RE: [council] Conference fees as revenue source

[Elisabeth Porteneuve <Elisabeth.Porteneuve@cetp.ipsl.fr>]

Harald, Marilyn,
All,

We do not have the exact cost of ICANN physical meetings as a separate 
item in ICANN financial reports, the last one beeing at:
http://www.icann.org/financials/financial-report-fpe-31dec01.htm
but as far as I recall the numbers are circa $US 50,000 per meeting.
Saving money on physical meetings means saving $US 150-200 thousand
per year, i.e. less than 4 percent of ICANN budget in range
of $US5 million.

On the other hand, meetings fees are an extra $200-300,
and certainly too much burden in the budget of many participants.

The ccTLD group used to request for a voluntary donation fee "at gate",
usually suggested to $100, to cover one day of additional meeting we 
held before ICANN physical meetings. More or less half of participants
pay that fees, and over time I noted that one or two give $10 or $20.
It is indeed a barrier.

An additional information - there is 240 ccTLDs Managers, 
the biggest scores of participation we had at physical meetings
were in Accra March 2002 (82 ccTLDs present or represented, thanks 
to outstanding efforts of Francophonie Agency sponsoring 17 ccTLD)
and in Geneva February 2002 (72 ccTLDs present or represented).
In the real world, which the ccTLDs are from and represent, they 
frequently need to add also visa costs and related paperwork similar
to what everybody had to do when traveling to Ghana. I recall in 2000 
that the ccTLD Manager from Kazakhstan had to travel 700 miles and spend 
some time in the capital city at Almaty, to queue up at the US Ambassy 
and eventually had his entry to the US (Marina del Rey meeting) refused,
cf. http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/council/Arc04/msg00453.html
even with help of Mike Roberts:
cf. http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/council/Arc04/msg00454.html
Let not forget that cost as well.

Elisabeth


-----Original Message follows-----
Subject: RE: [council] Conference fees as revenue source
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 21:52:03 -0400
From: "Cade,Marilyn S - LGA" <mcade@att.com>
To: <hfeld@mediaaccess.org>, <Council@dnso.org>

I appreciate your input, Harold. In fact, many participants will 
find conference fees a barrier. I fail to see that conference 
fees are a solution to ICANN's funding challenges. On the other 
hand, it might defray meeting costs themselves. But core funding 
is not solved by this mechanism. 

I have mixed feelings about this since those who fund their 
own expenses, and that is an increasing number, find the extra 
$200-300 or so an additional financial burden, when travel and 
hotel/expenses costs are in the $1200=-2000 range on average 
per meeting. 

-----Original Message-----
From: hfeld@mediaaccess.org [mailto:hfeld@mediaaccess.org]
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 9:20 PM
To: Council@dnso.org
Subject: [council] Conference fees as revenue source


On the last conference call, I was asked to consult with the NCC to 
ascertain whether the NCC would regard conference fees as a barrier to 
attendance.

The answer is yes.  I have received email from several NCC members 
stating that it is already a financial burden for them to participate in 
ICANN.  A conference fee to attend, particularly if it is on par with those 
usually requested by professional conferences in the United States, 
would make attendance impossible or prove a serious deterrent for them.

I will add that, from personal experience, many professional conferences 
provide scholarships or waive fees for non-profits. 

As with many issues at ICANN pertaining to cost, the issue becomes: 
does ICANN (and its participants) value the input and contribution of non-
profits sufficiently to accomodate the very real financing problem for non-
profits.  Non-profits are a critical part of the Internet community.  Many of 
our members play vital roles in maintianing an Internet structure in their 
countries or providing training and Internet access.  I hope that ICANN, 
and its members, will value this perspective.

Harold
Feld

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