NCUC & NCSG diversity & participation

[William Drake]

Hi Adam,

On Aug 6, 2009, at 12:16 PM, Adam Peake wrote:

> Bill, I know the NCUC membership has been growing, both
> organizations and individuals.  But I got the impression ICANN was
> hoping (expecting) participation from groups representing new non-
> commercial players, and also larger national and international
> representative organizations. I think the commercial side of the
> user house was expecting this too, at least that's how I read some
> of the emails.

Right, this is the claim. We've added "new" noncommercial players but
apparently not the "right" ones.

I tend to believe that any org WE add would be a "wrong" one.  By
virtue of them agreeing to work with NCUC, they'd be tainted,
suspect.  But if the same groups were to join the NCSG without having
been in contact with NCUC, probably they'd be ok.  Yet we're
castigated for not reaching out enough...and around and around the
Catch-22 we go...

>
> Example in the library space, ALA has been a member for many years,
> but there are hundreds of similar organizations around the world,
> and then there's IFLA <http://www.ifla.org/>

Would be great, sure
>
> There's been a lot of talk about consumer organizations: most
> countries have a national consumer organization, or many industry/
> sector related groups, and there are regional and international
> bodies (Consumers International, Jeremy Malcolm now works for).
> These organizations are being encouraged to form a constituency in
> their own right, but that shouldn't stop them transitioning from the
> NCUC, or NCUC trying to help that constituency to form.

Well, we thought we going to have Consumers Union but they decided to
drop out out of Internet policy.  CI would be good, sure.  But here's
the problem:
>
> Very difficult to sell ICANN to these types of organization, I don't
> see the board being able to do a good job of this without help, and
> the NCUC could do well by offering to help.  It'll take outreach and
> money.

It is indeed a hard sell, and NCUC doesn't have ALAC'S budget and
staff support to woo them.  If ICANN is serious about this they'll
need to establish some mechanism.  In the meanwhile, it's up to us to
recruit sans support, and they don't value the groups we've recruited,
and so....

Bill