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<p>+1 to Olivier on all his many considerations!</p>
<p>And I am very surprised to know that Chapter leaders should not
serve as Trustees. This does not make any sense. Chapters elect
four Trustees exactly to bring their perspectives to the Board,
and their leaders are the persons that best understand and
represent those perspectives.</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Flávio</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix"><br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
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Dear Heather,<br>
<br>
thank you for your kind message and thank you for raising the
issue of Conflict of Interest Policy with Chapters. This email is
meant to share my personal comments regarding the policy as it
currently stands and to question how this was established.<br>
<br>
First, how it was established. From your email, it appears that
this conflict of interest policy was adopted unanimously by the
Board of Trustees earlier this year - without any formal input
from the very people affected by the policy, that is the three
communities from which candidates on the Board of Trustees are
drawn. Whilst I agree that, in principle, a Conflict of Interest
policy is needed in any organisation, I wonder what was the
trigger for this sudden waking of the sleeping dragon after so
many years where the matter had not been addressed, and there did
not appear to have been cause for concern. Why were the relevant
communities not consulted?<br>
<br>
Why do I call this a sleeping dragon? Because whilst I agree with
you that the "Independent Policy View" section needs further
review, it's a bit late to involve Chapters now that the section's
already been passed by the Board. Plus, it awakens all sorts of
questions, which I'll point out below.<br>
<br>
So let's see the two main paragraphs:<br>
<br>
<i><font color="#0000ff"><span style="left: 150px; top: 846.143px;
font-size: 18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.879936);">Individuals in the board or the
leadership of organizations that operate in ISOC’s areas of
</span><span style="left: 150px; top: 866.543px; font-size:
18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.826838);">eng</span><span style="left: 175.6px;
top: 866.543px; font-size: 18.4px; font-family: sans-serif;
transform: scaleX(0.855801);">agement shall not serve as
trustees, unless the engagement is on behalf of or at the
request of </span><span style="left: 150px; top: 887.343px;
font-size: 18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.883172);">ISOC’s Board. <font color="#ff0000">Individuals
who are directly involved in the policy development
process of these </font></span><span style="left: 150px;
top: 907.743px; font-size: 18.4px; font-family: sans-serif;
transform: scaleX(0.856398);"><font color="#ff0000">organizations</font>
shall not serve as Interested Parties. These organi</span><span
style="left: 598.8px; top: 907.743px; font-size: 18.4px;
font-family: sans-serif; transform: scaleX(0.888369);">zations
include, but are not limited to, </span><span style="left:
150px; top: 928.543px; font-size: 18.4px; font-family:
sans-serif; transform: scaleX(0.907719);">ICANN (Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and the IGF
(Internet </span><span style="left: 150px; top: 948.943px;
font-size: 18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.887625);">Governance Forum).<br>
<br>
</span><span style="left: 150px; top: 990.543px; font-size:
18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.932809);">Chapters</span><span style="left: 150px;
top: 1031.74px; font-size: 18.4px; font-family: sans-serif;
transform: scaleX(0.885278);"><br>
<br>
Given ISOC’s relation with its chapters, members of the
leadership of an ISOC chapter, which </span><span
style="left: 150px; top: 1052.14px; font-size: 18.4px;
font-family: sans-serif; transform: scaleX(0.896759);">include
th</span></font></i><span style="left: 220.8px; top:
1052.14px; font-size: 18.4px; font-family: sans-serif;
transform: scaleX(0.853343);"><i><font color="#0000ff">e
chapter’s president and treasurer, shall not serve as ISOC
trustees</font></i><br>
<br>
I have a serious problem with the specific mentioning and
therefore targeting of ICANN and IGF. This is not only because I
am involved as a volunteer in these two organisations, but
because it unfairly targets the involvement of most of our
Chapter members in Internet Governance, whether at ICANN or IGF
- and an overwhelming majority of Chapter members are involved
as volunteers in these organisations. <b><br>
<br>
I would go further that their involvement in these
organisations create the very fabric that the multistakeholder
model is built on. Without this, there is no multistakeholder
model. Is this what the Internet Society wants?</b><br>
</span>
<ul>
<li><span style="left: 220.8px; top: 1052.14px; font-size:
18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.853343);">Why is there a focus on organisations
that used to be, in the past, referred to as the I-star
organisations, organisations that were viewed as friends,
but now appear to be no longer? Why were more "distant"
organisations, like ITU, or the IEEE, or ACM not given as an
example?<br>
</span></li>
<li><span style="left: 220.8px; top: 1052.14px; font-size:
