[ga] The growing and independent movement of internet users
Title: Help As a member of IcannAtLarge.com - likely to be renamed in the coming weeks
as an independent Internet Users organisation - I feel excited by the growth of
a community and a movement which is calling for elected representation for
millions and millions of internet users all over the world : because the global
community of internet users has a right to be represented at the heart of ICANN,
and in the administration and future of the Internet ... OUR internet.
The grotesque exclusion of elected representatives on the ICANN Board is an
insult to the huge constituency of ordinary users and the internet public : I
urge the Board (or DoC) to re-think. The tide of opinion is flowing fast in the
opposite direction.
I feel really encouraged that our independent community now has
members in 73 different countries (see below).
I'm hoping to post a separate page for the members of each country later
today or tomorrow at The Internet Challenge, as we gear up to recruit 100,000
members by the next election.
Numbers are not everything, of course : what counts is participation and
involvement.
My hope is that representatives in each country will now develop plans and
strategies for increasing membership wherever they are.
In addition, recruitment can also take place around issues, and this will
be a further focus in due course.
The Internet Challenge is a website supporting this At Large initiative,
demanding democratic representation for ordinary users on the Board of ICANN.
I'm using it in the coming months to provide a monitoring site and an additional
resource for Icannatlarge.com in its period of growth. I will continue to record
ICANN's crass lack of accountability and the New TLDs fiasco in a separate
section on the site. But the main focus now is on the solution, which centres on
large-scale recruitment and the creation of a user's movement.
73 countries is a wonderful start in these opening months of our
independent At Large organisation of Internet Users. But it is only the
beginning.
This movement is going to grow and grow. I am hoping to provide a
multi-lingual interface on my own website, and template e-mails for recruitment,
but most important of all will be all the ideas and initiatives that
can be contributed, and the initiatives of local people at local
level.
We are developing a process of verifiable internet user elections as an
example to others; and what we prove within our own organisation will
in turn be implemented inside ICANN in due course : that is our
determination.
Our organisation is serious about its demands for elected user
representation at the heart of Internet administration and we are a "proof of
concept" for user participation and productive online elections. "Proof of
Concept" because what we are doing is developing a process of verifiable
internet user elections as an example to others; and because what we are proving
within our own organisation must in turn be implemented inside ICANN... A
"proof of concept" democratic model is being rigorously developed and
verification processes are one of our priorities; but we are also going to
achieve real numerical significance, to add weight to our case, and real
authority. We have just completed our second online elections, with reputable
watchdogs, and nobody doubts the process was productive and representative. How
much more representative than the tawdry ICANN Board with its machinations and
opaque dealings, which seems intent on crushing the voice of the people.
To the people of the world, I say : Let's get together!
It's YOUR internet It belongs to hundreds of millions of people all over the world who use it, develop it, share on it, trade, communicate, help, educate It's YOUR internet the global community of internet users has the right to be democratically represented in its administration and future Best wishes Richard Henderson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * List of 73 countries where our members live: Andorra Angola Argentina Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Benin Brazil Bulgaria BurkinaFaso Cambodia Cameroon Canada Chile China/HongKong Comoros CostaRica Cyprus Denmark Ecuador Egypt France Germany Ghana Greece India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jordan Kenya Kuwait Luxembourg Madagascar Malaysia Mali Mauritius Mauritania Mexico Moldova Monaco Morocco Netherlands NewZealand Niger Nigeria Norway Peru Philippines Rwanda Senegal Singapore SouthAfrica SouthKorea Spain Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Togo Tunisia Turkey UAE UK Uganda Ukraine Uruguay USA Vietnam There are still more countries we also need to reach into, but that is not an indictment at such an early stage - it is an excellent challenge, and our recruitment program is only beginning in earnest now : already the breadth of membership is really encouraging. To the ICANN Board I repeat: it was a wrong direction when you disenfranchised the millions of internet users all over the world. The case for democratic representation of this community is compelling. The DoC should consider this too. Our "Proof of Concept" will demonstrate the viability of productive online elections. The ICANN Board has to decide whether it keeps the people out, or lets them in.
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