[Chapter-delegates] Doreen, please explain to IGF-USA that ITU won't take over the Internet & that ISOC members are welcome to have a big impact on ITU

[Andrew Sullivan]

Hi Dave!

I've dropped Doreen from the cc:s on this message because this now seems to me almost entirely about Internet Society matters, and I suspect her inbox is even fuller than mine.  I have no intention of continuing this exchange, so this message is the last I have to say in this thread.

On Tue, Jul 13, 2021 at 08:47:55PM -0400, Dave Burstein via Chapter-delegates wrote:

>*The comparison with nation-states and the suggestion we could send many
>delegates, was made by ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure, in a meeting
>attended by our CEO. I was there and I believe there's a recording.*

That's nice.  Since both the ITU and Internet Society are now under different administration (and at least in our case, a different board) now, it's sort of hard for me to understand how helpful your observation is.  That sets aside the question of how much public statements are related to practical, behind-the-scenes realities.

>suggested we require those we accredit to preface any comment with,
>"speaking for myself, not the Internet Society" to ease your concerns.

But that's not how the ITU works.  The ITU's model works through _delegations_, not multistakeholder arguments from mic lines.  I believe, really strongly, that the model that has made the Internet is the right one.  But I don't get to impose that on an intergovernmental system, and neither do you.  What you are arguing for is showing up at someone else's house and demanding that they do things your way.  That's rude, and I, at least, am not going to agree with it.

>I believe the board protects ISOC more effectively if we don't require that
>one person, our CEO, "direct delegation members," in ITU or in ISOC itself.

I had hoped it was obvious that this is not me, Mr Evil Genius Bossman sitting in my Control Castle and directing everything; but rather shorthand for the notion that a well-managed staff organization is quite different from a hybrid staff-community collaboration.  I really prefer the latter model, myself.  But it is not my role to try to impose that on every other organization.  Sometimes, we delegate things to staff, and this is one of those occasions.

>I know you don't believe ISOC should be a "bottom-up multistakeholder
>organization,"

I was unaware that it is possible to know something that is false.  The Internet Society is governed by a board of trustees that is selected by different communities within our organization.  Those different communities have independent rules about how they constitute the selection, and indeed one of them doesn't even use the election system we have.  I think that qualifies as bottom-up and multistakeholder, and if you do not I urge you to put your shoulder to the wheel in the Governance Reform Working Group and whip it on to achieve something.  For my own part, I believe strongly in our governance model, and I believe you should think rather carefully before attributing to me beliefs to me I do not have.  Indeed, I find your insinuations insulting.

>wants you to "direct" all expression by our members. Is that really what
>you mean?

No, and I never said anything of the kind.

>The ITU has not, as far as I know, ever expelled a section member for
>someone expressing an opinion.

The ITU has also not, as far as I know, ever had a sector member suggest it might show up with a large number of volunteers under practically no discipline of the head of delegation.  I'm not sure this is an innovation I want to be known for.

>Not long ago, ISOC's official policy was we wanted "like-minded
>individuals." I thought you changed that. Didn't you?

I have no idea what you are referring to.  The Internet Society mission says, "We seek collaboration with all who share these goals."  I don't believe any staff member of the Internet Society has done anything contrary to that part of the mission at least since I took this job, and if you have such evidence I ask you provide it or else retract what sure sounds to me like a smear.

Regards,

A

-- 
Andrew Sullivan
President & CEO, Internet Society
sullivan at isoc.org
+1 416 731 1261