SPAM-LOW: Constituencies, old and new

[Alex Gakuru]

Sometimes I can't help but wonder if ICANN inc. is any more than a venture
capitalist mindset outfit, interested largely on its own bottom-line and the
continued health and strengthening of financial well-being of its commercial
stakeholders, with "global public interest" tag/label conveniently used as a
PR shop front? Engages in ritual ITU bashing since that is its only major
threat to the status-quo? Always guaranteed to succeed as "a better option"
since *all* governments authority are feared, globally. I ask, would it not
be useful to also pursue Civil Society participation at ITU also.
Non-Commercials having two  options is better that only one. Someone one
told me that when arguing from a terribly weakened position, it often helps
to consider, "an enemy of your enemy is your friend." just thinking out
aloud here...

On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 7:35 AM, Norbert Klein <nhklein at gmx.net> wrote:

>  For a long time I was watching and waiting: all the questions and
> arguments against splitting NCSG had been raised properly – why should I add
> my voice? But all this did not seem to lead to any substantial response from
> those proposing the creation of NPOC. When I say “substantial” I mean: in
> direct response to specific, direct questions.
>
> Thanks to Milton for summing up the concerns raised, looking back on a
> history (I have been involved and representing an NGO in Cambodia among the
> non-commercials of ICANN since 1999) which is difficult enough to understand
> – like the fact to which Milton points here; I do not believe in
> re-inventing the wheel, so I repeat what he wrote:
>
> "Note that ICANN Inc. is currently paralyzing new constituency formation
> in NCSG because it won’t approve a charter that was approved overwhelmingly
> by its noncommercial participants. Note how it uses the alleged lack of
> widespread participation in NCUC to manipulate our representation in GNSO,
> but ignores a far less diverse showing in the CSG."
>
> Or, as Avri said on NPOC:
>
> "- does it have a specific non commercial focus on some aspect of ICANN
> issues
> - does it avoid overlap with existing constituencies
> - is it international in scope"
>
> I will take up another point which Bill Drake had raised some time ago –
> again, I have not seen any effort to respond to that (if there was a
> response to the point, and if I missed it – apologies. Please send it again.
> Here, we sometimes miss some mail.
>
> Here – that is in Cambodia.
>
> Bill had asked:
>
> "I will simply reiterate what I've been asking for some time
> now without ever getting a response.  If their proposed
> members are mostly humanitarian and service provisioning
> orgs, what would be the problem with call it the Humanitarian
> and Service Provider Organization Constituency, or something
> similar?  What's wrong with a title that accurately described
> the membership and focus, rather than one that attempts to
> colonize the broad rubric applicable to all NCSG members
> exclusively for a subset thereof?
> "
> Does anybody really think – I mean also including people on the ICANN
> board – that there is a genuine interest among a substantial number of
> non-commercial organizations, in the different geographical regions of
> ICANN, who have a track record of working together for some time, so
> that they now want to have their common not-for-profit cause
> (representing commercial entities) formalized in an ICANN related
> platform in the NPOC structure?
> But there are many non-commercials and individuals, concerned with
> and struggling to get their voices heard - corporately and operationally -
> in the field of Internet development, regulations, and use, to strengthen
> the stability and security of the Internet (the ICANN raison d'etre) in a
> context where we face quite some other kinds of problems, related, for
> example, to the freedom of expression on which the member
> governments of the UN have agreed – but which are fragile and
> under threat in a number of these same countries in our, and in
> some other regions of the world.
>
>
> Norbert Klein
> Open Institute
> Cambodia
>
>


-- 
regards,

Alex Gakuru
http://www.mwenyeji.com
Hosting, surprise yourself!
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