15 Feb. ICANN Nairobi Update: Mtg is Still On

[Alex Gakuru]

Historically, will below IPC gathering mark the first major ICANN
parallel meeting?

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"The Intellectual Property Constituency was one of the first to raise
security concerns, and it is moving forward with plans to hold a
separate meeting in New York City."

http://domainnamewire.com/2010/02/16/go-daddy-neustar-ipc-say-no-to-nairobi-meeting/
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On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 6:07 AM, Robin Gross <robin at ipjustice.org> wrote:
> Today's update from ICANN:
> ICANN Nairobi is still on.  ICANN is beefing-up security in Nairobi and
> remote participation for non-travelers.
> See:
>   http://nbo.icann.org/meetings/security-information-15feb10-en.htm
> ICANN #37 Nairobi -- Only for the Intrepid!     ;-)
>
> 15 February Nairobi Update
> Date:
> Monday, 15 February 2010
> ICANN's internal team – including staff from the US (California, Texas, New
> Jersey), France and Niger - continued to meet daily over the weekend to
> discuss and share information regarding the ICANN Nairobi meeting.
> Today and last night, we had direct contact with the local Kenyan members of
> the security planning committee, and there has been an enhanced, on the
> ground commitment for additional security and this group will work closely
> with the on-site security experts that ICANN has under contract. ICANN's
> security team thinks these are strong, positive steps.
> The Kenya National Intelligence Service (NISIS) has increased its efforts to
> mitigate potential terrorist threats.   The Kenya Anti-terrorist Police Unit
> (ATPU) is currently actively involved in the security planning process and
> has already started to put detection, as well as other preventative measures
> in place. The Kenya Diplomatic Protection unit has also been activated to
> assist with the security of the conference. Additionally, covert and overt
> security forces are being deployed at the KICC, hotels and venues where
> official functions will be held. Additionally, the airport, and road from
> the airport to hotels. will be actively monitored and patrolled by security
> forces.
> It is important for delegates to understand that ensuring a safe conference
> is a very important to the Government of Kenya.    The country relies
> heavily on tourism and strives to be a preferred destination for
> international conferences.
> We are all seeing community members starting to react to the situation in
> Kenya, as they perceive it. There have been posted letters from Neustar and
> GoDaddy, among others, indicating that they will not attend or send
> representatives. Also, the Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) has
> decided to hold an alternative meeting in New York.
> Others in the community are re-confirming their attendance in Nairobi. In a
> note from ccNSO Chair, Chris Disspain, to be posted today, he has confirmed
> that the ccNSO is expecting to participate in the Nairobi meeting, as
> planned, with all or most all counselors in attendance. Less formally, I've
> heard that many in At Large have expressed the same view.
> So, where does this leave all of us?
> The first order of business, is that ICANN will continue to monitor the
> status in Nairobi, and will share all relevant information with the
> community, in accordance with our goal to be fully transparent . I will
> ensure we do that on an ongoing basis.
> We are left with a situation where some people would choose to attend the
> meeting, and some choose not to attend, based on exactly the same
> information. One answer will clearly not work for all.
> One alternative being discussed is how to better support a meeting where
> remote participation is going to be a more significant part of the meeting.
> What does enhanced remote participation look like in the context of an ICANN
> meeting? Remote participation is a challenge when a minority of participants
> are using that mode; if many were, how effective could that be? How would
> this work with scheduling, time zones, and the expected meeting formats
> we've used? Any comments you have on this would be greatly appreciated. Look
> for a posting on the ICANN blog, where you can respond directly.
>
>
> IP JUSTICE
> Robin Gross, Executive Director
> 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
> p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
> w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin at ipjustice.org
>
>
>