Re: [ICANN-EU] Re: Re-opening the funding debate

[Jeff Williams <jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com>]

Alf and all,

Alf Hansen wrote:

> Kurt,
>
> You are right, there is a need for funding of an At-Large structure. And
> I think a European (and Asian/Pacific, etc.) ICANN office with staff is
> a good idea.

  I agree as long as it is funded by the membership, and the funds are
only used for the members in delineated ways which can be audited
on a quarterly basis and the results posted for public review.  NO moneys
should be spent in a manner that the membership disagrees with
or has not had the opportunity to at least vote on as a policy issue.

>
>
> However I do not think it is a good idea to let a Regional Board member
> be responsible for setting up some local funding mechanisms of his own,
> and decide how these money should be used.

  Strongly agreed.

>
>
> Regional ICANN branches must be established based on funds on the ICANN
> budget.

  Agreed, but potential ICANN branches should be apportioned the
funds in which that branch brings in.

>
>
> We have seen that some countries (like Germany) have spent a lot of
> resources on public ICANN awareness. Other countries have less focus on
> ICANN. Our challenge is to build a stable ICANN where the At Large
> members will have a real possibility to express their views and
> concerns, and thereby influence the ICANN decision-making-process.

  The At-Large members should not only be able to express their views.
But they should be able to do so openly and freely.  They should also
be able to VOTE on any policy before enactment of said policy.

> If we
> do that right, there will be someone out there willing to pay something
> for the infrastructure. For example a membership fee for each individual
> member and/or Government sponsorship.

  I don't think Govt. sponsorship should be allowed.

>
>
> I do not believe in ICANN At Large as a charity organisation begging for
> money.

  I think that the ICANN board members should be required to go
begging for any and all additional funds that the At-Large membership
does not otherwise provide through a very nominal membership fee.
Yes Alf, you will need to be fitted with a knee pads and buy a tin cup
should you be elected!

>
>
> Best regards,
> --
> Alf Hansen                     Mail address:
>                                  UNINETT FAS A/S
> aha@uninett.no                   N-7465 Trondheim, Norway
> Home page:                     Phone: +47 73 55 79 00
> http://domen.uninett.no/~alf/  Fax:   +47 73 55 79 01
>
> Kurt Jaeger auf Mailinglisten wrote:
> >
> > ICANN Europe needs funding
> >
> > ICANN in Europe needs funding to set up sound and representative
> > decision-making structures. A prerequisite of this goal is to make
> > ICANN better known among European countries and to encourage participation.
> >
> > Furthermore, Europe has to pay its share for the next
> > At Large registration process. The first election's budget depended
> > solely on a USD 200000 donation by the American Markle Foundation.
> >
> > The ICANN director elected by its european constituency has as
> > its first and most urgent task to communicate about the topics
> > and responsibilities of ICANN with the european constituency.
> > Real life meetings beyond email communications are a necessary
> > means to this end.
> >
> > According to ICANN, affluence is a necessary condidition for
> > candidates to serve on the board. Such a condition may well reflect
> > the American political tradtion, however, it is cleary at odds with
> > European priniples of democracy.
> >
> > Funding is needed to ensure that all European citizens independent of
> > their financial situation and employers are able to run for ICANN
> > elections.
> >
> > To do so requires independent money to not blurr the message
> > with other interpretations.
> >
> > So let us discuss how to set up an neutral fund to pool sufficient money
> > for those tasks, independent from any influences and transparent for
> > all internet users to understand what is going on.
> >
> > How much money is required ? Estimates are that roughly 20 KEUR
> > are required each month to fund the costs for the infrastructure
> > to run a communicative ICANN european directors office.
> > So, in total approx. 500 KEUR will be required for the two-year term.
> > In addition, for each new At Large Member, we need one EUR for
> > the PIN letter.
> >
> > What will be paid with that money ? Phone bills, internet
> > fees 8-), air plane tickets, general office infrastructure, hotel
> > bills, printing costs for brochures, conference/exhibition fees, etc.,
> > whatever is required to do the ICANN director job.
> >
> > Who will collect the money ?
> > - volunteers should campaign in their communities, companies and regions
> >   for donations
> > - one bank account to allow people to donate money
> > - some neutral organisation should handle the cash flow with a small
> >   staff to handle bills and accounts
> >
> > Who decides on where to spend ? The person that will be elected
> > is probably the best person to decide where to spend the money.
> > This person will probably choose to have some controlling institution
> > to balance against abuses. The money not spent after two years
> > might go to the general ICANN budget, but this is just an idea...
> >
> > How to ensure transparency of the money flow ? It sounds a little
> > radical, but technically, it does not sound very difficult to
> > have a website online with the full electronic transaction
> > record of the banking account, together with scans of the
> > relevant paperwork. Yes, it might frighten a few potential
> > funders from giving money. It will not allow anonymous contributions.
> > With the latest european experiences in transparency topics (namely
> > Santer, Kohl, Chirac, maybe others), it might not be a bad
> > idea, after all 8-)
> >
> > >From talks I had in the last 4 weeks it looks like some diverse
> > scientific, political, economic and business groups might be willing
> > to support such a funding model for now.
> >
> > So with this mail I explicitly ask
> >
> >     all the candidates, especially those that already seem
> >     to be well-funded 8-), the following question:
> >
> >         Will you lobby your backing institutions to give at least
> >         some amount of money you are willing to spend for your
> >         candidate, even if your candidate is not elected ?
> >
> >     all those willing to participate in the funding debate:
> >
> >         Will you help raise some funds by giving a few speeches
> >         at local/regional groups (be they political, scientific,
> >         businesses or whatever), asking them to pay into the fund ?
> >
> > If this plan sounds acceptable, lets start doing it. Its
> > late, but not too late.
> >
> > P.S.: If you wonder what my non-exclusive role in this will be:
> >  a) find some bank account held by a neutral fund collection organisation
> >  b) find fundraisers
> >  c) support this fund with some money of my own
> >
> > And, no, there's no webpage for this effort right now -- maybe soon.
> > If you want to ask private questions about this proposal, send mail to me
> > at pi@LF.net.
> >
> > --
> > MfG/Best regards, Kurt Jaeger                                  20 years to go !
> > LF.net GmbH        pi@LF.net            Oberon.net GmbH   pi@oberon.net
> > Vor dem Lauch 23   fon +49 711 90074-23 Friedrich-Ebert-Str.1 +49 171 3101372
> > D-70567 Stuttgart  fax +49 711 7289041  40210 Duesseldorf fon +49 211 179253-11

Regards,
--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman INEGroup (Over 112k members strong!)
CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng/SR. Java/CORBA Development Eng.
Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC.
E-Mail jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com
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