Re: [council] Meeting Protocol for Brussels and beyond...

[William Drake <william.drake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hola Adrian

On Jun 2, 2010, at 8:49 AM, Adrian Kinderis wrote:

> Interesting... thanks Bill.
>  
> I think you all (y’all) are missing the point about being elected 
> representatives.

I do that a lot, sorry

> The community input and participation is sufficiently covered – and if not, I 
> have suggested mechanisms where their input is heard (via Councillors and or 
> through the Chair). I do not consider this Draconian. Draconian would be to 
> exclude them altogether or ask them for their input prior to the meeting. 
> This is being organised and efficient. Don’t forget, everyone gets a say.

I guess we just have different mental models of bottom up democratic processes. 
 Yours is strictly representative, mine's participatory.  

An inexact parallel but it speaks to worldviews—in related intergovernmental 
organization processes, most governments have made clear they would like global 
business, the Internet technical community, and civil society to sit quietly or 
not even be in the room on the grounds that they sufficiently represent all our 
viewpoints.  For those of us who have battled to open these processes up to 
more diverse voices, it would be rather odd to then turn around and impose 
limitations in the bodies we tout as superior precisely because they allow open 
participation.

>  
> In the same vain why aren’t our GNSO calls open for the public?
>  
> I also think it is important to raise the profile of our Councilors (and the 
> prestige for that matter). Folks should be made to feel comfortable to use 
> them to convey a point of view. Also, Councilors work very hard, it could be 
> considered a position of value to have been elected to sit at the table and 
> to have the ability to converse directly with Staff and the Board. You never 
> know, it may entice more folks to want to put themselves forward as 
> Councilors if they can see an immediate benefit.

You really believe that the status (don't know about 'prestige') of Councilors 
is reduced if someone sitting off the table is called on to offer some thoughts 
after we've had our turns?  

>  
> I think talking to repeat offenders “offline” is a useless exercise and 
> potentially creates a difficult and embarrassing situation. Why should we 
> have to play police officer? I’d like to avoid that tension completely.

I agree it's awkward and hasn't worked sufficiently, but one could always 
redouble the effort and up the ante a bit.
>  
> With reference to my offer for drinks... we did it, but I had too many 
> members of the public claiming their right for a drink and ran out of money ;)

NC missed the memo :-(
>  
> By the way, I am  against any invitation or information with the words “inter 
> alia” included. Makes me feel that only the smart people are invited...

Sorry, I do sometimes slip into UN-speak.  Chuck busted me the other day for 
referring to the "ICANN Secretariat" in a draft doc, sigh...  But rest assured, 
it's a free open air concert and Toots will serenade all comers without regard 
to stakeholder group or other identities...

Cheers,

Bill
>  
> 
>  
> From: William Drake [mailto:william.drake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
> Sent: Wednesday, 2 June 2010 4:20 PM
> To: Adrian Kinderis
> Cc: council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Council
> Subject: Re: [council] Meeting Protocol for Brussels and beyond...
>  
> Hi Adrian,
>  
> On Jun 2, 2010, at 2:24 AM, Adrian Kinderis wrote:
> 
> 
> I would like to suggest that there be no questions from the floor during 
> these sessions.
>  
> When we last had this conversation didn't we decide against draconian 
> measures that would preclude community participation (and were hence poorly 
> received by some) and for some intermediate steps like only Councilors at the 
> table, chair gives preference to Councilor comments and right sizes the time 
> for others, etc?  If people think this has not worked sufficiently, wouldn't 
> it be possible to simply have an offline conversation with the most relevant 
> parties saying please respect the following ground rules, and to reiterate 
> these at the outset of meetings?
>  
>  
> On Jun 2, 2010, at 2:51 AM, Adrian Kinderis wrote:
> 
> 
> I'll shout an extra round at the bar on Saturday night to make up for it :)
>  
> Hmm...didn't I hear something like this a few meetings ago, didn't 
> materialize... :-)
>  
> BTW, on the matter of after hour amusement, perhaps I'll pass along something 
> I pointed out to NCSG, might be of interest to some here:
>  
> 
> On Sun, May 30, 2010 at 1:33 PM, William Drake
> <william.drake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> Hi
>  
> Just an FYI for people who will be attending ICANN Brussels, as with Paris 
> two summers ago, this meeting overlaps with the annual Fete de la Musique 
> held across France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.  Just had a look at the 
> program 
> http://2010.fetedelamusique.be/recherches?tid=&tid_1=All&city=Bruxelles and 
> inter alia Saturday night 19th Toots and the Maytals is playing in the park 
> near the conference site.
>  
> Bill

***********************************************************
William J. Drake
Senior Associate
Centre for International Governance
Graduate Institute of International and
 Development Studies
Geneva, Switzerland
william.drake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.graduateinstitute.ch/cig/drake.html
***********************************************************