[Chapter-delegates] Announcement about the dissolution of ISOC-KH

[Md. Abdul Awal]

It's really unexpected ending up a chapter this way. We should work
together to come out of issues. I wish the Cambodian friends will work to
fix those issues and will rejuvenate it soon.

BR//Awal
ISOC BD Dhaka Chapter


On Thu, Nov 7, 2013 at 11:28 AM, Janvier Ngnoulaye
<j.ngnoulaye at afrinic.net>wrote:

>  What a bad news !!!
> History will record that the current generation in Cambodia has left die
> this Chapter, and published  its death certificate.
> I'm still hoping that another new generation will come out from  the
> Internet community of Cambodia to resurrect that ISOC Chapter.
> Warm regards,
> /Janvier
> ISOC Cameroon Chapter
>
>
>
>  On 11/03/13 21:26, Chantra Be wrote:
>
>  *Dear All,*
>
> *On 26 October 2013, a meeting was held according to Article XII of the
> Bylaws of the Cambodian Chapter of the Internet Society:*
>
> *Article XII. - Dissolution of the Chapter*
>
> 1.  Dissolution of this Chapter by consent of the members shall consist of
> unanimous agreement of all its officers together with a majority vote at a
> meeting which has been publicized in advance to all members of the Chapter
> for the purpose of taking this vote.
>
> *2.  Should this Chapter be dissolved, its assets shall be transferred to
> ISOC International Headquarters.*
>
>
> The meeting had been called on 23 September 2013, stating:
>
>
> “It is to propose – unless real and practical alternatives are identified
> within the following month – to call a meeting of all members of our
> Chapter for the purpose of taking a vote to dissolve the ISOC Cambodia
> Chapter.”
>
>
>  *The meeting decided to dissolve the ISOC Cambodia Chapter; this
> decision becomes effective after the present Announcement will have been
> sent out:*
>
>    - - to all members of the ISOC Cambodia Chapter
>    - - to the Chapter Delegates list of ISOC
>    - - to the Chairperson of the Board of ISOC
>    - - to the ISOC Senior Director, Membership & Services (You had
>    written: “If the Cambodian Chapter wishes to rescind its ISOC chapter
>    status, a letter so stating to the APAC Chapter Development manager is
>    sufficient” - would you please forward it there – or also to other persons
>    in ISOC beyond the APAC office who might want to know.)
>
>
>  This decision was taken drawing together the conclusions of the
> correspondence with ISOC staff and ISOC Chapter leaders: we appreciate
> very much the many encouraging comments from other Chapters, and we regret
> that the expected correspondence from ISOC staff – regional and central –
> was late, or not forthcoming at all, and not proposing real and practical
> steps ahead.
>
>
>  *The following is to be more specific:*
>
> In response to the “Interim Information: Serious considerations to
> dissolve the Cambodia ISOC Chapter” which we had sent to you and to ISOC
> Chapter leaders and ISOC staff on 16 Oct 2013, we received the following
> response from Ted Mooney - ISOC Senior Director, Membership & Services – on
> 18 October 2013, under the Subject line “Communication and moving forward
> with the ISOC Cambodia Chapter.”
>
> I quote *the mail from Ted Mooney here in Italics*, to distinguish it
> from comments from other Chapter leaders and from our own side.
>
>
>
>
> *Dear Chantra Be, I've followed with great interest the responses from
> Norbert Klein on the Chapter Delegates e-list.  I want you to know that I
> and many of us at ISOC have thoroughly read your original email more than
> once and the subsequent messages from Mr. Klein. I have researched the
> claims made regarding the correspondences between ISOC Staff and the
> Cambodian Chapter and the outreach attempts made on both sides.  It is
> evident that Staff has a different interpretation of the data than has the
> Chapter.  It is, in my opinion therefore, not constructive to dwell on the
> past but to address the issues raised in your message, once again.  *
> Ted Mooney refers again to outreach attempts supposedly made by ISOC
> staff.
>
> This is not the first time such claims are made, and therefore we had
> responded:
> - We do not know “what has been communicated to” the ISOC Senior Director,
> Membership & Services in this respect – but the situation continues:
> neither the Singapore based ISOC ASIA PACIFIC staff, nor the ISOC  Chapter
> Development Manager, Asia-Pacific, nor the  ISOC Senior Director,
> Membership & Services have responded to the detailed content in the mail
> from our Secretary...
