[Chapter-delegates] Proposal to revise ISOC's mission statement

Gonzalo Camarillo Gonzalo.Camarillo at ericsson.com
Sun Nov 12 20:27:15 PST 2017


Hi Carlos,

thanks for your comments. To be clear, multistakeholder processes mean
that all relevant actors are invited to the table. It does *not* mean
that you exclude the actors you do not like.

Cheers,

Gonzalo

On 12/11/2017 8:14 PM, Carlos Raul Gutierrez wrote:
> Gonzalo,
> 
> I fully support Muhamand's comments. I had already expressed my surprise
> about the lack of focus on accessibility when it was first published by
> ISOCs CEO.
> 
> While it is a good exercise to define a narrow remit, I don't see mulch
> relation in terms of the big worldwide chapter expansion ISOC has
> successfully pursued over the last 2 years or so, if we don't face the
> fact that is expansion is in underserved countries where les and less
> people have access, and those who have access can do it only in screens
> of 5 inches or less and for limited lengths of time, often under
> discriminatory discharge rates and/or subsides that tend to create
> walled gardens.
> 
> Moreover, as ISOCs income derives from PIR and PRI has introduced new
> less and less open gTLDs subject to Government approvals (ONG-NGO), and
> chapters in underserved areas are more and more populated by Government
> officials,  I wonder where the delimitation with Governments want. I
> hope that the new ISOC mission remains clear about the independence of
> ISOCs advice from both, economic and governmental interests.
> 
> 
> Carlos Raúl Gutiérrez
> ISOC Costa Rica Chapter
> skype carlos.raulg
> +506 8837 7176 
> ________
> Apartado 1571-1000
> COSTA RICA
> 
> On Fri, Oct 27, 2017 at 4:34 AM, Muhammad Shabbir
> <mshabbirawan at gmail.com <mailto:mshabbirawan at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
> 
>     > Dear Gonzalo,
> 
>     My observation on the below mission statement is that it doesn't
>     mention the
>     accessibility part of the internet or making the internet accessible and
>     usable for all -- be it persons with disabilities or other disconnected
>     communities. In this context, to reflect internet accessibility in ISOC
>     mission statement, I propose a small addition in the line that currently
>     reads:
>     "We work with the worldwide Internet community for an Internet that
>     is open,
>     globally-connected, and secure"
> 
>     After the addition, it should read as following:
>     "We work with the worldwide Internet community for an Internet that
>     is open,
>     globally-connected, secure, and equally accessible and usable for all."
> 
>     Best,
>     Muhammad Shabbir Awan,
>     Member BoD ISOC Islamabad Pakistan Chapter.
> 
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: Chapter-delegates
>     [mailto:chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org
>     <mailto:chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org>]
>     On Behalf Of Gonzalo Camarillo
>     Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2017 1:19 PM
>     To: chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
>     <mailto:chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
>     Subject: [Chapter-delegates] Proposal to revise ISOC's mission statement
> 
>     Hi,
> 
>     the board of trustees of the Internet Society (ISOC) plans to revise
>     ISOC's mission statement. We would like to get your comments on the
>     proposal we include below. This email discusses the reasons for the
>     proposed change, the process we have followed so far to put together
>     the current proposal, and the next steps in the process.
> 
>     ISOC's current vision and mission statements were developed around
>     2005 and are available at ISOC's web page:
> 
>     https://www.internetsociety.org/mission/
>     <https://www.internetsociety.org/mission/>
> 
>     These statements have provided ISOC with a clear direction for many
>     years and have been a useful tool for the community.
> 
>     What ISOC does in practice to fulfill its vision has evolved over
>     time.  Looking at the environment in which ISOC operates, there have
>     been important changes (some external and some internal to ISOC) that
>     make it desirable to revise those statements at this point.
> 
>     Externally, the current Internet environment is different from what it
>     was when the current statements were developed: regional needs are
>     different, communication patterns are different, and the
>     standardization landscape is different. Internet users and, thus, also
>     ISOC's chapters and members are more international and many of them
>     come from developing countries.
> 
>     Internally, ISOC's revenue sources have increased significantly from
>     2005 until present. This means that ISOC's potential to realize its
>     vision through activities has increased substantially and may still
>     continue to increase in the near term. The board considers that simply
>     increasing linearly everything ISOC does today would not be a viable
>     or desirable approach. Building a large reserve without further
>     advancing ISOC's social goals is not a good option either. Instead,
>     ISOC will strengthen some of its current areas of engagement and, when
>     appropriate, engage in new impactful activities in new areas.
> 
>     Our goal is to bring more focus into the organization. The idea is to
>     avoid spreading ourselves too thin and, instead, increase ISOC's focus
