[ncdnhc-discuss] CYBER-FED No.15: The User Voice in Internet Governance -- ICANNatlarge.org

Sat Oct 26 22:31:37 CEST 2002

ANother view is that icannatlarge.org is completely screwed up right now, 
largely because Hans as acting chair just eliminated any structure to 
decision making and just started announcing all sorts of policies on his 
own, without panel approval, and there does not exist anything remotely 
close to best or even ok practices in terms of how the group makes 
decisions, and this has lead quickly to several panel members just 
announcing their own policies and decision making processes, none of which 
are approved by the group in any formal way.   All of this could be fixed, I 
guess, if one wanted to.  But right now it is a mystery how decisions are 
made in the group.

jamie

Hans Klein wrote:
>                      Please forward
> 
>  ******************************************************************
>      Cyber-Federalist No. 15         25 October 2002
> 
>      THE USER VOICE IN INTERNET GOVERNANCE --
>                                ICANNatlarge.org
> 
> 
>        Civil Society Democracy Project (CivSoc)
>  Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
>                     http://www.civsoc.org
> 
>                  The Internet Democracy Project
>             http://www.internetdemocracyproject.org/
>  ******************************************************************
> 
> 
> The User Voice in Internet Governance -- ICANNatlarge.org
> 
> ICANN has been a bold experiment in many areas, not least of which is 
> giving users a role in Internet policy-making.  However, user 
> representation on ICANN's board has been vigorously contested, and 
> ICANN's current board seems likely to eliminate it.  Nonetheless, even 
> if users are excluded from ICANN, their collective voice will persist.
> 
> Today, the collective voice of the user in ICANN exists in the 
> organization named ICANNatlarge.org.  ICANNatlarge.org 
> (http://www.ICANNatlarge.org) is a mass membership organization founded 
> in early 2002 to unite users in Internet governance, most notably in 
> ICANN.  With over 1000 members, a web site and mailing lists, and an 
> elected governing panel, ICANNatlarge.org provides a framework for 
> continued user participation in policy making.
> 
> The creation of an institutional framework for users is important.  
> ICANNatlarge.org demonstrates that a global user community really 
> exists, and it gives that community a vehicle by which to express its 
> views and its interests.  It facilitates the difficult tasks of creating 
> a general forum, aggregating interests for users from around the world, 
> and developing a collective voice.  With members from over 72 countries, 
> the organization possesses a legitimacy that a closed, top-down 
> organization cannot.  It is global, participatory, and transparent.
> 
> Shanghai
> =======
> At the ICANN meeting in Shanghai, ICANNatlarge.org has organized a users 
> forum.  This event will be a focal point for users, civil society 
> groups, At Large Directors (before their positions are eliminated), and 
> other stakeholders to meet and to coordinate their activities around the 
> board meeting.
> 
> At this meeting ICANNatlarge.org will not offer any statements on behalf 
> of all users.  That seems an unlikely role for such an inclusive 
> organization that hosts such a diversity of views.  Rather, 
> ICANNatlarge.org will serve as a forum within which groups can 
> articulate their own views.  The organization's role may be more to 
> facilitate than to lead.
> 
> Three Voices of Users
> ==================
> Over the past years three types of organizations have emerged to speak 
> for users in ICANN.  The first is the individual NGO.  NGOs (including 
> university-based researchers) are able to offer strongly-worded analysis 
> and recommendations in ICANN.  With a basis in a few experts and without 
> the need to gain approval from a large membership, NGOs can engage in 
> decisive action.
> 
> The second type of organization claiming to speak for users is a 
> top-down entity, much like a company union.  As ICANN eliminates user 
> representation from its board, it is likely to create a compliant user 
> organization.  The board will soon decide whether to create an "At Large 
> Advisory Committee" (ALAC) to replace the nine At Large Directors.  Much 
> like a company union, the ALAC will represent those user views that are 
> acceptable to the board.
> 
> The third type of organization is ICANNatlarge.org.  It is open and 
> inclusive, but unlike the company union model it will not conform to 
> externally-imposed parameters.  Although more likely to serve as a forum 
> than as a united voice, it can facilitate the process whereby users work 
> out a collective voice.
> 
> Culmination of Effort
> ================
> ICANNatlarge.org is the latest step in a series of efforts.  The first 
> effort to create a united users voice was at ICANN's 2000 meeting in 
> Yokohama, where user representatives launched the Civil Society Internet 
> Forum (www.CSIF.net).  The CSIF played an important role in publicizing 
> a collective "Civil Society Platform" for the 2000 elections.  Nearly 
> all elected At Large Directors in year 2000 supported that platform.  
> However, the initial enthusiasm of the organizers led them to diffuse 
> their energies to all global issues.  As its focus expanded to issues 
> like privacy law in various countries, its attention to ICANN declined.
> 
> A second attempt at a users organization was ICANNmembers.org, which was 
> led by the Interim Coordinating Committee (ICC).  That organization made 
> its appearance at the ICANN Annual Meeting in Marina del Rey in October 
> 2000.  The ICC brought together many of the leading candidates from the 
> At Large elections.  However, it lost momentum as many of its members 
> dedicated their energies to the NGO and Academic Internet Study (NAIS).
> 
> A third attempt to create a user voice in 2002 was more along the lines 
> of a company union.  Some participants of the ICANN-commissioned At 
> Large Study Committee (ALSC, led by Sweden's Karl Bildt) attempted to 
> launch a new user organization called "ICANNatlarge.com."  This top-down 
> effort failed to assemble a compliant membership, and eventually the 
> founders left to start a new effort.  ICANNatlarge.com evolved into 
> today's ICANNatlarge.org.
> 
> ICANNatlarge.org is an authentic bottom-up organization.  It is still 
> solidifying its internal organization and finalizing a mission statement 
> and bylaws.  It is also improving its ability to make closure on 
> discussions and to reach collective decisions.  At Shanghai it is 
> proving its ability to serve a vital purpose: to host a general users 
> forum.  It makes the voice of the user a reality.
> 
> [Note: the author currently serves as "Acting Chair" of 
> ICANNatlarge.org. However, the views expressed here are solely his own.]
> 
> ICANNatlarge.org can also be accessed via http://www.icannatlarge.com/
> 
> 
> =========================================================
> 
> CYBER-FEDERALIST is a series of analyses and commentaries
> on Internet governance and ICANN produced by the
> Civil Society Democracy Project (CivSoc) of
> Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR).
> See:
>     http://www.cyber-federalist.org (archive)
>     http://www.civsoc.org
>     http://www.cpsr.org
> 
> The author of the CYBER-FEDERALIST is Hans Klein.
> 
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-- 
------
James Love, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, mailto:love at cptech.org
voice: 1.202.387.8030; mobile 1.202.361.3040