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

Wed Jan 25 04:39:43 PST 2012

Dear Borka,

I hope that ISOC is not the place where the quest for transparency,
participation and quality is seen as romantic nostalgia.
Call it senile stubbornness: I still hope that ISOC can refrain from
being just another organization, lobbying for some excellent core
values that it doesn't practice internally - not even when having an
excellent argument like "the world is changing".

Klaus

Borka Jerman Blazic wrote on 2012-01-25 11:54:
>
> Dear Norbert and dear Claus,
>
> I can just confirm that what was written by Claus and Norbert is true.
> I also attended all INET
> conferences from 1992 onwards and the last one in Barcelona.
> The spirit was as Klaus wrote for Montreal 1996 conference and for
> that one in San Francisco
>
> "These were the days my friends........."
>
> However, the world is changing and ISOC has changed (we must admit
> and accept that) BUT
> in case of such anniversary some global and general attitudes should
> be followed in
> the spirit of the first paces of ISOC at the end of the last century
> when the academic
> Internet stop to exist.
>
> With regards,
>
> Borka
>
>
>
>
> Dne 25.1.2012 11:45, piše Klaus Birkenbihl:
>> Dear Norbert,
>>
>> wow! Thank you for this!
>>
>> I was considering to take the effort to go to INET2012 - not a big one
>> actually being based in Germany. I attended all INETs between 91 and
>> 98. As far as I remember all of them had program committees, call for
>> papers, ... A process too academic for ISOC today? At least it was
>> transparent, it had some mechanism to collect ideas and to assure quality.
>> Looking at the announcement of INET2012 I can see nothing like this.
>> All you can say today is that there might be a program. There is an
>> Agenda on a Glance available. The topics you read there are what you
>> would expect: e.g.: /The Open Internet and the Security and Privacy
>> Conundrum/ or /The Rule of Law and the Internet: Is the online world
>> different from the offline world?/ or /Collaboration: The Key
>> Ingredient for Advancing Internet Innovation/ did we discuss these
>> topics before? Not that we finished the discussion but the agenda
>> doesn't tell you why you should expect something new. But there is
>> help: /For additional details on our event, download the Global INET
>> brochure <http://www.internetsociety.org/global-inet-brochure-pdf>/.
>> Hm, an Internet organization that provides the meat in print? Well, if
>> you are not interested in some excellent - and probably expensive -
>> artwork: no need to download since it only replicates what is on the
>> Web pages.
>>
>> Did you notice that the early registration closed by Jan 20^th ? And
>> still wrt the program we are supposed to buy a pig in a poke.
>>
>> Admitted: the conference program is not everything. But the way it is
>> composed tells a lot about the spirit of the event. /Father knows
>> best/ vs a /transparent process/, /marketing bubbles/ vs. /listen to
>> your prospective audience/, /wheeling and dealing/ vs. /participation/.
>> Veni generously started this thread with another example for
>> transparency within ISOC.
>>
>> More often than never I hear members complain about ISOC
>> communications: too much sales not enough content. I wonder if the way
>> INET2012 is organized can reduce these concerns.
>>
>> Klaus
>>
>> PS.: wrt INET96 2 things are burned into my memory: the vibrating
>> Montreal Jazz festival with musicians all over the city (seriously
>> competing with the excellent conference program) and a chat with
>> Norbert on his work that time in Cambodia. Maybe I should check the
>> Geneva events calendar for April 22+ to make-up my mind wrt INET2012.
>>
>> President ISOC-KH wrote on 2012-01-24 17:02:
>>> 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
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Chapter-delegates mailing list
>>> Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
>>> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/chapter-delegates
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Klaus Birkenbihl
>>> Internet Society German Chapter e.V. (ISOC.DE)
>>> http://www.isoc.de/
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Chapter-delegates mailing list
>>> Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
>>> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/chapter-delegates
>

-- 
Klaus Birkenbihl
Internet Society German Chapter e.V. (ISOC.DE)
http://www.isoc.de/

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