> *- But if such mail was sent and we did not receive it for whatever reason
> – it would be appropriate to share it here on the Chapters list.*
>
>    -
>  - *Instead of using this opportunity to provide copies of such mail, we
>    received again just the same baseless claims.*
>
>
> More serious is that he says *“It is, in my opinion therefore, not
> constructive to dwell on the past.”* - He had criticized our sharing of
> concerns about the non-responsiveness of ISOC staff with other Chapters and
> the Chairperson of the ISOC Board to be unprofessional. He is continuing
> to refuse to deal with serious problems. I repeat again our mail which related
> to one of the two staff at the Asia Pacific Regional Office:
>
> = = =
>
>
> *“ Dear Thip, **After having received your mail, rejecting our request to
> serious discuss the crisis for our Chapter, created as a result of the
> general situation and legal requirements in Cambodia in the meeting, and
> the refusal to ISOC staff to positively pay attention to our situation, we
> do not think it would be appropriate to cooperate, as a Chapter, with
> organizing a meeting for your 1 - 2.5 hours event, for which you would like
> to invite the Members of the Cambodia Chapter and other non-Chapter
> members. To discuss fundamental problems within ISOC, affecting the whole
> membership, only among officers, as you suggest (which has been tried in
> vain by email so far) would not be in line with our history to promote and
> practice open communication – high values regularly lifted up among the
> goals of the Internet Society world wide and in its slogan: the Internet is
> for everyone.*
>
>
>
>
>
>
> * The situation and this response has been shared and discussed with the
> Members of the Advisory Board of our Chapter and is unanimously supported.
> Norbert Klein President, ISOC-KH *    The five members of our Advisory
> Board at that time were (reflecting the stipulation of our Bylaws “The
> Advisory Board of five members, from important sections of the ISOC
> Cambodia Chapter membership”):          - the Head of the IT in Education
> Section in the Ministry of Education
>          - the Editor in Chief of a leading Cambodian daily newspaper,
> who is at the same time President of  the Club of Cambodian Journalists
>          - the President and CEO of a major broadband providing ISP
>          - a senior staff member in the office of the Council of
> Ministers of the Government of Cambodia, and
>          - one student.
>
> = = =
>
> We do not have much confidence in regional and central staff of ISOC that
> has damaged the formerly good name of ISOC in Cambodian society, and no
> word is seen from them to apologize publicly or to rectify this – but
> instead it is considered that we are unprofessional to raise such unsolved
> problems. We do not think it is acceptable that ISOC staff visits a
> country, refuses to discuss the problems identified as important by a
> Chapter, holds her own meeting to which she invited some people who said
> they did not know an hour ago that ISOC exists – and she encourages them to
> become members and run for leadership in the elections one month later. And
> senior staff of ISOC just keeps silent.
>
> The Documentation Center of Cambodia - www.dccam.org – has in every mail
> originating from them the sentence:
>
> *“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory
> of its own history.”*
>
> The Internet Society would do well to consider this also for itself, on
> its way into a better future.
>
>
>  Ted Mooney continues:
>
>
> *1. Chapter by-laws. From various correspondences and information sent to
> the Cambodia Chapter, including examples of by-laws from other chapters and
> stated flexibility to address the local needs dating back to 2011, I would
> like to re-iterate the flexibility of the Chapter By-laws template to
> assure that agreed Chapter By-laws account for all local laws and special
> circumstances with respect to jurisdiction, foreign affiliation and
> governance. *
> What he calls flexibility seems more to be a situation of confusion in
> ISOC operations. It is obvious from the correspondence on the Chapters list
> - that not all Chapters have been made to accept what is now in our Bylaws
> – but these problematic elements continue to be on the ISOC website as
> “mandatory” elements. And while he informs us that we are free to flexibly
> apply the Chapters Bylaws template, at the same time “Renewal Chapter
> Charter letters” are going out to be signed and returned by 15 December
> 2013, including “chapter minimum standards” stating that if a Chapter does
> not meet "one or more" a process of “rejuvenation” will be initiated.
>
> One Chapter chair commented: “Somehow I miss all these in the ISOC
> by-laws, but may be someone can enlighten us?”
