[NA-Discuss] Evan's Closing speech

[Michael Maranda]

Thanks for posting this - I've been following the Summit mainly via email
reports, wishing I could be there.  I see great things coming out of the
event - from the At-Large Summit statement to Evan's speech here
reproduced.  Thank you all!

MM

On Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 1:20 PM, Glenn McKnight <mcknight.glenn at gmail.com>wrote:

> >EVAN LEIBOVITCH:   The counter is already going before I even get up.
>  Maybe that's a sign.
>
>  (No translation to scribes) it's a pleasure to be here with you at
> the At-Large Summit -- the planning and the staging of the first-ever
> global gathering of ICANN's public constituency.
>
>  Soon after my ALS was first recruited to join ICANN At Large about
> two years ago, I was exposed to a diversity of opinions and emotions
> about ICANN, most of which I was not prepared for.
>
>  It was curiosity and confusion, augmented by an unusual amount of
> cynicism.
>
>  My first meeting, in San Juan, was what I considered to be the birth
> place of the current At Large, for it was the first time that every
> region had formalized and we finally had an ALAC that was mainly
> elected by and representative of the community.
>
>  Between then and now, I've come to see that the vision that created
> the at-large infrastructure was, complex though it may be, it is the
> best long-term path to providing ICANN with high-quality, diverse, and
> genuine direction.
>
>  In the six days that have just passed, I've come to see that that
> vision is in the right hands.
>
>  In the time I've been involved, the ALAC has evolved dramatically.
> As an example, two years ago, I would have told you that AGP actually
> means a graphics card that you would put in a PC.
>
>  In the time since then, I've come to know it as something also called
> the add-grace period, a seemingly benign tool with few equivalents in
> the normal world of business.
>
>  At Large had witnessed that the AGP had become the core of a
> particularly nasty form of name space abuse, domain tasting.  It was
> At Large that identified the tasting as contrary to the public
> interest, initiated processes to study it, and eventually drove
> measures that would ultimately lead to a dramatic reduction in its
> use.
>
>  Since then, At Large and its representative ALAC have become
> increasingly involved in other areas of ICANN policy.
>
>  We have become a primary supporter of Internationalized Domain Names
> as well as IPv6.
>
>  We've asserted ourselves into the domain on WHOIS data accuracy and
> also into gTLD creation.
>
>  We continue to study the various parts of the RAA, to identify areas
> of domain abuse, of registrant abuse, and especially of end user
> abuse.
>
>  We're holding ICANN increasingly accountable as to its transparency,
> its enforcement activities, and its respect for the rights and needs
> of registrants and the billions of Internet users worldwide.
>
>  The level of maturity, enthusiasm, and talent evident within At Large
> has clearly been evident in the events being held this past week in
> this, our first-ever summit.
>
>  In workshops and thematic sessions, we've not only identified
> challenges, but we've also proposed concrete solutions that will
> ultimately benefit both ICANN and the public it is charged to serve.
>
>  Yesterday's workshop on e-crime, another summit initiative, attracted
> interest throughout the ICANN community.
>
>  The vision that's inspired these events was a bold one, and it was
> not without risk.  And it has also not been easy to achieve.  It is a
> continuing challenge to engage the interest of organizations and
> individuals who do not have a primary interest in Internet governance.
>
>  It is an even greater challenge to be informed in languages other than
> English.
>
>  And sometimes we still find within ICANN that merely having the
> ability to speak does not guarantee that we get listened to.
>
>  [ Applause ]
>
>  >>EVAN LEIBOVITCH:   These changes can be addressed, and they are
> being addressed.
>
>  The board governance report on the ALAC review has demonstrated
> admirable understanding of the vision that created At Large.
>
>  The quality of At Large's policy input has, I believe, naturally led
> to a heightened awareness of and respect for the voice of what is
> ICANN's largest constituency.
>
>  Some of our largest challenges, though, come from within.  We need to
> be more active, more assertive, more educated, and more engaged, both
> within ICANN and within the greater community of Internet users.  We
> cannot be intimidated by those who care not for the public good, but
> we must also be constructive and progressive in our approach.
>
>  Some healthy cynicism is always useful.  But we cannot and must not
> allow ourselves to be obsessed by it.
>
>  We are well on our way.  The summit has been a critical milestone in
> the maturation of At Large.
>
>  I hope many of you have had a chance to participate in our many
> events, and I invite everyone here to go to the Web site that I hope
> will be on the slide that comes up soon.
>
>  There we go.
>
>  Anyway, I encourage you to go to that Web site to read about the
> constructive and realistic policy work that came out of this week's
> events.
>
>  In it, you'll find creative and positive approaches to WHOIS, how
> ICANN can operate better in a global environment.  And you'll also
> find that, in some ways, we are amongst the strongest advocates of new
> gTLDs.
>
>  To me, the summit is an end of one phase of At Large and the
> beginning of another.  In its success, we see a very clear point of
> transition.  From here, that we've demonstrated that we have not only
> turned vision into mission, but also mission into action.
>
>  On behalf of the 88 at-large structures attending here and the many
> more still operating at home, I want to thank ICANN staff -- and you
> all know who you are and where you are here --
>
>  Your help has been invaluable in helping to create an event that has
> been a complete success by whatever metric you think of.
>
>  I want to give a special acknowledgment to summit chair Wolf Ludwig
> and his extraordinary talent at herding cats.
>
>  [ Applause ]
>
>  >>EVAN LEIBOVITCH:   And I'm delighted to see Nick Ashton-Hart in
> good enough shape to spend some time with us and finally see the
> fruits of our collective sweat.
>
>  [ Applause ]
>
>  >>EVAN LEIBOVITCH:   Stand up.  Come on.
>
>  [ Applause ]
>
>  >>EVAN LEIBOVITCH:   As we prepare to close the summit today, I hope
> my fellow members of At Large leave here with a strong, clear, and
> simple message:  This is our ICANN.
>
>  What happens next depends on ICANN's holding true to its vision and
> our communities' determination to fulfill it.
>
>  Now, let's go make it happen.
>
>  Thank you.
>
>  [ Applause ]
>
>
>
> --
> Glenn McKnight
> 868 Corbetts Road
> Oshawa, Ontario L1K 2E1
> 905-434-6655
> mcknight.glenn at gmail.com
> skype  gmcknight
> http://newsocialmedia.wordpress.com
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