Question: Could you please tell us your response to the Civil Society Statement on ICANN Elections? That statement is posted at: http://www.CivilSocietyInternetForum.org/statement.html Thank you.

Nominee Replies

Masanobu Katoh - posted on 2000-09-13 08:50:18 Dear ICANN Member: Here is my response to the Civil Society Statement on ICANN Elections. In order to promote the Internet, we should keep it away from conventional regulations, yet we need some sort of order to assure confidence. For this purpose, we need a volunteer private sector driven structure where all stakeholders can equally participate. I believe ICANN should focus on, at least, three important elements: diverse representation to reflect our diverse stakeholders, openness of procedures and transparency of decision-making, and effective communications with our stakeholders and the general public. One of the biggest challenges are the cultural or social ones. We should not make the Internet a place to widen the gap between information haves and have nots. Through my multicultural experiences, I think I can contribute to ICANN by giving a balanced view of all (current and potential) stakeholders of the information society. I work on many volunteer activities independently from any employer or other interest group. I know that the best interest for all of them is to promote the Internet in general, not to promote it for somebody’s specific short-term interest. Knowing the very public nature of ICANN, I promise that, if I will be elected as a member of the board, I work only for ICANN and the general public. For more information about my views on ICANN, please visit www.mkatoh.net. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my views with you. Sincerely, M. Katoh Johannes Chiang - posted on 2000-09-13 07:15:11 I would like to support and enhance the statement, hence I have state in my web-page for the nominees section on the ICANN site as following, 1. As my vision:to enhance the guiding values such as democracy, transparency, bottom-up process, equal rights, decentralization, privacy, minimal cost and equity as stated in the brief comments of the Yokohama Statement on Civil Society and ICANN Elections by the Non-business Constituency in July 2000. 2. As my position if elected:To realize a structured Internet Civil Forum. by Johannes Chiang Hong Jie Li - posted on 2000-09-13 02:42:35 I agree with your opinion. But I think we can push ICANN become more transparent and more equitable step by step. We can't expect ICANN become perfect in one day.