>
> There is obviously no clarity and broad agreement with Chapters at present
> about the content and role of Chapter Bylaws, as some of the Chapter
> Delegates mails show – with reference to a lot of time spent for nothing
> in the past (*highlighting added* in our quoting):
>
> *-------- Original Message -------- *
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
> *Subject: Re: [Chapter-delegates] Fwd: Renewal Internet Society Chapter
> Charter Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 15:44:09 +0200 From: Klaus Birkenbihl
> <Klaus.Birkenbihl at Isoc.de> <Klaus.Birkenbihl at Isoc.de> Organization:
> Internet Society German Chapter e.V. (ISOC.DE <http://ISOC.DE>) To:
> chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
> <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>>
> ...I also don't foresee much change in practice if we sign the letter.
> Nevertheless it is the wrong thing at the wrong time. During the last years
> when chapters became more visible and active we discussed so many beautiful
> things that could give support and help to be more effective. E.g. Issue
> Trackers to identify issues and track their resolution, Wikis to support
> collaboration and many other things the Internet holds that other groups
> use to do better work. So next thing we expected to see was some progress
> here. But instead of picking up e.g. the prototype that was provided by
> Elena, we still lack reporting facilities for projects and problems,
> collaboration tools, we stick to the old work-intensive AMS to exchange our
> member data … But what we get is another version of the Letter of
> Affiliation. Please keep in mind: it is effort, money and time that is
> provided by chapters members that is used to do the work. Financial support
> by ISOC is rather marginal. (Did you e.g ever manage to organize an event
> for $2000? For our last event even the fee for the room was higher.)
> Knowing that ISOC lacks the budget to pay them, chapters - though
> complaining once and a while - continue to work on this base. The Letter of
> Association says ISOC wants you to perform such and such, wants to define a
> maximum number of terms for office holders [is this really a mission
> related concern?], and you need ["we believe in numbers"] to have that many
> individual members, [can it be summed-up with corporations? - AMS still
> don't let me report corporate members] and so forth. Read this while
> keeping in mind that its chapters time, chapters money, chapters effort.
> Doesn't it annoy you? I don't say we should be against the Letters of
> Association but given the situation as it is - they should be the result of
> negotiations and not a headquarters dictatorship. Maybe the newly to be
> created Chapters Advisory would be the group to develop a template that
> fulfills 2 criteria:   - it is balanced in terms of responsibility and
> control, benefit and achievements   - it allow**s*
>
>
>
> * to be adjusted to needs of individual chapters (e.g. those with a
> commercial branch, or with corporate members, or with a special focus like
> accessibility ...) Such Letter of Association could have a real effect.
> Klaus*
>
> *=*
>
>
>
>
> *2. The Chapter Administrative Support Working Group is now meeting
> regularly to discuss various ways to address Chapter issues regarding
> operational resources. As you have noted from the discussion in this email
> forum, there is a wide disparity of views and therefore, multiple solutions
> may be piloted. It is regrettable that this has not come together as
> quickly as the Cambodia Chapter has needed, so we hope that you will
> reconsider your voluntary de-chartering until there are more widely
> available support options for you to evaluate. Please do keep in mind that
> local self-sufficiency will always be a key component of any operations
> resource strategy. *
> While local self-sufficiency is a broadly understandable principle, the
> way this issue has been treated so far seems to have seen this as a
> financial affair. We have not seen response to the much more complex
> situation, where many people in Cambodia have, over the years and again
> recently, been self-sufficient in providing their energy, their health,
> their freedom, and in some cases their lives in the struggle for justice
> and in the struggle to be free to communicate about it. A lot of public
> support, legal assistance, and care for victims, is however not based on
> local finances, but is provided by organizations and institutions extending
> external solidarity funding support.
>
> We have shared information that communication technology and information
> networks are fairly well developed in Cambodia and there are working
> groups, regular activities, IXPs, organized structures, Barcamps (the
> most recent one a week ago with more than 2000 participants) – quite a
> number of the ISOC Cambodia Chapter members provided leadership in these
> fields. Our inquiry if ISOC could financially assist in setting up and
> initially operating an office was clearly related to the specific
> government regulations (*following the ISOC staff guided Bylaw: “The
> Chapter shall be established as a non-profit organization under the laws of
> Cambodia”*).
>
> If ISOC staff considers financial *“local self-sufficiency [...] always
> be a key component of any operations resource strategy”* we are out for
> the time being.
>
> One comment on the Chapter list had said there is no need for us to defend
> ourselves – ISOC staff may have to defend themselves instead. We leave this
> open – but if anybody is interested in our context, you may find some more
> information about local contributions at the Annex at the end of our
> Documentation to be sent out separately. This material – voices from the
> Chapters - may be of value for the work following a recent ISOC Board
> decision that “acknowledged the right of Chapters to form an advisory
> group.”
