[NA-Discuss] Events of Interest - Canada & USA

[Robert Guerra]

In terms of events of interest to NA-RALO, let me also suggest the
FALL CIRA meeting. If anything, it will give Canadians and americans
we might be able to get to come - an opportunity to see how the
canadian specific ccTLD organization works . There is usually a  -
large - involvement of users.

At least - take it as a suggestion. what do others think?

Robert



On Fri, May 30, 2008 at 2:01 PM, Evan Leibovitch <evan at telly.org> wrote:
> Robert Guerra wrote:
>> NTEN and CES are two completely different conferences.
> Exactly right. We don't want to be at multiple shows that talk to the
> same audiences. That would be a waste of resources.
>
> We don't want to exclusively do outreach to conventional NGOs, nor do we
> want to exclude them. People involved in computer user groups, for
> instance, are far more likely to attend a consumer show than an NGO
> conference. We want to introduce policy making to people who have never
> thought about it before.
>
>> NTEN  being far more ngo and user centric, while CES is focused on new consumer electronics products being launched.
>>
> I guess that depends on what you consider "users". Both have their own
> -- extremely different -- user focuses. In your own description you
> noted the consumer attraction. Isn't the consumer interest the core of
> At-Large?
>
> That's my point. Get to NGOs. Get to the general public. Do both.
>
> I am quite tired of -- and find myself repeatedly pushing back against
> -- a culture within ALAC that actually fears the general public. It is
> our mission to go far beyond the realm of orgs that are already into
> policy making. If we limit ourselves to NGOs we are not doing full
> outreach. It is a must for us to get out of our own comfort zones and
> talk to people we would not normally talk to.
>
> Having said that, I'm not for a moment saying to ignore the NGO
> community. In fact, I'm suggesting two NGO events and one that is
> consumer-oriented. In order to get maximum exposure I am suggesting the
> comferences of each type which attract the most attendees.
>
> CES is useful simply because of the sheer volume of technically-aware
> people it attracts. N-TEN has the attraction of attracting the
> technology side of orgs whose focus is not primarily on the Internet. I
> am wondering of there is a similar event in Canada; most of the
> non-profit conferences of which I'm aware are regional in scope.
>
> And enough with "strategic", already, that's merely become a safe
> euphamism for "elitist". Let's just get on the ground and meet people,
> as many as we can and with as great a diversity as possible, without
> constantly making pre-judgement on who are the "right" people to have
> around. A basic aptitiude for computers and interest in the Internet is
> required -- without that, explaining ICANN would be near impossible --
> but beyond that there should be no limits.
>
> THAT is outreach. For At-Large to work we need to get out of the ivory
> tower.
>
> - Evan
>
>