The self-nomination of Eric Brunner-Williams for NARALO Chair
Colleagues, I think the situation may reasonably be summarized as there exist some At-Large Structures which meet a reasonable interpretation of the 2007 MOU, and some which do not. On issues for which a vote is the means of determining the position of record of the Region there is no distinction between them. I suggest that this situation has come about by ordinary fatigue, enhanced by a correctable, but persistent error. The error has been to waste much of the time any Chair has available on tasks which do not directly contribute to the increase in vitality of existing ALSes, aka "inreach", or the number of new ALSes, aka "outreach". The practice, which began some time ago, before Garth Bruen volunteered, and before Beau Brendler volunteered, with Evan Libovitch who created this "Perq", was to use the _very_ limited travel support to send the Chair and Secretary to general meetings. The error has persisted for _years_. This practice has three consequences -- all adverse. First, the time required by ICANN travel is ten days door-to-door, for each meeting -- 30 days/year. The Chairs and Secretaries of RALOs do not need to spend a month a year reading their status reports to each other and chatting up the ALAC. Electronic mail, podcasts and phones suffice. Second, each year six additional people who actually do make informed contributions to policy could participate first hand in ICANN meetings and bring back to their At-Large Structures their experience and improved judgement. This opportunity is currently wasted on _ineffective_ Officer junkets. Third, the RALO officers could be spending one month of full-time work per year on "inreach" and "outreach", on making the RALO less ... absurdly inconsequential. This opportunity too is currently wasted on _ineffective_ Officer junkets. If elected Chair, and this constitutes self-nomination, I will use the office of regional Chair to ensure that the Chair and Secretary work only to advance Regional Organizational goals, cease the current abuse of travel support as a private right of office, and advance those who are informed and engaged in public policy issues. Eric Brunner-Williams Eugene, Oregon
I'm in favor of elections and a review of the operating priorities of NARALO (and the RALOs in general). And my hope is that by seconding the nomination of Eric Brunner-Williams, such a review will ensue. As head of a newer At-Large Structure, I appreciate Eric's emphasis on the need for "outreach." Just last week I attended a briefing by Olivier that presented a most excellent inward view of the ICANN's operation. My hope is that at some point in the future there would be a similar gathering to reveal success strategies and stories of ALSs. Broader levels of support for ALSs would also prove beneficial. I note that several months ago I met with Mr. Bruen who emphasized his interest in developing the ALSs. So let me end where I started. I'm in favor of elections and a review of the operating priorities of NARALO and therefore, I second the nomination of Eric Brunner-Williams. Thomas Lowenhaupt On 6/18/2013 12:13 AM, Eric Brunner-Williams wrote:
Colleagues,
I think the situation may reasonably be summarized as there exist some At-Large Structures which meet a reasonable interpretation of the 2007 MOU, and some which do not. On issues for which a vote is the means of determining the position of record of the Region there is no distinction between them.
I suggest that this situation has come about by ordinary fatigue, enhanced by a correctable, but persistent error.
The error has been to waste much of the time any Chair has available on tasks which do not directly contribute to the increase in vitality of existing ALSes, aka "inreach", or the number of new ALSes, aka "outreach".
The practice, which began some time ago, before Garth Bruen volunteered, and before Beau Brendler volunteered, with Evan Libovitch who created this "Perq", was to use the _very_ limited travel support to send the Chair and Secretary to general meetings. The error has persisted for _years_.
This practice has three consequences -- all adverse.
First, the time required by ICANN travel is ten days door-to-door, for each meeting -- 30 days/year. The Chairs and Secretaries of RALOs do not need to spend a month a year reading their status reports to each other and chatting up the ALAC. Electronic mail, podcasts and phones suffice.
Second, each year six additional people who actually do make informed contributions to policy could participate first hand in ICANN meetings and bring back to their At-Large Structures their experience and improved judgement. This opportunity is currently wasted on _ineffective_ Officer junkets.
Third, the RALO officers could be spending one month of full-time work per year on "inreach" and "outreach", on making the RALO less ... absurdly inconsequential. This opportunity too is currently wasted on _ineffective_ Officer junkets.
If elected Chair, and this constitutes self-nomination, I will use the office of regional Chair to ensure that the Chair and Secretary work only to advance Regional Organizational goals, cease the current abuse of travel support as a private right of office, and advance those who are informed and engaged in public policy issues.