18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.853343);">Why is there a mention of "individuals
who are directly involved in the policy development process
of these organisations" instead of referring to being in
their leadership? There is no difference made between being
in the leadership of an organisation and contributing
benevolently to a working group.<br>
</span></li>
<li><span style="left: 220.8px; top: 1052.14px; font-size:
18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.853343);">Why is there an ill-conceived mention of
"policy development" relating to IGF? The Internet
Governance Forum does not make any policy, it is... a
discussion forum - this sentence is embarrassing for ISOC as
it appears to point at ignorance of this basic point.<br>
</span></li>
<li><span style="left: 220.8px; top: 1052.14px; font-size:
18.4px; font-family: sans-serif; transform:
scaleX(0.853343);">If deciding to open the can of worms, why
not open it fully and also include conflict of interests of
individuals that <font color="#ff0000">work </font>for
large corporations that are directly involved in Internet
Governance - corporations that could benefit from ISOC's
"independent policy views" advocacy on a National or
International level? They get paid by these corporations -
surely that's a greater conflict of interest than the one of
volunteers?<br>
</span></li>
</ul>
<p>The Conflict of Interest policy, as it currently stands, could
prevent a lot of very competent people from taking on positions
on the ISOC Board of Trustees. This blanket ban throws the baby
out with the bath water. Worse: it is discriminatory towards a
specific type of volunteer. Is this really what ISOC wants? <br>
</p>
<p>Instead of a policy that stops people from taking office
altogether, if there is a deep concern in the ISOC Board of
Trustees that conflicts of interest are a strong reality that
needs to be addressed, perhaps is it time to:</p>
<p>1. Have a policy that allows all Board members to declare their
interests publicly, for all to see, on a publicly accessible
page, which can be updated regularly.</p>
<p>2. Have a policy that allow Board members to recuse themselves
from discussions where their other commitments pose a conflict
of Interest for this topic only. I understand that one or more
members of the Board did exactly this during the PIR
discussions.</p>
<p>3. Have a policy that allows the ISOC Board of Trustees to be
accountable to the ISOC Community, the channel for the Internet
Society to continue to excel in its Mission as listed in <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.internetsociety.org/mission/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/mission/</a>
- so the Internet Society does not risk being used as a lobbying
tool for vested interests?<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>As I said, these are my personal views. I accept that I might
be out of line, but my interest here is to safeguard the
Internet multistakeholder model and when I see a friendly
organisation wandering towards fragmenting this vulnerable
ecosystem into "us against them" amongst its friends, I cannot
keep my mouth shut.</p>
<p>Kindest regards,</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Olivier<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 04/11/2020 01:35, Heather West via
Chapter-delegates wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAPunpCY0HarEFXR5XjosPqcyEOop9LqmyODC67NonPUGm0GHvA@mail.gmail.com">
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As Chair of the Internet Society Audit Committee, I wanted to
share an update with you.<br>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <br>
As you may know, the Audit Committee reviews the Conflict
of Interest forms filed by members of the Board of
Trustees and officers of the Internet Society to ensure
that we are in compliance with our Conflict of Interest
(“CoI”) policy.<br>
<br>
The CoI policy states that members of the Board of
Trustees cannot hold a position in the policy development
process in another organization operating in the Internet
Society’s areas of engagement, and we are evaluating a
situation where this restriction may be relevant. One of
our Trustees has been appointed as a non-voting member to
the GSNO Council, the Generic Names Supporting
Organization – a policy-development body that develops and
recommends policies relating to generic top-level domains
(gTLDs) to the ICANN Board.<br>
<br>
The Internet Society has a long history of collaborating
with our diverse community from around the world, and is
committed to having vibrant and robust global engagement.
We work across countries and cultures and seek diverse
cross-organizational expertise. This makes us
stronger—sound practices and clear policies are a critical
part of that.<br>
<br>
We recognize that the expertise of our trustees is also
valued by other groups. At the same time, our community is
best served when board members are able to maintain their
independence from other organizational interests that are
in the Internet Society’s areas of engagement.<br>
<br>
While our CoI policy was adopted unanimously by the Board
of Trustees earlier this year, the Board has determined
that a section addressing a conflict under the
“Independent Policy View” section needs further review.