>     on activities that make a difference.
> 
>     In order to make those key decisions, staff, the board, and the
>     community need to be on the same page regarding ISOC's vision and
>     mission, and their underlying meaning. Given that many members of
>     staff, the board, and the community were not around when the current
>     statements were developed back in 2005, revising them with their
>     involvement was considered to be a necessary exercise so that
>     everybody feels them as their own. Getting a common sense of ownership
>     is one of our main goals.
> 
>     In order to have a fresh look at our vision and mission, a set of
>     workshops involving the whole staff were organized.  Using an
>     iterative process and taking the input from those workshops into
>     consideration, further workshops involving the board and ISOC's senior
>     management were organized with the help of a facilitator. Some of the
>     workshops were virtual and some of them were face-to-face.
> 
>     The board had a face-to-face retreat where, based on all the work
>     above, revised draft statements were generated. Those draft statements
>     were sent to parts of the community (including IETF leadership, ISOC's
>     emeriti trustees, and chapter and org members) to get initial
>     comments. After gathering a good amount of initial community feedback,
>     the board generated new proposed statements addressing the comments
>     received. With the process above the board aimed to ensure that the
>     revised statements take into account the perspectives of staff as well
>     as our wider community.
> 
>     The resulting proposed statements (included below) are now ready to be
>     sent to our whole community.
> 
>     During the process above, we agreed that ISOC's current vision and
>     mission are still as valid as ever. With respect to the *statements*
>     that capture the spirit of the vision and mission, we do not propose
>     any changes to the vision statement.
> 
>     With respect to the mission statement, we propose to update it.  One
>     of the goals with the new statement is that it is both concise and
>     memorable.  Consequently, the mission is stated at a higher
>     abstraction level and contains fewer points.
> 
>     The current mission statement included a list of activities ISOC
>     performs to help achieve our mission. While it seems that list was not
>     approved as part of the mission statement back in the day, the initial
>     feedback we have gotten from the community clearly indicates that many
>     consider capturing the list in an official way important. Therefore,
>     we propose to keep those bullets as highlights of activities.
> 
>     It is worthwhile noting that, regardless of the outcome in the form of
>     a revised mission statement, this process is being very useful in
>     itself. It has clearly helped getting a better understanding about
>     ISOC's purpose among everybody involved.
> 
>     Please, find the proposed statements below and share your comments
>     with us on this list. Thanks!
> 
>     Cheers,
> 
>     Gonzalo Camarillo (for the board)
>     Chair - ISOC Board of Trustees
> 
> 
>     --- Proposal ---
> 
>     Vision:
>     -------
> 
>       The Internet is for everyone.
> 
>     Mission:
>     --------
> 
>       The Internet Society champions the development of the Internet as a
>       global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people's
>       lives, and a force for good in society.
> 
>       We work with the worldwide Internet community for an Internet that
>       is open, globally-connected, and secure.
> 
>       Together, we focus on:
> 
>       - Building and supporting the communities that make the Internet work;
> 
>       - Advancing the development of Internet infrastructure,
>         technologies, and open standards; and
> 
>       - Advocating for sound Internet policy around the world.
> 
>     Highlights of Activities:
>     -------------------------
> 
>       To help achieve our mission, the Internet Society:
> 
>       - Facilitates open development of standards, protocols,
>         administration, and the technical infrastructure of the Internet.
> 
>       - Supports education in developing countries specifically, and
>         wherever the need exists.
> 
>       - Promotes professional development and builds community to foster
>         participation and leadership in areas important to the evolution
>         of the Internet.
> 
>       - Provides reliable information about the Internet.
> 
>       - Provides forums for discussion of issues that affect Internet
>         evolution, development and use in technical, commercial, societal,
>         and other contexts.
> 
>       - Fosters an environment for international cooperation, community,
>         and a culture that enables self-governance to work.
> 
>       - Serves as a focal point for cooperative efforts to promote the
>         Internet as a positive tool to benefit all people throughout the
>         world.
> 
>       - Provides management and coordination for on-strategy initiatives
>         and outreach efforts in humanitarian, educational, societal, and
>         other contexts.
> 
>     --- End of Proposal ---
>     _______________________________________________
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>     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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