Eric Brunner-Williams Eugene, Oregon ------ NA-Discuss mailing list NA-Discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/na-discuss
Visit the NARALO online at http://www.naralo.org ------
As head of a newer At-Large Structure ... I'm in favor of elections and a review of the operating priorities of NARALO ...
Tom, Colleagues, How each At-Large Structure -- with a functioning membership, structure, which has (or will be in the case of recently certified applicants) empowered informed individual contributions to policy development, on the record at its URL of record -- arrives at its vote of record is an internal matter. With that observation made, and as Tom has been able to attend several ICANN meetings (while wooed by vendors seeking .nyc), and hence may appreciate the effect attendance has upon persons new to network policy issues and ICANN policy issues and processes in particular, allow me to suggest that if, in the course of a year, six individuals active in ALSes which meet a reasonable interpretation of the 2007 MOU receive travel support, this will make more accessible the informed individual contribution to policy development in those ALSes, and provide all ALSes -- again, which meet a reasonable interpretation of the 2007 MOU -- motivation to be selected in each subsequent meeting for which travel support is offered by the Corporation. While I'm on the subject, the purpose is "informed individual contributions to policy development", a purpose poorly meet by spending the better part of the meeting week in "the ALAC silo" doing meet-and-greets with others sent to or hiding in the ALAC silo. Self-symmetric exercises in mutual admiration do not informed individual contributions to policy make. The two individuals selected by the RALO and accepted by the ALAC are tasked to spend their meeting week working with their counter-parts from the four other RALOs and those the NOMCOM has selected. Whether they are effective in their tasks or not, they are not responsible for enabling informed individual contributions to policy development, only for the articulation of ALAC advice to the Board, and only on the instruction of the RALO, which may be specific, or general. Individuals who receive travel support other than the two ALAC-tasked persons should get as broad and as deep an exposure to the GNSO and its component organizations as they can -- with the registries, the registrars, the trademark portfolio managers at the very least, and their Council and its current policies and the processes by which it arrives at changes of policy. They should do the same for the Governments that form the GAC and arrive at an improved understanding of the long-term interests of the two governments on the region which have leading roles in the GAC, and the governments which are active in the formation of each GAC Communique. Rinse and repeat for SSAC, and an informed awareness of what the catch phrases "security and stability" mean when uttered indifferent to some interested party, and when uttered by a party with an interest in a policy or implementation outcome. I could go on, I've lost count of how many ICANN general and regional and invitation-only gigs I've worked wearing the hats of registry, registrar, and even RALO stand-by, but the point is travel support is best spent informing, and necessarily from experience and knowledge gained outside the ALAC silo, not reciting received wisdom from inside those confines, as that is duplication without benefit the reports the two ALAC tasked representatives of the RALO must provide. The purpose captured in the 2007 MOU is furthering informed individual contributions to policy development, not, to rephrase a frequent saying of my friend Marshall Rose, the maintenance of a small club given to frequent fine dining in exotic locations. Eric Brunner-Williams Eugene, Oregon
Colleagues, Having described the changes I propose to make in travel support allocation for the purpose of improving on the rather limited record of enabling informed contribution to policy making by individuals, I want to direct your thoughts to advice offered the Corporation Board. The Corporation Board has recently authorized the President and CEO to make commitments concerning offices, staff and future meeting venues. One of the commitments made concerns placing staff permanently, and the attendees of future general meetings recurringly, in Turkey. The current leaders of the Executive Branch of that state are conducting the affairs of that state in a way that appears to be contrary to the principle of enabling informed individual participation in, amongst other things, network policy. This RALO may wish to advise the Board to explore alternatives which meet the goal for which Istanbul was selected, and do not also risk harm to the purpose for which the ByLaws were amended in 2004, creating an advisory entity on issues relating to individual users of unique endpoint identifiers. Recently also one of the governments in this region has disclosed that it has engaged in, and is committed to the continuous engagement in, unprecedented, outside of now-historic totalitarian regimes, collection of all electronic communications, both session state, and content, which are within its technical means, which, given what we are in a position to know, as participants in the technical coordination of unique network endpoint identifiers, is all of this region's and most inter-regional instances of communication. This RALO may wish to advise the Board that the actions of this