Re: [council] Marina del Rey meeting announcement

["Oscar A. Robles Garay" <orobles@nic.mx>]

Stuart,
	Thanks for taking the time to read this comments.

	At a glance this decision seems wise, since there is nothing to discuss if there is no Internet addressing and naming systems.

	But, I'm not sure if the proposed agenda is intended to be discussed by regular atendees (most of us prepared to discuss political, rather than technical issues). If not (if the "new" agenda is intended for another audience) then ICANN should make a big effort to invite technical people and discuss the different issues regarding security of internet addressing and naming systems.

	Although Supporting Organizations have people able and smart enough to deal with technical matters, those are minorities. I have a technical background, notwithstanding, I don't feel able to discuss specific issues that may affect the Internet robustness and security aspects. In that regard I would ask you to come up asap with the final agenda, so we could decide either to send technical people (those attending IETF meetings) or stick with original plans.

	    Regards,

                Oscar A. Robles Garay
---------------------------------------------------------
   NIC-Mexico  Top Level Domain .MX  http://www.nic.mx
               Tel/Fax. +52(8)387-5346

On Wed, 26 Sep 2001, M. Stuart Lynn wrote:

> Dear Colleagues:
>
> This is to give you a heads-up that later today we will announce
> (please see the appended and attached announcement for details) that
> the ICANN meeting in Marina del Rey will proceed as scheduled but
> with a very different format and content than usual.
>
> The change in format and content is that the Marina del Rey meeting
> will focus exclusively on the global stability and security of the
> naming and addressing systems of the Internet. In the light of recent
> events, this is a paramount question in the minds of most people
> across the world Internet community. ICANN will be judged in large
> part by how well we respond to this concern. All other ICANN-related
> issues -- however important -- take second place. There has not been
> time to map out a detailed agenda yet for the meeting, but the
> attached announcement suggests the tenor of the approach. More
> details will be announced next week.
>
> Responses that I have received to my community enquiry regarding
> travel plans indicate that almost everyone plans to come to Marina
> del Rey unless international conditions deteriorate to where travel
> is not practical. Thus, I am confident we will have a reasonable
> attendance. Of course, if the international situation does
> deteriorate adversely, we will cancel the meeting.
>
> I do hope that you and your constituencies will join with us to make
> this meeting as productive and significant as possible. We will be
> seeking your guidance.
>
> Please do not hesitate to write or call if I can answer any questions.
>
> Stuart
>
> _______________
>
>
> ICANN Meeting in Marina del Rey
> November 13 - 15, 2001
> Preliminary Announcement
>
>
> Many members of the ICANN community wrote in response to our call for
> input as to whether the events of September 11 would affect their
> plans to travel to Los Angeles in November to attend the scheduled
> ICANN meetings. Almost without exception the respondents emphatically
> encouraged ICANN to hold its meetings and stated unequivocally that
> they planned to attend unless the international situation
> deteriorated to where travel was not practical.
>
> Given this response and given the need to address emerging
> priorities, we are planning to proceed with an ICANN meeting in
> Marina del Rey in November, 2001, subject to any further serious
> change in the international situation that would affect travel
> conditions. However, as discussed below, the format of the meeting
> will differ significantly from what had previously been announced.
> This is only a preliminary announcement to enable attendees to firm
> up their travel plans. Details of the meeting will be announced as
> soon as possible.
>
> The events of September 11 have caused institutions worldwide to
> rethink their priorities and plans. As an international institution,
> ICANN is not immune. Although those events raise logistical and other
> concerns for holding meetings, they also underscore the need to
> address Internet stability issues, and security as a key component of
> stability.  ICANN is not responsible for the overall security of the
> Internet. However, given ICANN's global responsibilities for the
> stability of the Internet's naming and addressing systems and under
> the new circumstances facing the international community, it would be
> irresponsible for ICANN not to conduct an in depth assessment of the
> robustness and security of these systems, and to take steps, if
> necessary, to strengthen the Internet in these regards. This is of
> the highest urgency and the greatest worldwide importance.
>
> The Internet is global in reach, as are the threats of terrorism. The
> events of September 11 offered a stark and tragic reminder of the
> incalculable importance of a reliable and secure naming and
> addressing system to support emergency response, personal and other
> communications, and information sharing. Email, instant messaging,
> and the web , for example, all played essential roles.
>
> Accordingly - and following consultation with the Executive Committee
> of the ICANN Board of Directors - I am announcing that the November
> ICANN meetings will focus on stability and security of the Internet's
> naming and addressing systems and of their operational implementation
> globally. This will be the over-riding imperative for the meeting. As
> such, this will be a very different kind of meeting than previous
> ICANN meetings and will not follow the usual format.
>
> At this meeting, we will be seeking to promote discussion throughout
> the community on how - in the light of events - to reassess areas of
> potential threats that could affect services within the scope of
> ICANN's responsibilities, how to improve our readiness to meet these
> threats, and what additional policies or other actions should be
> considered and implemented to facilitate such improvements. Clearly
> not all these questions will be answered in one meeting, but we must
> now devote our energies as members of the global Internet community
> towards obtaining answers. Every constituency will be asked to report
> on its efforts to ensure the stability of the Internet's naming and
> addressing systems and what additional steps it proposes to take to
> improve that stability and security among its member organizations.
> Agenda items will be assessed for inclusion by what they contribute
> to the overall focus of the meeting.
>
> Although a precise schedule has not yet been mapped out, we plan for
> these meetings to last three days from November 13 through November
> 15, inclusive. We hope that constituencies and supporting
> organizations will meet during this time to focus on the topic of the
> meeting. There will be further announcements next week, following
> additional consultations with members of the community.
>
> There will be a Board meeting at the end of the meeting to address
> essential business. The Board agenda will concentrate on topics where
> time is of the essence.
>
> I recognize that the focus of the meetings will delay progress on
> some of the worthy and important initiatives that are currently
> underway. The effects of such delays have to be measured against the
> importance of ensuring the stability and security of the Internet
> itself. I therefore ask for patience on the part of those who may
> experience delays in matters of importance to them so that we can
> bear down on the issue at hand.
>
> Please send any comments or questions to meetings@icann.org. More
> details will be forthcoming in due course.
>
> --
>
> __________________
> Stuart Lynn
> President and CEO
> ICANN
> 4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330
> Marina del Rey, CA 90292
> Tel: 310-823-9358
> Fax: 310-823-8649
> Email: lynn@icann.org