[Chapter-delegates] An Open Letter to all ISOC Chapter Members

[sc.leung at isoc.hk]

Dear Bob and all,

A good remark by Alejandro -- "silence is not consent".

We like to see good practice shared among chapters, but at the same time
we like to practice governance from bottom up, as we promote for
Internet Governance.

It is essential that chapters have good discussion on the code in the
process of its making, and also *AFTER* the code comes up. While we put
a lot of trust on the BoT, we also like to see regulation or code
thoroughly discussed, understood before putting into practice.

Regards,
SC Leung
Chair
ISOC Hong Kong

-----------------------

於 14/11/2013 8:51, Dr. Alejandro Pisanty Baruch 提到:
> Bob,
>
> speaking only for myself: don't interpret silence as consent. Please convey this message to the Board of Trustees, whose mailing list is in copy but understandably will bouncet this posting. 
>
> Yours,
>
> Alejandro Pisanty
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>      Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
> Facultad de Química UNAM
> Av. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico DF Mexico
>
>
>
> +52-1-5541444475 FROM ABROAD
>
> +525541444475 DESDE MÉXICO SMS +525541444475
> Blog: http://pisanty.blogspot.com
> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pisanty
> Unete al grupo UNAM en LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/22285/4A106C0C8614
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/apisanty
> ---->> Unete a ISOC Mexico, http://www.isoc.org
> .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
>
> ________________________________________
> Desde: chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org [chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org] en nombre de Bob Hinden [bob.hinden at gmail.com]
> Enviado el: lunes, 11 de noviembre de 2013 17:17
> Hasta: ISOC Chapter Delegates
> CC: ISOC Board of Trustees
> Asunto: [Chapter-delegates] An Open Letter to all ISOC Chapter Members
>
> I am writing this email as the Chair of the Internet Society Board of
> Trustees on behalf of the Board.  The Board listens closely to the
> views of Chapters and believe that Chapters bring a tremendous value
> to the Internet Society.  We see Chapters as very important to
> implementing ISOC’s mission around the world.  They give the Internet
> Society a voice on the ground in a way that ISOC staff cannot.  The
> feedback all of ISOC gets from Chapters is an important part of
> developing the Internet Society's strategy and policy positions.  We
> are very pleased to see new Chapters being formed and are, of course,
> saddened when a Chapter closes.
>
> As you know there are efforts underway to establish Chapter performance
> standards, finding new ways of providing assistance to Chapters, and
> establishing a Chapter Advisory Council.  I think it is helpful to
> summarize the role of Chapters in the Internet Society.
>
> The Board has recently approved changes to the Internet Society's by
> laws that formally recognize Chapters, equalizes the number of Board
> members elected by all communities (including increasing the number
> elected by Chapters to four), and authorizes Chapters to establish an
> Advisory Council.  This was the result of a two year process to consult
> and listen to the views of Chapters.  At the request of Chapters, we
> suspended several staff efforts until the update to the by-laws was
> completed.  Now that the by-laws have been approved, these efforts to
> increase the Chapters’ engagement in ISOC's strategic activities are
> underway.  This is a work in progress and we ask your patience in these
> activities.  The problems that are being addressed have a long history
> and can't be solved immediately.  You will see changes rolled out in
> the upcoming months.
>
> The Board has given the ISOC President and staff clear and strong
> guidance to insure that there is strong engagement with the Chapters.
> ISOC staff is fully committed to this work and has the Board’s full
> support.
>
> I have two other points I would like to make.  First, the governance of
> the Internet Society has been settled since the Internet Society was
> formed in 1992.  The charter, legal, and operational structure of the
> Internet Society establish it as a cause-based, mission driven
> organization.  It is governed by a Board of Trustees.  Board of
> Trustees members are responsible for ensuring the overall success of
> the Internet Society.  As such, they are not on the Board to represent
> only the community that elected them; they are to represent the whole
> Internet Society.  Chapters, Org members, and the IETF are all
> encouraged to engage with ISOC as strong contributors to positions and
> strategic programs and directions.  The decisions taken by the Board
> and staff will be ultimately formulated based on ISOC’s mission and
> governance structure.
>
> Second, we are all passionate about ISOC, its mission, and the
> Internet.  The Board and I value this passion.  However,  I think it is
> unfortunate that some of the passion expressed on the Chapters email
> list has gone over the line into personal attacks on staff, Chapter
> members, and Board members.  This behavior is unprofessional and does
> not create the open, respectful, and constructive environment that
> should exist.  It will cause some people to withdraw from the
> discussion and does not create the collaborative open environment we
> need.  Everyone who posts to the chapter list is expected to follow the
> ISOC elist Code of Conduct;  See:
>
>   http://www.internetsociety.org/elist-code-conduct
>
> The Board is committed to an ongoing dialog with the Chapters on the
> issues that face the Internet.  We think the Chapters are an essential
> element of the Internet Society and are critical to meeting the
> challenges we are seeing every day on the Internet.  I am sure we all
> agree that we want the Internet to be the open platform for worldwide
> communication among everyone in the world.  We all need to work
> together toward that goal.
>
> Regards,
>
> Bob Hinden,
> Chair, Internet Society Board of Trustees
>
>
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