2015-02-23

NETmundial Initiative, Headwinds, Questions, Puzzlement

Letter dated 6 February 2015 from the International Chamber of Commerce (pdf) (excerpt below, emphasis added):

To: NETmundial Organizing Partners:

Virgilio Augusto Fernandes Almeida
Secretary for Information Technology Policy
for the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation of Brazil

Fadi Chehadé
President and Chief Executive Officer of
ICANN

Richard Samans
Managing Director and Member of the
Managing Board, World Economic Forum

"...The NMI [NETmundial Initiative] website, however, still leaves significant questions as to the nature and scope of the planned activities unanswered or unclear. Of particular concern, we note that NMI’s commitment to a prime objective of supporting and complementing IGF [Internet Governance Forum], with an assurance of not replicating or replacing IGF, seems buried in context and thus is unclear and remains ambiguous in its intent. We note, for example, that there is no mention whatsoever of the IGF in text describing purpose and objectives on the NMI home page. The business community, as represented by ICC-BASIS, is not the only stakeholder to have raised concerns of this nature. We remain puzzled as to why the NMI has not provided a clear scope and objective in the written text describing the mission and purpose of NMI. We would expect similar statements of the nature that were made to us on the call, specifically that NMI is focusing on providing a tool that will facilitate finding relevant Internet governance-related resources..."

For background see:

ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade Showed Up in Davos for Secret ...
Jan 26, 2015
ICANN CEO Shows Up in Davos for Secret Meeting at WEF, World Economic Forum, NETmundial Initiative, internet governance, Fadi Chehade,

Favorite Quote of the Week, NETmundial Initiative - Domain ...
Sep 05, 2014
"My favorite part was when one news reporter... asked the speakers if they could tell him, in comprehensible and reportable language, what exactly had just happened [at the NETmundial Initiative at the World Economic ...


LIVE video: World Economic Forum NETmundial Initiative
Aug 27, 2014
LIVE video, World Economic Forum NETmundial Initiative, Initial Scoping Meeting, Press Conference, Debrief with Founding Partners,


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