[At-Large] [NA-Discuss] Letter to the Board

[admin at isoc.sd]

Robert,

I was interested as an internet user and professional from the region to
join you and others for a dinner to meet Gamal "or Gemy is his nickname,
whom is not the editor in chief of Al Distor Egyptian newspaper, he is the
webmaster", i was interested to hear from him the problems of Egyptian
bloggers and status of internet in Egypt but i did not hear anything
related to that, this evening did not encourage me to participate in the
video show beside another having another commitment at the same time.

as i have expressed my opinion in an earlier email i don't think the ICANN
meeting is the right fora for such discussions, am against web filtering
and i support freedom of expression, but i guess we might lose track is
the main focus to the internet status in Egypt was political, i have asked
Gemy that night to ask his fellow bloggers to attend ICANN meeting to
participate, learn and engage .

I hope this incident dose not divert our attention from the main point
which enhancing participation in ICANN meetings .

Regards,
Mohamed EL Bashir



>
> 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 at freedomhouse.org
>
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> <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
> --
>
>
>
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