or otherwise protected, unless specifically requested, in which case, special arrangements will be made. <end Insert snip> Response from Nick... On 30-Oct-08, at 8:21 AM, Nick Ashton-Hart wrote: Dear Robert: I?m preparing to leave now so there?s little I can do until tomorrow at this point on this. I can say that it is VERY late in the day to try and get any space at the conference venue for additional meetings ? I will ask about it when I arrive. Is the video available somewhere online so it can be seen? RG reply Fri 31/10/2008 12:51 AM Nick: I haven't seen the video yet. Will see it when I arrive tomorrow. Look forward to seeing you the rest of at-large this weekend. Robert --