[Chapter-delegates] Special Invitation to Global INET 2012 - etc. etc.

[Alex Corenthin]

Dear Norbert,
+1 for the representative insurance ...

I fully share your arguments and your views on the impact of the chapters and their leaders in ISOC's visibility around the world.
Thank you to remember these points of history.
Hope that it can be taken as a valuable input for this or next global ISOC events 

Alex Corenthin
President 
ISOC Senegalese Chapter 


----- Mail original -----
De: "President ISOC-KH" <president at isoc-kh.org>
À: chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
Envoyé: Mardi 24 Janvier 2012 16:02:36
Objet: Re: [Chapter-delegates] Special Invitation to Global INET 2012 - etc. etc.


Dear Fellow Chapter Delegates, 
Dear Alejandro for having started an important discussion, and for refocusing it, 
Dear Anne for your clarifications – in addition to our regular good cooperation, 
Dear Veni for sharing the information about your special invitation to the Geneva meeting, and asking for more transparency on procedures, 
and thanks to the many others who joined in the discussion since, sharing the conviction that the Internet Society has to give more weight and role to its Chapters – the common ground on which we exist. 

Having read with growing interest the discussion as it developed, I was thinking since some time to join. 

Anne's explanation, Alejandro's response, and Veni's information let me start, and I add some elements. 

Some initial information: 

1) I am quite happy that our young, possibly future leader, who has not attended any international ISOC events, who got positive endorsements from 3 of the 5 members of our Board, was finally accepted according to ISOC procedures as a recipient of the Geneva travel fellowship. We have scheduled a number of preparatory meetings where I will try to prepare him as well as possible for the Geneva events. 

2) Looking back at “my” ISOC history since 1996 is, of course quite personal. After having started the first ISP in Cambodia in 1994, I was privileged in 1996 to receive a fellowship and to participate in INET 96 in Montreal: “The Internet Society 1996 Workshop on Network Technology for Countries in the Early Stages of Internetworking.” 

3) I did now some research on ISOC history – especially about people in our history – but I could not find a report about INET 1996 after it was finished, nor the participants' list – I think we were about 250 participants, about 50:50 anglo- and franco-phone. The 1996 program goals were the following: 

“The workshop is specifically directed toward the needs of people from developing countries who are playing or will play an important part in introducing and extending networking in their countries and regions.” 

To find original sources of the 1996 INET event and workshop was not easy – finally I found 

http://www.isoc.org/inet96/inet96/index.html 

(but in future it may be http://www.internetsociety.org/inet96/inet96/index.html ?) 

The event was announced like this: 

Since 1991, the INET conferences have become a common meeting ground for participants interested in the design, implementation, operation and use of the Internet. Global policy and economic issues, ethical concerns, and many technical issues are raised in a variety of contexts. The rapid influx of commercial and individual users on the Internet has influenced the nature of the system and broadened its utility. The importance of the Internet and its technology to all sectors of the global economy is growing as is the social impact of access to the Internet. The goal of this conference is to provide a platform that will bring together those developing and implementing Internet networks, technologies, applications and policies worldwide for infrastructure development. 

But more impressive is the detailed program plan – it is really worthwhile to open this link about a really “extraordinary event” with an impressive program: 
http://www.isoc.org/inet96/proceedings/index.htm 

My effort, to find a list of participants did not lead anywhere (if anybody can find it – please let me know). But I remember some participants from Montreal whom I met later over the years – they turned out to be leaders. Surely there are more (sorry – I mention only some I immediately remember to have met later repeatedly): 

Alex Corentin – Senegal – President of ISOC Senegal 
Mohammad Diop – Senegal, ICANN board member 
Luis German Rodriguez - Venezuela 
Mao Chakriya – Cambodia - director general of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication 
Nii Quaynor – Ghana – ISOC Postel Award 2007 
Emmanuel Tonye – Cameroon - Professor in Telecommunications and Remote Sensing, University of Yaounde 

The search for our present Chair of the ISOC Board, whom I also had first met at INET 96, was quite difficult: 

Old fashioned – and I got: 

Your search - isoc "Raúl Echeverría" site:www.isoc.org - did not match any documents. 

New (still with problems – but Google helped to solve them): 

No results found for "Raúl Echeverría" site:www.internetsociety.org. 

Results for Raúl Echeverría site:www.internetsociety.org (without quotes): 

Search Results 

Board of Trustees | Internet Society 
www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/board-trustees 

Selected By: Chapters. Raúl Echeberría. Uruguay. Term: ... Compensation Committee. Raúl Echeberría, Chair · Bob Hinden · Bert Wijnen. Elections Committee ... 

Why only “(without quotes)”? - Because the ISOC site of the Board Trustees gives his name as Echeberría, but actually it is Echeverría. 

How do, for example, these persons remember and evaluate the last 20 years of ISOC? 