government place the stability and security of the continuous exercise of technical coordination of unique endpoint identifiers by the Corporation as presently constituted as a California domiciled 501(c)(3) exercising a contract awarded by that government in doubt, and render the thesis advanced recently for the limited role of the ITU in network policy significantly less compelling. There are of course the issues which arise from the ordinary execution by the GNSO, the GAC, the SSAC, the ASO, the ccNSO, the RSSAC, and the ALAC for which the RALO has the opportunity to determine if formal advice, or informal comment, is appropriate, and what advice or comment to advance. I propose to make this process less haphazard, and improve the communication of issues to the four RALOs, and ensure that the instructions to the ALAC from the body of the RALO are communicated faithfully, and that the reports from the ALAC to the body of the RALO are timely, complete and in writing. Again, these are proposals for change, contingent upon election. Eric Brunner-Williams Eugene, Oregon
Dear all, As our Rules of Procedure state: 17. The members of the unaffiliated individuals, including the representative to the NARALO General Assembly must submit a Statement of Interest indicating that they meet the following criteria: • be subscribed to the NA-Discuss list, • be a permanent resident of one of the countries/territories in the North American region as defined by ICANN, • not be a member of a certified ALS. Eric has posted a generic SOI but did not address the 2nd and 3rd points. Until this is done, he is still ineligible to run for any kind of office in the NARALO. I would sincerely encourage Eric to send a simple posting to the list to clear this up (or an e-mail to myself or Garth). Actually, this also brings up a point that Alan and I are working on. There are several points in the Rules of Procedure that need work. The one bearing on this issue is the misuse of the term "Statement of Interest" in this context. Putting in a statement that verifies the above is all that is needed - not a full SOI. Calling it an SOI is rather misleading so I can understand any confusion that may have come up from this. There are other points we are working on but all of this work will not be put forward until after the election so as not to muddy the waters and so that they can be appropriately addressed by the region. Thank you, D Darlene A. Thompson CAP Administrator N-CAP/Department of Education P.O. Box 1000, Station 910 Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0 Phone: (867) 975-5631 Fax: (867) 975-5610 dthompson@gov.nu.ca ________________________________________ From: na-discuss-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [na-discuss-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] on behalf of Eric Brunner-Williams [ebw@abenaki.wabanaki.net] Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 12:13 AM To: na-discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: [NA-Discuss] The self-nomination of Eric Brunner-Williams for NARALO Chair Colleagues, I think the situation may reasonably be summarized as there exist some At-Large Structures which meet a reasonable interpretation of the 2007 MOU, and some which do not. On issues for which a vote is the means of determining the position of record of the Region there is no distinction between them. I suggest that this situation has come about by ordinary fatigue, enhanced by a correctable, but persistent error. The error has been to waste much of the time any Chair has available on tasks which do not directly contribute to the increase in vitality of existing ALSes, aka "inreach", or the number of new ALSes, aka "outreach". The practice, which began some time ago, before Garth Bruen volunteered, and before Beau Brendler volunteered, with Evan Libovitch who created this "Perq", was to use the _very_ limited travel support to send the Chair and Secretary to general meetings. The error has persisted for _years_. This practice has three consequences -- all adverse. First, the time required by ICANN travel is ten days door-to-door, for each meeting -- 30 days/year. The Chairs and Secretaries of RALOs do not need to spend a month a year reading their status reports to each other and chatting up the ALAC. Electronic mail, podcasts and phones suffice. Second, each year six additional people who actually do make informed contributions to policy could participate first hand in ICANN meetings and bring back to their At-Large Structures their experience and improved judgement. This opportunity is currently wasted on _ineffective_ Officer junkets. Third, the RALO officers could be spending one month of full-time work per year on "inreach" and "outreach", on making the RALO less ... absurdly inconsequential. This opportunity too is currently wasted on _ineffective_ Officer junkets. If elected Chair, and this constitutes self-nomination, I will use the office of regional Chair to ensure that the Chair and Secretary work only to advance Regional Organizational goals, cease the current abuse of travel support as a private right of office, and advance those who are informed and engaged in public policy issues. Eric Brunner-Williams Eugene, Oregon ------ NA-Discuss mailing list NA-Discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/na-discuss Visit the NARALO online at http://www.naralo.org ------
participants (3)
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Eric Brunner-Williams -
Thomas Lowenhaupt -
Thompson, Darlene