Global "Internet for Everyone" Platform
The presidential tenure of Lynn St.Amour can be best described as a period of programmed decay of Internet Society. International membership is marginalised to the extend that over the last year ISOC President had no time to meet at least once with ISOC global members. The only message she mailed to membership was a proclamation that letters from members are an annoyance worse that DOS attack (by the way I cannot see any "services" which would become unavailable...).
After two years of fights for a right to create European Chapters Council and after a more than two years of non-debate over the membership system we know for sure that ISOC HeadQuarters? do not care about their members. We are expected only to pay their bills. So there is no reason to waste time in hopeless negotiations.
- Do not burn Committees - create your own ones instead
It is the famous suggestion which Jacek Kuron gave to Lech Walesa. And it had power to destroy the most of Communist dictatorships. As ISOC Chapters we can still serve as a cover for *.org funds redistribution.
At the same time we need to create a new international federation of ISOC chapters and local activily groups which would be governed by its membership and which will share goals of mojority of its members.
Proposed names
- Global Internet for Everyone
- Global Society of Internet
- Internet for Democracy
Basic asumptions:
Structure
Principle of Subsidiarity
- Minimal common infrastructure only; we need cooperating minds instead of HQ with offices, membership directors etc.
- As much as possible should be done by participating groups themselves.
- Relations with ISOC
Proposed "Internet for Everyone" Initiative should keep as close as possible relations with "Internet for Richest" ISOC. We are not restricted to belong to only one internetional structure. As long as ISOC will want to recognise us as a chapters we should stay with ISOC as a chapters. Simply ISOC is unable or unwilling to care about several issues important to us so we prefer to have a common discussion and voice about those issues. In fact other "ISOC pillars": big corporations and standards have their own structures both inside and outside ISOC.
- Federation with direct membership
4Proposed "Internet for Everyone" in principle should be a federation of local organizations. Still the direct Global Membership is important both for participatian and representation. I would suggest to agree about minimal standard of full membership which should be maintained by chapters participating if federation. As long as chapter maintains resonable activity and keeps high standards for members chapter's members should be recognised as global members.
Virtual General Assembly of European Chapters Coordination Council should be a launch platform for new idea.
- Double majority as a base for governance
We should borrow from the European Union the idea of "double majority" rule. Governing bodies should be built in such a way that for political decision a support from both majority of chapters and majority of voting members will be required.
Some prospective members simply do not belong to any existing chapter. There should be rule which allows such a individuals to join "internet for Everyone" directly with requirement to join existing chapter or create a new one over the following 2-3 years.
Organizational members and sponsors would have w voting power only through sponsored chapters or sponsored individual meberships. No division into classes of membership based on monetary contribution.
Membership
- Internet Professional
We should make an effort to open for our members a possibility to gaun a status of "global internet professional" based on contribution for "Internet for Everyone" idea and documentes professional achievement and skills.
- Professional Users of Internet
- Internet users as consumers
We should keep open the possibility to gain a status of represantion of representatives of global Internet users as consumers. Our membership status should enable to differentiate between Internet professionals, professional users and passionate users
Goals and Principles
- Participation in standard setting activities
"Internet for Everyone" should built a relations and to directly cooperate in all standard bodies, including W3C, OASIS, IEEE, ITU etc. As a individual chapters we should participate in WSIS process.
- Internet for Democracy
We should define ourselves as a natural allies for all groups concerned about implications of Internet technology for democracy and freedom to speek and to innovate.
Current tasks
- Call for prospective members*
Membership management system*
- Adaptation of one of the existing systems used by participating chapters*
- Systematic effort to create an open source management system for International NGO's or to join one*
- Procedures for virtual and personal meetings*
It is version 0.11 created Sunday, March 12th.
Changelog:
0.11 2005.03.11
- Current tasks added
- Structure of document clarified by separating ideas about organizational structure; membership and ideas, goals and principles.