[registrars] Start lobbying your Governments!! - WSIS...

[Paul M Kane]

Dear all

The time is fast approaching when all Registrars interested in
supporting ICANN and industry self organized regulation should contact 
their Ministers or senior government representatives attending WSIS (Dec 
2003).

Many Government Ministries are already on the right page (but they too
need to hear from Industry and their communities), we know ICANN is not
perfect and we are all trying hard to fix it. I remain optimistic that
ICANN will stop trying to play power games and focus on giving service
to the community. The new Board may have the necessary wisdom to achieve
that goal - we should help them.

At the bottom of this email is an article of concern published in
today's Financial Times which promotes the role of Governments making
decisions that could impact our interests (over and above national law!!)

Suggest you identify who (at the highest level) from your country will
be attending and write to them expressing your views. The list of
attendees at the WSIS is published at:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/geneva/draft_announced_summit_participants.pdf


The sort of points that could be included in any communication is (pick
at random!!):
• welcome government listening to their industry and consumers
• economic success of the Internet is proven and without
intergovernmental control, want to be able to promote stimulate economic
growth
• telcomuncations and other industry sectors are becoming increasingly
deregulated, it is peverse to now regulate the Internet (which is
already regulated under existing business laws.
• national economic prosperity is inversely proportional to level of
national regulation - in a highly competitive global market, do not want
to see national economic growth stagnate, whilst liberated markets prosper.
• fully recognises the important of sound administrative and policy
management as a key requirement for the stability of the Internet,
• endorses the need for broad representation and participation of all
stakeholders in the policy development process,
• supports the current approach of private sector, bottom-up policy
development leading to consensus decisions,
• supports the continuation of ICANN as the body that will serve the
global community,
• encourages all impacted stakeholders to participate within the ICANN
process,
• promotes the development of robust policies that will enhance business
and deliver benefits through the growth of the global market,
• recognises the important role the user community and the need for
their involvement in a manner that will assist in the realisation of key
business goals,
• supports the role of the Government Advisory Committee within the
ICANN process,
• encourages governments and the ITU to assist in raising awareness of
ICANN activities and the need to participate in the ICANN process,
• pledges on-going support for activities that will ensure ICANN matures
into an efficient, effective globally representative coordination body,
• remains opposed to any proposals which support the adoption of a
coordination structure administered under intergovernmental
organisations, such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU),
the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), or any other
intergovernmental model created for that purpose but such organisations
do have an important role to play as part of ICANN.
• ICANN should embrase all stakeholders in a light weight framework

Best regards

Paul

PS below is an article in today's FT which is of concern..........



NTERNATIONAL ECONOMY: Countries deeply split as information summit nears
By Frances Williams in Geneva
Financial Times; Nov 18, 2003


Negotiators from more than 140 countries have wound up what was intended
as a final preparatory session for next month's world information summit
in Geneva still deeply divided. The divisions are over managing the
internet and how to finance expansion of information and communication
technologies (ICT) in poor countries.

Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication
Union, the United Nations body organising the summit, said yesterday
that most of the draft declaration of principles and plan of action had
now been agreed, but negotiators would return on December 5 and 6 to try
to resolve outstanding issues.

Some 60 heads of state and government, including German Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder and Cuban President Fidel Castro, have said they plan
to attend the summit on December 10-12.

Mr Utsumi said the most difficult issues had proved to be those of
internet governance and how ICT development should be financed, where
rich and poor countries were far apart.

Many developing countries are pushing for the ITU, or another
intergovernmental organisation, to take over technical management of the
internet from Icann, a non-profit association set up by the US
government to administer the internet address system.

The US, backed by the European Commission and some other industrialised
countries, says the existing system is working well, but others argue
the internet is a public resource that should be managed by governments.
Mr Utsumi said yesterday the ITU had the capacity to do the job but the
question was whether governments wanted it to, and there was no consensus.

Developing countries are backing creation of a "digital solidarity
fund", first proposed by Senegal, to fund ICT investment in poor
countries. www.itu.int/wsis