Re: [council] Conference fees as revenue source

[Jonathan Cohen <jcohen@shapirocohen.com>]

AS Chairman of the Meetings Committee I am pleased to see this discussion take
place. I proposed a Conference fee (which was charged in Singapore) but there
has been resistance to it on many grounds.
1)the cost of collecting,administering,accounting will undercut the value
significantly.
this objection is one that,in my view is real But can be overcome
2)Many people would not be able to afford a 'real' Meeting fee.
I see this as a 'red herring'Those who can afford to come can certainly afford
a reasonable Meeting Fee.However,staggering the fee by country or, allowing
certain
people meeting defined criteria to attend for free or at a reduced
rate,or,allowing people to apply for Meeting Fee exemption ..might answer this
BUT the more complicated the procedure the more labour intensive ,the costlier
and so on.....
3)We wish to encourage broad participation and a Fee could further reduce
attendance and 'squeeze'out those who we want there but couldnt afford it.
I doubt this but the discussions have been 'heated'

From the Committee,s Point of view it would be marvellous if the Community
itself ,as a whole, would debate this issue and reach a consensus.If there is
a willingness,broadly based, to pay a reasonable fee then that certainly would
be considered carefully by the Board as  one method for containing costs while
delivering needed service
Thanks for listening
Best Regards
Jonathan Cohen
Bruce Tonkin wrote:

> I fail to see that
> > conference fees are a solution to ICANN's funding challenges.
>
> Agreed.  I don't think they have ever been proposed as a method of core
> funding.
>
> > On the other hand, it might defray meeting costs themselves.
>
> Exactly.  These meeting costs are not insignificant.
>
> There are many people that attend ISOC and IETF events that are
> non-commercial or are funded by the individual.  These events all charge a
> meeting fee.  The combination of face-to-face opportunities and email
> discussion lists works well for those organisations.
>
> Regards,
> Bruce Tonkin
>
> >

--
Shapiro Cohen
Ottawa, ON  Canada

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