>
>
> *3. We once again call upon the Cambodia Chapter to a) participate with
> ISOC staff in a conference call to speak forthrightly about the issues you
> raise, b) participate in the regularly scheduled Asia Chapter Webex calls
> in which most other Asia chapters are now participating.  Regarding, a)
> above, we have noted your concern that many Cambodia Chapter officers
> cannot attend a call at one time for work-related and other obligations.
>  We are very willing to have multiple calls to accommodate various
> schedules and to be held at times that allow as many officers to attend as
> possible. *
> We did not participate lately in such conference calls or webinars as our
> experience over the years is that such talks did not lead to much results.
> Especially multiple sessions on the same subject ended up with open
> questions: What was really discussed or decided? Email exchanges leave
> much clearer records.
>
>
> *On another note, there is currently a Chapter workshop in Bali ahead of
> the IGF. I hope the Cambodian representative will take the opportunity to
> speak to Naveed ul Haq, Chapter Development Manager for Asia, Joyce Dogniez
> Director of Chapter Development and Raj Singh our Regional Bureau Director.
> Such a conversation presents an additional opportunity to resolve timing
> conflicts and help us all get to a resolution of the issues. *
> Ted Mooney added:
>
>
> *“This is unfortunate as there is a travel fellowship available for the
> each Asia Chapter to attend in which expenses are covered. My assumption
> was that surely you would take advantage of such funding from ISOC
> particularly when your representative would have a forum with ISOC
> executives in which to discuss your specific issue. Why did you chose not
> to attend?” *
> The fact that intensive communication on the Chapter list, with several
> calls from various Chapter leaders calling on ISOC staff – central and
> regional – to respond to the contents of our mail did not result in such
> responses, was not an indication that to meet in Bali would provide the
> practical and timely responses we were hoping for. We did not want to ask
> for such international travel support for one person to talk to ISOC
> staff traveling to Bali to talk about things for which the 90 ISOC staff
> and advisors could not organize written responses in the months and weeks
> before.
>
> And finally, Ted Mooney said:
>
>
> *“Also, I think we needn't burden Chapter Delegates with a lengthy and
> hopefully fruitful conversation between us in email. I will no longer be
> posting my responses to you to the entire list.”  *
> Here the ISOC Senior Director, Membership & Services, is obviously not in
> line with the many Chapter leaders who were interested and did actively
> participate in the related discussions on the Chapters list. As Ousmane
> MOUSSA TESSA from the Niger Chapter wrote:
>
>
>
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>
>
> *Hi all, +1 Veni! [Bulgaria] In my previous mail I tried to share a quiet
> simple idea of the  "ecosystem" of ISOC. Veni summarized what this
> ecosystem must be. I'm just thinking it just a global decentralized
> process, as Chapters don't be considered as "subsidiaries" of company with
> an HQ and Board of Trustees! BTW, I agree 200% with Veni about the fact,
> and keeping in mind that "the strength of a chain is based on the quality
> of its weakest link".  Hence, let's support each other to move steadily and
> forward a visible thread, so even the newcomers can jump easy in one the
> various wagons of ISOC. Keep on talking, talking again, in the only aim to
> ... to sharpen our current and future actions and overcome inherent
> difficulties of our Global "institution". All the best Ousmane Niger
> Chapter *
> We continue to share our communication.
>
>
> We are committed to the “basic values” for which many persons around the
> world became members of the ISOC – and it is our assumption that many of
> our present Chapter members may want to continue to be members of ISOC, for
> which they had to sign up before being able to become members of a chapter.
>
> Probably there will also be an informal fellowship of “Friends of the
> Internet in Cambodia” - and there may be interest in the future to see how
> the recent decisions of the ISOC Board that affirmed the role of chapters
> in the governance and mission of the Internet Society will work out,
> especially when a Chapters Advisory Group will have done its work and
> hopefully the clarification of the role and relation of staff and chapters
> may lead to a new start of ISOC.
>
>
> Be Chantra
>
> chantra.be at gmail.com
>
> (still) Secretary of the ISOC Cambodia Chapter
>
> until this announcement is sent out.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>
>
> --
>
> Best,
> Veni Markovskihttp://www.veni.comhttps://www.facebook.com/venimarkovskihttps://twitter.com/veni
>
> The opinions expressed above are those of the
> author, not of any organizations, associated
> with or related to him in any given way.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>
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