[Chapter-delegates] Revised Chapter Agreement

[Sivasubramanian M]

A specific comment inline:

On Wed, Aug 2, 2017 at 6:08 PM, Brandt Dainow <brandt.dainow at gmail.com> wrote:
> There is nothing in this document which offers more support to chapters.  The only thing this document does is increase control over chapters by central office.  It obliges chapters to engage in additional activities as a condition of being funded, despite the fact all funding must be applied for in advance via detailed proposals and may be refused.  It offers nothing positive to the chapters.  It is merely an effort to restrict the independence of chapters and reduce their ability to adapt to local circumstance.  I am particularly concerned it demands on-going lobbying activity as a condition of being a chapter.

>I am fairly sure this will make some chapters illegal in some countries where lobbying by foreign-funded organisations is illegal.

Very pertinent observation. In India, it would get Chapters in a
dangerous situation. First of all, speaking for the India Chennai
Chapter alone, I would NOT agree at all to any expectations of
lobbying for any position by ISOC. What we do at Chennai is to broadly
understand the Internet Society's mission, which we agree with fully,
and work ON OUR OWN, in our own ways, independently on position and
projects that would further the evolution of the Internet along the
lines. Drop the idea of expecting Chapters to lobby for positions that
invariably emerge mostly from Staff deliberations.

--- Sivasubramanain M

>
> To be balanced, there should be some reciprocal reaching out by central office - such as better communication and listening to chapters.  For example, this document should have been put to the chapters as a discussion document for feedback months before it was finalised.  The fact it was not indicates ISOC is anti-democratic, and run by a small central group who, in my view, have failed to recognise ISOC is not the same type of organisation as it was 10-20 years ago.
>
> Regards,
> Brandt Dainow
> brandt.dainow at gmail.com
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brandt_Dainow
> http://www.imediaconnection.com/profiles/brandt.dainow
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chapter-delegates [mailto:chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org] On Behalf Of Alan Levin
> Sent: 02 August 2017 08:56
> To: Joyce Dogniez; ISOC Chapter Delegates; chapter-support at isoc.org
> Subject: Re: [Chapter-delegates] Revised Chapter Agreement
>
> Hi all,
>
>> On 31 Jul 2017, at 12:06 PM, Joyce Dogniez <dogniez at isoc.org> wrote:
>> With the increased financial support to our Chapters we also have an increased responsibility and accountability towards our community. It is the responsibility of Internet Society s leadership to manage its funds in a responsible and transparent manner.
>> This implies that the legal relationship between Internet Society and its Chapters needs to be well defined.
>
> Thanks for this. I think it s very good!  Well done Joyce and others :)
>
>>   Purpose of Chapter.
>> The purpose of the Chapter shall be to support the Internet Society s vision, mission, and operating principles in the Territory.
>
> I agree that this is one purpose of the Internet Society of South Africa, and the purpose of this agreement :)
>
> One of our primary purposes as an association of Internet Society members, is to participate in the ICT policy making processes in our country. Another purpose is to assist our colleagues in other countries with their policy making in that country.
>
> We have asked for over a decade for global support on national policy making activities. I have suggested that a policy analyst who can compare various trending policies to be able to provide us with important international data about other policies in other countries of similar nature. For example we have a Cybersecurity Bill in our Parliamentary process and it will be invaluable to see an analysis of it s components compared to other countries that have already been through that process, ideally not a US centric or  North  view, something neutral would be ideal.
>
> So regards this section:
>> Internet Society Support.
>> The Internet Society will provide the following support to the chapters in accordance with ISOC s annual business plan:
>
> I suggest again that we need support from ISOC Global to provide a global policy analyst to assist with support on National Policy Making activities. This should not be a local activity, it s not regional, it's a global policy analyst  activity need that we have had for decades. Please help !
>
> Sincerely
>
>
> Alan Levin
> ISOC-ZA
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-- 
Sivasubramanian M