[Chapter-delegates] A note about the 2020 Internet Society (ISOC) Board of Trustees Elections (BoT)

[George Sadowsky]

All,

It is increasingly clear that the current virus pandemic will change out worl in ways that are only starting to emerge.

In particular, if you think about what this pandemic would have been like without the existence and availability of the Internet, it seems clear that the Internet has become much, much more that just a powerful information system.  It is becoming the central nervous system of the entire globe.  It is now absolutely essential not only for progress, but for survival of the way in which we live, work and play.  Governments will realize this, and in response are likely to accelerate the ways in which they accommodate and adapt to the Internet.  The way in which they do this will have a major effect on all of our lives.  Through its members, its research, its technical work and its chapters, ISOC should endeavor to be a significant force in shaping those changes in ways that lead to a free and open Internet, mobilized for the public good.  We are not there yet.

I am asking you for your vote for a Chapter seat on the Internet Society Board of Trustees.  I realize that for some of you, this will be a stretch.  I am an older white North American male who has already been on the Board and has already contributed to ISOC, so one could make the argument to let others have their opportunity to guide the Society.  That argument has some merit.  On the other side, however, I know ISOC well and as a charter member in 1991, from the beginning. I was responsible for one of its major achievements, the creation of the Network Training Workshops for Developing Countries, which led directly to the formation of many of the initial ISOC chapters in developing countries.  I've worked in about 50 developing countries, for the United Nations and others, and have worked directly for the spread and the effective use use of the Internet and information technology for economic and social development all over the world, and continue to do so.  My passion for continuing to work toward these goals remais strong.

In global organizations there is often a tension between the central core group and the periphery, whether they are  field offices or chapters in 'remote' locations around the world.   My sense is that in the past, ISOC has concentrated more on core activities than was appropriate.  It is the membership that legitimizes ISOC's existence, and the membership in the chapters is often on the front lines of Internet expansion, policy and regulatory issues, and education for the future  ---  generally in countries where it is possible to affect how the Internet technology is deployed and how Internet policy develops.  I believe that this is a challenge in which ISOC could and should involve itself, and if so, then the balance of ISOC activities between core and distributed may need rebalancing.

Thanks,

George

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George Sadowsky                                    Residence tel: +1.301.968.4325
8300 Burdette Road, Apt B-472                          Mobile: +1.202.415.1933
Bethesda MD  20817-2831  USA                                    Skype: sadowsky      
george.sadowsky at gmail.com                http://www.georgesadowsky.org/ 



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