The Internet Society Nominations Committee has received a petition by George Sadowsky to add his name to the slate of candidates for the Chapters election to the Internet Society board of trustees. Following is additional information provided by George Sadowsky.
Election in which you wish to be considered a candidate:
Chapters Election
Statement regarding your ability to devote appropriate time to Board service:
I have been a Trustee of the Internet Society in 7 of the 8 years 1996-2004. During most of that time I was active as the originator and organizer of the Network Technology Workshops for Developing Countries. I generally spent about half-time on ISOC activities, while working full time directing computing and networking at New York University. As a Board Member at ICANN over the last nine years I was expected to spend half of my time on ICANN affairs, and I had no trouble doing so. I expect to have sufficient time to spend on ISOC Board service in the coming years.
Statement regarding the kind of contribution you would make to the Board:
When I was last an ISOC Trustee, I spent a great deal of time running the Network Technology Workshops for Developing Countries. Earlier I had worked full time doing technology transfer for the United Nations, and from that experience I understood keenly the importance of the Internet for developing economies. Many of the current ISOC chapters have resulted from those workshops.
If I am elected to the Board, one of my principal foci will be on the development of the Internet and its use in developing countries. ISOC’s chapters there are a major resource that can be leveraged to use the Internet more effectively to address emerging problems and promote acceptable policies. ISOC needs to use its chapters as a source for important issues and it needs to help them with the local manifestations of those issues. My history of working in about 50 developing countries, having both US and European passports, and having experience in the varied problems of countries around the world as well as their possible amelioration will help me to be successful in this task.
Chapters in developed countries have important roles. As the digital ecosystem expands to affect all of our lives at almost every level and almost every dimension, our chapters can provide a source of knowledge and a voice of reason in addressing the many issues of governance that arise as issues involve the Internet and the digital ecosystem to an ever increasing extent. Internet chapters have the capacity to be an important and recognized source for balanced perspectives.
I will focus on what it means to be an ISOC member. I feel that ISOC’s relations with its membership has weakened since its inception, and that its membership model is not persuasive for individuals who may agree with its goals. ISOC is not a household word even in the Internet community, and it could be. I intend to be involved in processes that examine redefining the membership model, and if necessary, the governance structure of the Society. I believe that the concept of ISOC membership needs re-examination, certainly at the individual level, but that it may also be worth reassessing the state of membership at the corporate level, considering in both cases the criteria for membership and the potential benefits that could be provided to members.
There are obviously internal Society and Trustee matters that are the proper concern of the Board, and I am ready to participate in them. I’ve been a member of a number of Boards, including NYSERNet and CICNet at the regional level, CREN at the national level, and ISOC and ICANN at the global level. I have worked on committees that have addressed legal, political, financial and ethical issues while on these Boards, and expect to contribute appropriately in these areas (see georgesadowsky,org for more details).
The Internet faces many challenges, some of which are squarely in the Internet Society’s mandate. Those of us who feel strongly about these issues need to act together, and with unified purpose, to do what we can to assist it to achieve its potential to help all of us. In my view, the Internet Society will have achieved a real success when, if an individual, organization or country has a perplexing policy or technical issue regarding aspects of the Internet, they will ask, “What does the Internet Society say about this issue?”
Declaration of potential conflicts of interest:
I have no actual or potential conflicts of interest with my role as a Trustee of the Internet Society. If any occur in the future, I will promptly notify the appropriate office.
The petition mailbox for signatures (i.e. emails) in support of this petition request is: [email protected]
See the Petitions page for details on supporting petitions: https://www.internetsociety.org/board-of-trustees/elections/2020/petitions/