The Governance Committee will evaluate this section with
the goal of providing its assessment and recommendations
to the Board for further discussion. We anticipate this
work will be concluded by the time of our next Board of
Trustees meeting.<br>
<br>
Below is the link to our Conflict of Interest policy on
the Internet Society website.<span
style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></p>
<div><a href="https://www.internetsociety.org/coi-policy/"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/coi-policy/</a> <span
style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sincerely,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Heather West<br>
Audit Committee, Chair, Internet Society Board of Trustees</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">=========== Español =========== </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Como presidente del Comité de Auditoría
de Internet Society, quería compartir una actualización
con ustedes.<br>
<br>
Como saben, el Comité de Auditoría revisa los formularios
de Conflicto de Interés presentados por miembros de la
Junta Directiva y funcionarios de Internet Society para
asegurarse de que cumplimos con nuestra política de
Conflicto de Interés ("CoI").<br>
<br>
La política de CoI establece que los miembros de la Junta
Directiva no pueden ocupar un puesto en el proceso de
desarrollo de políticas en otra organización que opere en
las áreas de participación de Internet Society, y estamos
evaluando una situación en la que esta restricción puede
ser relevante. Un integrante de la Junta Directiva ha sido
designado como miembro sin derecho a voto del Consejo de
GSNO, la Organización de Apoyo para Nombres Genéricos, un
organismo de desarrollo de políticas que desarrolla
y recomienda políticas relacionadas con los dominios
genéricos de nivel superior (gTLD) a la Junta de ICANN.<br>
<br>
Internet Society tiene un largo historial de colaboración
con nuestra diversa comunidad de todo el mundo y está
comprometida a tener un compromiso global vibrante y
sólido. Trabajamos en distintos países y culturas y
buscamos diversos conocimientos especializados entre
organizaciones. Esto nos hace más fuertes: las prácticas
sólidas y las políticas claras son una parte fundamental
de eso.<br>
<br>
Reconocemos que la experiencia de los integrantes de
nuestra Junta Directiva también es valorada por otros
grupos. Al mismo tiempo, se sirve mejor a nuestra
comunidad cuando los miembros de la Junta pueden mantener
su independencia de otros intereses organizacionales que
se encuentran en las áreas de participación de Internet
Society.<br>
<br>
Si bien nuestra política de CoI fue adoptada por
unanimidad por la Junta Directiva a principios de este
año, la Junta ha determinado que una sección que aborda un
conflicto en la sección "Opinión de la política
independiente" necesita más revisión. El Comité de
Gobierno evaluará esta sección con el objetivo de
proporcionar su evaluación y recomendaciones a la Junta
para su posterior discusión. Anticipamos que este trabajo
concluirá en el momento de nuestra próxima reunión de la
Junta Directiva.<br>
<br>
A continuación se muestra el enlace a nuestra política de
Conflicto de Interés en el sitio web de Internet Society.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a
href="https://www.internetsociety.org/coi-policy/"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/coi-policy/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sinceramente,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Heather West</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Presidente, Comité de Auditoría, Junta
Directiva de Internet Society </p>
<div><br>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">=========== Français ===========</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR">En tant que président
du comité d'audit de l'Internet Society, je voudrais
vous faire part d'une mise à jour.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR"><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR">Comme vous le savez
peut-être, le comité d'audit examine les formulaires de
conflit d'intérêt remplis par les membres du conseil
d'administration et les dirigeants de l'Internet Society
afin de s'assurer que nous sommes en conformité avec
notre politique, en matière de conflit d'intérêt
("CoI").</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR"><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR">La politique en matière
de conflits d'intérêts stipule que les membres du
conseil d'administration ne peuvent pas occuper de poste
dans le processus d'élaboration des politiques d'une
autre organisation opérant dans les domaines
d'engagement de l'Internet Society, et nous évaluons
actuellement une situation dans laquelle cette
restriction pourrait s’avérer pertinente. L'un de nos
administrateurs a été nommé membre sans droit de vote du
Conseil du GSNO, soit l'Organisation de soutien des noms
génériques - un organe d'élaboration des politiques qui
élabore et recommande au conseil d'administration de
l'ICANN des politiques relatives aux domaines génériques
de premier niveau (gTLD).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR"><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR">L'Internet Society
collabore depuis longtemps avec notre communauté
diversifiée du monde entier, et s'engage à avoir un
engagement mondial dynamique et solide. Nous travaillons
à travers les pays et les cultures et recherchons une
expertise transversale diversifiée. Cela nous permet
d'avoir des pratiques plus solides - et des politiques
claires sont un élément essentiel dans cette démarche.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR"><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR">Nous reconnaissons que
l'expertise de nos administrateurs est également
appréciée par d'autres groupes. En même temps, notre
communauté est mieux servie lorsque les membres du
conseil d'administration sont capables de maintenir leur
indépendance par rapport aux intérêts d’autres
organisations qui sont dans les domaines d'engagement de
l'Internet Society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR"><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR">Bien que notre
politique de CoI ait été adoptée à l'unanimité par le
conseil d'administration au début de cette année, le
conseil a déterminé qu'une section traitant d'un conflit
dans la section "Independent Policy View" doit faire
l'objet d'un examen plus approfondi. Le comité de
gouvernance évaluera cette section dans le but de
fournir son évaluation et ses recommandations au conseil
d'administration pour une discussion plus approfondie.
Nous prévoyons que ce travail sera terminé d'ici la
prochaine réunion du conseil d'administration.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR"><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR">Vous trouverez
ci-dessous le lien vers notre politique en matière de
conflits d'intérêts sur le site web de l'Internet
Society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a
href="https://www.internetsociety.org/coi-policy/"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/coi-policy/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="FR">Sincèrement,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="FR">Heather West</span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="FR">Président du comité d'audit, du conseil
d'administration de l'Internet Society</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<br>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login" moz-do-not-send="true">https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login</a>
View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login">https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login</a>
View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/">https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Prof. Flávio Rech Wagner
President Internet Society Brazil
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:flavio@inf.ufrgs.br">flavio@inf.ufrgs.br</a>, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:info@isoc.org.br">info@isoc.org.br</a> Fone: +55-51-3308 9494
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.isoc.org.br">https://www.isoc.org.br</a> Twitter: @ISOCBrasil
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.facebook.com/isocbrasil/">https://www.facebook.com/isocbrasil/</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/isocbrasil">https://www.youtube.com/isocbrasil</a>
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