[CWG-Stewardship] Scheduling: regular teleconference meetings + F2F in November

Wed Oct 22 02:39:37 UTC 2014

+1 Fouad

This was discussed over and over in the Meeting Strategy Working Group
sessions, documented, solutions promised and I am, frankly, shocked and
disappointed to see this issue emerge yet in one of the first meetings
where the Board-approved MSWG recommendations could have been taken on
board by the planners as a demonstration of good faith.

Obtaining a visa to attend this meeting would be near impossible (and also
frighteningly expensive) for many from developing nations, especially since
an exorbitantly costly short stay (normally only for the duration of the
visit) Schengen Visa is required.

To clarify, often Schengen visa applications are centralized to somewhat
less accessible, but larger countries (in the case of the Caribbean, for
example, it is a 3 week minimum process requiring couriering passports to
and from Caracas, Venezuela for the Netherlands - and hence loss of ability
to travel - for that entire period, and for those who are currently in
Busan, well ... )

Remote participation is of course, appreciated (thank you), however for
future CWG meetings on this issue where F2Fs might in fact be more
productive, the planners should really seek to host in more "visa neutral"
countries (Panama immediately springs to mind in the Americas) or at least
those where visas are easier to obtain whether online or on arrival (see
Istanbul, Turkey, for example)

------
Respectfully,

Tracy

Trinidad and Tobago

On Oct 21, 2014 4:08 AM, <Lars-Erik.Forsberg at ec.europa.eu> wrote:

>  Dear all,
>
> I understand your frustration about the visa procedures in the EU. It is
> sometimes very cumbersome and unfortunately too often varies from  EU
> member state to another. I do believe though that the Netherlands is
> probably among the quicker EU MS to issue a visa to the Schengen area. I
> copy the Dutch GAC representative Thomas who I hope will be able to help us
> out to see that the applications are handled expeditiously.
> Best regards,
>
> Erik
>
>
>
> *Lars Erik Forsberg*
>
> Deputy Head of Unit
>
>
>
> [image: cid:image003.png at 01CD8CEB.7A739210]
>
> *European Commission*
>
> DG CONNECT
>
> Unit D1 - International
>
>
>
> BU 25 4/70
>
> B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
>
> +32 2 296 70 65
>
> lars-erik.forsberg at ec.europa.eu
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* cwg-stewardship-bounces at icann.org [mailto:
> cwg-stewardship-bounces at icann.org] *On Behalf Of *Fouad Bajwa
> *Sent:* Tuesday, October 21, 2014 5:12 AM
> *To:* Grace Abuhamad
> *Cc:* cwg-stewardship at icann.org
> *Subject:* Re: [CWG-Stewardship] Scheduling: regular teleconference
> meetings + F2F in November
>
>
>
> One thing that is insensitive is the venue of an Amsterdam f2f meeting.
> There is no indication of diversity and distribution of the 19 members to
> be allowed. We developing country people cannot just fly into EU countries
> like our US and EU colleagues. The f2f meetings should have taken place in
> countries like Dubai, Turkey etc, where visa acquisition is much easier.
>
>
> On Monday, 20 October 2014, Grace Abuhamad <grace.abuhamad at icann.org>
> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> A few scheduling updates:
>
>
>
> *Regular Meetings**: *
>
> We have a very large and geographically diverse CWG. Going forward, we'll
> have regular weekly 2h calls on Thursdays. To cover all the timezones, I'd
> like to suggest alternating 10:00 UTC and 13:00 UTC. This is early for our
> participants in the Americas, but more reasonable for the majority of our
> group based in Europe, Africa, and Asia. As always, calls will be recorded
> and transcribed.
>
>
>
> *Face-to-face Meeting*:
>
> In addition, at the request of the Chairs, ICANN has offered to support a
> 2-day *face-to-face meeting in Amsterdam on 19-20 November 2014*. ICANN
> will offer travel support to the 19 CWG members only
> <https://community.icann.org/x/1QrxAg>, but the meeting will be open to
> anyone in the CWG who wishes to attend in person (at their own expense).
>
>
>
> The meeting will be webcast live through Adobe Connect and include remote
> participation capabilities consistent with the CWG meetings to date. The
> meeting will be recorded and transcribed.
>
>
>
> In order for ICANN to plan for adequate space, please let me know by next
> Monday (27 October 2014) whether or not you plan to attend the CWG F2F
> meeting in Amsterdam.
>
>
>
> For members seeking travel support, please note that, the meeting will be
> consistent with ICANN’s Community Travel Support Guidelines
> <http://www.icann.org/en/news/in-focus/travel-support>: travel needs to
> be arranged by ICANN; ICANN will only book and pay for a non-refundable,
> lowest logical price airfare, and economy airfare;  hotel room and tax must
> be booked directly by ICANN in accordance with the authorized arrival and
> departure dates for each supported traveler.
>
>
>
>
>
> Please let me know if you have any questions,
>
> Grace
>
>
>
> *Grace Abuhamad*
>
> Public Policy Manager
>
>
>
> *ICANN | Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers*
>
> 801 17th Street NW, Suite 400 | Washington, DC 20006
>
> Direct: +1 202 249 7545 | Mobile: +1 310 200 7638
>
>
>
> --
> Regards.
> --------------------------
> Fouad Bajwa
> ICT4D and Internet Governance Advisor
> My Blog: Internet's Governance: http://internetsgovernance.blogspot.com/
> Follow my Tweets: http://twitter.com/fouadbajwa
>
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>
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