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[Comment-Geo] Part 2 - Proposal to reach the Geographic Diversity for the ICANN Board
Part 2
May 20, 1999. 01:30 EST TIME
TO : ICANN Board of Directors
SUBJECT : Part 2 - Proposal to reach the Geographic Diversity for the
ICANN Board
FROM : Javier Rodriguez jrl@mail.lima.net.pe
DATE : 20 May, 01:30 EST TIME
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This is the second part of our proposal. And it includes a detailed
system with arguments about why we understand the total Geographic
Diversity as the only way to honor the world of the Goverment of the
United States of America when it reaches in a white paper for
participation of the international internet communities from all around
the world.
NEW TIMES, NEW DEAL, BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS SMALL WORLD
-------------------------------------------------------------
There is not neccesity to do "global" election or to separate the 9
members of the "At Large" membership in "regional-5 directors" and
"global-4 directors". What the USA goverment wants and has made
commitment to establish is "Geographic Diversity". So, all the interest
of the world, commercial, educational, personal, technical, mus follow
the rule of having "Geographic Diversity". To put a "global" election
for a part of the 9 directors is to rest elements to the "Geographic
Diversity", is to give tools to many people all around the world who are
adding in their desks, calculating that "the internet in this moment has
X% of users in Europe, and Z% in NorthAmerica, so we have at least 2
seats for our region...". Thats it. All ends again in regional terms.
And the setting of 4 directors for doing "global election" with that
positions it nothing more than other way to say that there will be
regions (North America and Europe) who will have more representants just
because they have more population. We think that this veto power that
comes from the end of the World War II is out of date, and it should not
be honest with the commitment of the USA goverment to perpetuate the
veto that comes from the war power. There has been 50 years from the
end of the World War II and we think that the world has changed and
there is many people, all around the world, from all the nationalities
able to serve in the ICANN board with proficiency and honesty. Let the
Geographic Diversity reach the highest level that can be reach: total.
If someone can tell us wich danger of wich damage can be done if the
total amount of the members of the Board and the Supporting
Organizations are elected in the base of the Geographic Diversity then
we will change our mind and we will do our "mea culpa, mea grandisima
culpa".
PROPOSAL FOR ELECTION OF THE 9 MEMBERS FROM THE "AT LARGE" GROUP
----------------------------------------------------------------
The 9 members of the At Large group should be elected from one list.
2 candidates from each region will be choosen, those with the highest
number of votes.
Since this gives a total of 10 people of 9 sites it will be established
a system were each time that there is an election process one of the
regions will loose one of its elected members. This will be in a
rotative, secuential mode. So sooner or later all the regions will have
a period of time were they have got just one representative in the board
(or for the sake of simplicity, please lets change the bylaws once more
and lets allow to include one site more.).
PROPOSAL FOR THE ELECTION OF THE 3 MEMBERS OF EACH OF THE SUPPORTING
ORGANIZATIONS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Supporting Organizations should follow the in a period of 5
electionary process all the regions will have the right to have their
representants 3 times elected as ICANN Directors. The next relation
shows how easy is to establish this, in 5 electionary process ALL the
regions has been treated equal and has got the recognition that each
deserves, been present with their people in 3 times. All equal. No
further difference, no complicated systems, just a plain rol list that
shows in wich electionary process each region will have its opportunitie
to contribute with the global internet and to bring their especific
knowledge and reality.
This is the list:
AFRICA
EUROPE
SOUTH AMERICA
ASIA
EUROPE
NORTH AMERICA
AFRICA
NORTH AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA
AFRICA
ASIA
NORTH AMERICA
ASIA
EUROPE
SOUTH AMERICA
PROPOSAL FOR THE ELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN/CEO/PRESIDENT OF THE ICANN
BOARD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to the CEO/President,
The document says : " 4. Diversity Requirement for President and Chief
Executive Officer. This policy exempts the position of President and
Chief Executive Officer from a geographic diversity requirement. ". It
doesnt say why, it just say that it will be treated in a differente way.
And it continues "It is not desirable that recruiting of the best
qualified candidate for President/CEO be subject to a geographic
diversity requirement...". Here we goes again... it says it is not
desirable... why? It doesnt say a word about why, where is the
inconsistency? Who thinks that there is just a few candidates to be able
to manage or administer of finally direct the operation of the ICANN
Board ? And with this kind of argument, who is the person o group of
people who is saying "we will never find the best qualified candidate in
Asia or Africa or South America... so if we admit the Geographic
Diversity as a rule for the CEO... then someday we will have to find a
candidate in those regions..."... thats the sense of that statement, it
is not desirable because we will be limited by the Geographic Diversity
rule... Someone can choose to read this statemente as a "candid" way to
separate other site for the first developed world, and for the
permanency of the "status quo". We want to read this as an error that
will be avoided, and we want to inform to our national internet
communities and to our goverments who are the representation of our
people, that all the positions will be filled according with the promise
and the commitment of the Goverment of the United States of America
about the Geographic Diversity. Lets not create more rules where there
is no rule (specific for the CEO) and lets not go against the main rule
(the Geographic Diversity).
Finally the statement concludes ".. nor is it desirable that the
geographic residence of the President/CEO affect the nomination and
election
of other Directors through operation of the diversity policy." If you
choose the CEO respecting the geographic diversity is easy to put an
alphabetic roll: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America.
When the roll is finished we start again: Africa, Asia, etc. etc. Yes,
lucky us that with the "S" of South America go at the end of the roll.
No, we will not try to use the "L" from Latin America :-) Let me smile
for a while and tell you that we latinamericans, peruvians, have reached
the General Secretary of the United Nations... and we manage to do the
things right, so sitting a person born in Africa, Asia as Chairman in
the first elected board will not be any new speaking in terms of the
management of international organizations (sorry south american fellows,
we are with the "S" at the end of the rope :-) ).
CONCLUSION
----------
We hope that all this ideas will be in the best terms to improve the
concept about what is Geographic Diversity, where it comes from, who has
made commitment and promise to follow this guideline, and who are the
ones who are watching. If we, all put good faith, the best manners, be
polite enough, and dont forget that now this is a new world, a small
world, were we all must live and share as brothers, then we will have an
ICANN board that will be solid, will get plenty of recognition from the
goverments, from the users, from the asociations, from the companies and
from all people all around the world who is watching what we are doing
and how well are we going to do it. Thanks to all, all people in the
staff, in the ICANN board, in the Supporting Organizations and many
groups and organizations all aroun the world, thanks to the people
working in the Advisory Committes. We all are having a hard time, and
it will be harder in Berlin, but for sure that we will know how to lead
the ICANN ship to a safe port. Lets keep moving.
Javier Rodriguez
AXISNET
Peruvian Association of Internet Users and ISPs
VicePresident