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

jnoulaye at yahoo.fr jnoulaye at yahoo.fr
Wed Jan 25 00:23:33 PST 2012


Dear Norbert,
+1  for this reminder of some facts of the past of the development of the Internet. I share all the views you raised here. 
And then, in working with this platform of the Internet that unites us, we must always adjust the human balances, that other  systems struggle to implement, in order to win the challenges of the  justice and the human right  for everyone in this new field that is Internet.
The Internet system is still like a large building under construction.
It will be a great pleasure to meet you, all the other delegates, the other special ISOC guests and the ISOC staff at the INET event in Geneva, where all, we will climb the next staircase for the next 25 years.
Warm regards.
/Janvier
------------
Janvier Ngnoulaye
President, ISOC Cameroon Chapter
Yaounde - Cameroon.

--- En date de : Mar 24.1.12, President ISOC-KH <president at isoc-kh.org> a écrit :

De: President ISOC-KH <president at isoc-kh.org>
Objet: Re: [Chapter-delegates] Special Invitation to Global INET 2012 - etc. etc.
À: chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
Date: Mardi 24 janvier 2012, 17h02



  
    
    
  
  
    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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