When we reflect on these 20 years – what have we achieved since – looking at some of the 49 program items from INET 1996? 

Multilanguage Support - Character Sets for Internet Services - The Internet and the Mass Media - Classroom Access to the Net: Who Will Build It? - Learning Diversity and Difference: Culture on the Net - Students as Partners in the Learning Process - Communities and Networks - Multicultural and Physical Access Barriers - Internet Content: Rights and Responsibilities - Security and Cryptography Directions - Democratic Processes - Ensuring Internet Access 

What did we learn – where are we facing the same questions, but did not find new ways? And why? 

Bulgaria is still struggling to get their country code in their own script accepted by ICANN; how are the mass media and the Internet dealing with their related futures; why is classroom access in some regions of the world almost as far away as it was in 1996 - is there, or why is there no progress? How do we operate our chapters in view of difficulties for democratic processes and censorship - different from situation to situation – having now a Vice President of Public Policy? Do we want to, can we do it, in our different contexts? Where do we really work together? 

I think it is legitimate to look back, analyze, and compare, and consider whether, or not, we have a common future. 

This is my background when I consider some aspects of the present plans for Geneva. 

I am disappointed that I still do not see much of CONTENT in the program schedule for Geneva 2012. And, as Veni said: there is a lack of transparency about the procedures by which we move. I say “we” - even being only from a small, struggling Chapter. 

All my questions relate to the fact that there is a wide distance between some headquarter procedures and decisions, and the situation of – at least some – of the Chapters. 

Ted Mooney, Senior Director, Membership & Services, wrote recently: 

Because we believe this will be an extraordinary event, we wanted the registration to be: 
• Better than market for similar events 
• Reflective of the value of the event 
• Affordable by a high percentage of those who want to participate 
• An opportunity to our members and to students 

“Affordable by a high percentage of those who want to participate” - is this a joke, or are we allowed to feel offended? I would like to know more about how this percentage was calculated. We are not in walking distance from Geneva, and – to use a reference figure – a high school teacher here has a monthly salary in the range of US$ 50.- (fifty, not 500). 

I can read such a statement only as relating to an understanding what the Internet Society is: a business conglomerate? The Geneva event is “Better than market for similar events” - which “market,” and which “similar” events? 

Our colleagues Grigori Saghyan, ISOC.AM, said: 

I have same impression, that this event is designed in a way to represent young generation on INET, without "old men" presence. May be this is a right decision, in 1990-is participants were 25-40 years old, active, young, dedicated persons. Today these persons are 45-60 years old, may be not very active and creative. Young generation can give new spirit and new vision. But if there is such policy, it will be excellent to declare this policy openly. Of course, even in this case necessary to have exact program and speakers, 

Now we have a speaker and we can be thrilled – as Ted Mooney said: Professor Leonard Kleinrock will deliver the keynote address. I am looking forward to the report when our fellowship recipient will be back, because in the years since 1983, since I started to use and promote the use of e-mail, and since 1994, when I established the first connection to the Internet from Cambodia – the first ISP here - and in 1996 the ccTLD .kh which I administered it for some years, and throughout the years since, involved also with the francophone communicating community and with ICANN, I had never heard about Professor Kleinrock. My mistake. 

So far I could find out that, in his own words, he said: "Basically, what I did for my PhD research in 1961–1962 was to establish a mathematical theory of packet networks..." - as a key mathematical background on queuing theory, leading to packet switching, the basic technology behind the Internet. Twelve years later in 1977, on the basis of this mathematical background, the Internet finally started to be developed in the form of the ARPANET; and then come the names many of us know from history - Robert Kahn, Vint Cerf, Jan Postel, and many others. It will be interesting to hear how this leap from a mathematical algorithm to practice is seen now, in the struggles related to the social impact of the Internet, to keep the internet free and open in a difficult economic and political atmosphere. 

I want to close with a serious practical concern. Our accepted ISOC Travel Fellowship recipient received the following information with the paperwork: 
Insurance: 

The Internet Society is not responsible for the Travel Fellow’s personal health, safety, or belongings. 
Acquiring and paying for any insurance that you might want to conclude, including travel, health, and property insurance is the Travel Fellow’s responsibility and not the Internet Society’s responsibility. 

I understand that this is standard procedure – every chapter can send one fellowship applicant, every applicant is treated according to the same rule – all: those from north America, and from western Europe (where the majority of people are covered by their health insurance anyway when they travel to Switzerland), and those from Cambodia, and from some other countries lumped together as the LDCs – “the least developed countries” - what a nice word. Fair? Just? Why? Did those who planned this event think about it and think this is OK? - I am now investigating to find out which international insurer will provide such insurance for a Cambodian citizen. And at which cost. And then start to find somebody who might help our chapter to cover these costs. The Internet is for everyone, no? 


Norbert Klein 
President 
ISOC Cambodia Chapter 

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