[kictanet] is IGF a castrated version of ICANN???

Thu Jul 12 13:01:12 EAT 2007

Thnx Sir, seems clearer. But I still think the writer was under some
influence! Kind Regards,

On 7/12/07, John Walubengo <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Judy,
>
> yes, it does make sense.  though the language of castration
> is a bit on the offensive side i would imagine...
>
> Nevertheless it is true that IGF, the Internet Governance
> Forum was concieved at WSIS 2005  as a compromise, safty
> valve (ref http://intgovforum.org/mandate.htm).  This was
> after members and participants failed to agree on the way
> forward, particularly with regard to how the internet could
> be managed more democratically - put in another way, how
> the American dominant control of the internet (thro ICANN)
> could be shared out with other interested countries.
>
> Indeed IGF has no executive powers and remains a 'talking
> shop' as critics would say.  However, the IGF secretariate
> believes that its strength is paradoxically because it does
> lack the executive authority to enforce matters discussed.
> I know it sounds stupid but if you think about how KICTAnet
> operates, then u begin to understand the power of IGF.
>
> KICTAnet has no executive authority over ICT matters in
> Kenya, but because of that, members (civil society, govt,
> academia, media, consumers, individuals, etc) are free to
> shout their grievances in an open, informal and sometimes
> careless manner.  And more often than not, those with
> executive power tend to pick out important messages and get
> to act on them - sometimes they do so immediately other
> times much later on, and yes ofcourse sometimes never.
>
> And so it is with the IGF, it is a global forum for
> 'venting it out' in a sort of diplomatic way, and many
> times ICANN (the one with executive control over the
> Internet) gets to pick out the issues and considers some if
> not most of them accordingly.
>
>
> walu.
>
> > a visit to the
> > > therapist's office
> > a visit to the
> > > therapist's office.
>
>
>
> --- Judy Okite <judyokite at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > This does not make sense!! Is it meant to be a joke???
> > Mr. Walubengo?
> > Kind Regards,
> >
> > On 7/10/07, Rebecca Wanjiku <rebeccawanjiku at yahoo.com>
> > wrote:
> > > makes good reading???
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ICANN San Juan 2007 After a crazed American federal
> > prosecutor wreaked havoc
> > > on the Puerto Rican roads by wiping out on his
> > motorcycle at 3am doing 105
> > > mph, immobilizing traffic for ten hours on a major
> > highway, I walked four
> > > miles on Thursday morning along the beach to the site
> > of the ICANN meeting.
> > > I made it just in time to the Caribe Hilton for the
> > internet governance
> > > workshop.
> > >   Sure glad I caught this one.
> > >               if
> > (document.getElementById('MidArticleSlot'))
> > > document.write('\x3Cscript
> > >
> >
> src="http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/adj/reg.management.4159/itdirector;'+RegExCats+GetVCs()+'pid='+RegId+';'+RegKW+'maid='+maid+';test='+test+';pf='+RegPF+';dcove=d;sz=336x280;tile=3;ord='
> > > + rand + '?" type="text/javascript">\x3C\/script>');
> > >
> > >    In the beginning ... uh, were the critical...uh...
> > internet resources...
> > > ahm well... we'll get back to that at the Rio
> > conference in November. Sort
> > > of like Adam wandering around the garden labeling
> > things, the Internet
> > > Governance Forum (IGF) is still working on its reason
> > for being here.
> > >   The IGF was created out of whole cloth by the UN as a
> > kind of
> > > internationalized counterweight to perceived excessive
> > American influence at
> > > ICANN, and yet no one in attendance, even those who
> > participate in the IGF,
> > > are quite sure what the IGF even does - apparently it's
> > still defining its
> > > fundamentals. A good chunk of this mercifully short
> > session consisted of
> > > participants half-heartedly trying to define what
> > constitute "critical
> > > internet resources" - the protection of which they've
> > decided is essential
> > > to their core mission, and which is topic numero uno at
> > the upcoming Rio
> > > event.
> > >   The truth is really out there, right?
> > >   This session in theory was about more than the IGF,
> > but in practice it
> > > consisted mostly of a discussion about the extent to
> > which the IGF and ICANN
> > > serve overlapping or even contradictory purposes.
> > >   There seemed to be a rather diplomatic consensus that
> > the two institutions
> > > complement each other, but after sitting through an
> > hour of discussion on
> > > the subject, this correspondent still has absolutely no
> > idea what the IGF
> > > actually does - or if it even has the power to do
> > anything at all. Is it a
> > > gripe forum, kind of like those bitter websites
> > American trademark attorneys
> > > are always trying to shut down? Is it just a glorified
> > networking event? Who
> > > knows? If I make it to the Rio forum, I'll be sure to
> > let everyone know.
> > >   Although this topic looked appetizing on the
> > schedule, it's clear that the
> > > IGF has a lot of work to do if it is to be considered
> > anything more than a
> > > highly vocal yet castrated version of ICANN. Indeed,
> > the IGF bares an
> > > uncanny resemblance to that other impotent,
> > internationalized and highly
> > > vocal institution, the UN General Assembly. That's not
> > to say that it does
> > > not have value - it's just the political equivalent to
> > a visit to the
> > > therapist's office. We all need to get stuff off our
> > chest from time to
> > > time.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Tel. 254 720 318 925
> > >
> > > blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/
> > >
> > > ---------------------------------
> > > Got a little couch potato?
> > > Check out fun summer activities for kids.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Judy Ann Okite,
> > +254-721237507,+254-734252336
> > P.O. BOX 2228 00100,
> > NAIROBI,KENYA.
> >
> >
> > "Even if you are on the right track, you'll still get run
> > over if you
> > just sit there."
> >
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>
>
>
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-- 
Judy Ann Okite,
+254-721237507,+254-734252336
P.O. BOX 2228 00100,
NAIROBI,KENYA.

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll still get run over if you
just sit there."