[NCUC-EC] Out of contact

[William Drake]

Hi Norbert

Sorry for the slow response but I've been traveling and otherwise utterly jammed up with Durban preparations and other stuff so this slipped off my radar.

I fully understand your constraints and much appreciate your years of work in NCUC.  But I guess taking on this particular role proved to be ill-timed for you, and at this point I'm sort of swamped with NCUC work and really do need some help, beginning with Durban.  So ok, your resignation is reluctantly accepted.

Alas, our Bylaws need rewriting, which is why I'd like to get a team together in the Autumn to fix them in advance of the next election.  (I've been in consultation with staff to make sure whatever we do fits with the NCSG charter, the GNSO operating procedures, the ICANN bylaws, etc etc.)   They just don't comport with how NCUC has long operated in key respects;  this isn't unusual for a network that runs entirely on volunteer labor, but we should obviously strive to avoid divergences as much as possible (FWIW we're dealing with the same issue in my other ICANN involvement, the EURALO in At Large, in which I was just reelected for a sixth year on the Board at the Lisbon EuroDIG meeting).   Anyway,

VII.  Leaving Office

A.            An elected representative of the Executive Committee or Policy Committee may submit an email or notice of resignation to the Chair whenever circumstances call for such an action.
B.            In the event of resignation of the Chair, the Executive Committee shall within two weeks elect one of its members to serve as interim Chair. If the remaining term of the resigning Chair is greater than six (6) months, a new election shall be organized.
C.            An elected representative of the Executive Committee is deemed to resign his/her position when the said officer fails to vote in time in four (4) consecutive EC votes;
D.            An elected GNSO Council Representative is deemed to resign his/her position when the said representative does not attend and fails to proxy his/her vote to the other Council for three (3) consecutive meetings (in person or by phone)
E.            When EC members or Council Representatives are deemed to resign due to nonparticipation as per sections C and D above, the Chair may appoint a temporary replacement provided that NCSG regional geographic diversity requirements are maintained. If the remaining term of the resigning EC representative(s) is greater than six (6) months, a new election shall be organized. 

So under A I accept your resignation.   E doesn't precisely fit the situation since we typically don't 'vote' in the EC, but as you've generally not participated in our conversations and rough consensus decision making either I guess we can say it applies.  So with the next election less than six months away, an interim replacement for the Asia slot on the EC will be named.  I have an excellent candidate in mind, but would welcome other suggestions if anyone would like to be in touch in the next day or two.  We need to act quickly, there's quite a lot to do in the two weeks before Durban….

Thanks,

Bill

On Jun 18, 2013, at 6:16 PM, Norbert Klein <nhklein at gmx.net> wrote:

> Dear Bill,
> 
> thanks for your mail, and for laying out the different possibilities, leaving it for me to respond.
> 
> I have considered the options - while having discussions with several ISPs, . I can now respond, as I am again in Phnom Penh for a few days.
> 
> Given the situation, I do not want to be a delaying factor in finding solutions - so far without success, not giving much hope. 
> 
> I am not sure if we have any formal procedures I have to follow, but if this is enough, please proceed:
> 
> Being severely affected by the Digital Divide in the place where I live now, I feel it is my responsibility to resign, with regrets, from the position of an ExCom member - please initiate whichever procedures apply to fill this position.
> 
> I will remain, of course, a representative of the Open Institute of Cambodia, for the time being. 
> 
> I wish our fellowship clarity, a growing spirit of cooperation which does not preclude to have controversial discussion when necessary, and strength in the present ICANN environment. I do not hide that I am often very disappointed to see that what was once a clear basis for our work - transparent bottom-up processes in the context of a multi-stakeholder environment - has to be defended and fought for time and again.
> 
> With my best wishes - I will stay in communication, as far as my circumstances allow,
> 
> Norbert Klein
> Phnom Penh
> Cambodia
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> On 6/9/2013 5:23 PM, William Drake wrote:
>> Hi Norbert
>> 
>> Thanks for the information, I was indeed sort of wondering what's up.  I can certainly imagine that rural Cambodia is not the best location bandwidth-wise from which to deal with the all the work-related Exec. Comm. mail.
>> 
>> As to what if anything to do, it's up to you.  It is certainly true that we have a bunch of labor-intensive initiatives underway concerning organizational capacity building that really need more active hands contributing and sharing the load.  If you think you would be able to help with these going forward, great.  If you think you won't be, then we can either leave things as they are until the next election in December, or we could appoint a new Asia 'representative' to the EC as an interim until then.  Your call entirely…
>> 
>> Best,
>> 
>> Bill
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Jun 9, 2013, at 3:45 AM, Norbert Klein <nhklein at gmx.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> Dear Friends on these Lists,
>>> 
>>> today, I would like to explain why I have been silent for so many weeks: At the beginning of March 2013, I moved from Phnom Penh to Kep - about 4 to 5 hours by bus south of Phnom Penh. I do not live in the city of Kep, but about half an hour away by a rural motorcycle-taxi.
>>> 
>>> What I had not checked before moving there was wireless Internet connection – believing the claim of a dozen Internet service providers that they cover the whole country. Now, the "Father of the Internet in Cambodia" (as I am sometimes called in the local newspapers) is again suffering from the "digital divide," which I had tried to close when I started the first Internet provider system in Cambodia in 1994.
>>> 
>>> I am in negotiations with several ISPs in the region, trying to find out if anything could be done to overcome this isolation. So far, there is not yet much hope, because they would add coverage only if they could expect several hundred new user in that area - and that is completely beyond any realistic projection.
>>> 
>>> Though I still hope to get Internet access again in the not too distant future, or have access by traveling regularly to places covered, I wanted to share this. Also, as a member of the Executive Committee, I am not living up to my expected obligations (and I am aware of it) - so I would like to ask for a frank discussion whether and when and how I should be replaced.
>>> 
>>> At present, I am in Phnom Penh for a few days, having Internet access, and I am struggling to wade through several thousand e-mail headers.
>>> 
>>> Greetings to all - please remember that the digital divide continues to exists, in spite of all the discussions about net neutrality and universal broadband access etc. etc.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Norbert Klein
>>> 
>>> All new:
>>> 
>>> Tel: +855 - 88 9513015
>>> P. O. Box 9829 
>>> Kep
>>> Cambodia
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 

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