[nukkad] ICANN.org - register for India (fwd)

[Harshal Chhaya <hchhaya@epsilon.pair.com>]

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Saw this on BT.

I have re-formatted the article so it is easier to read and added
http:// in front of all web-address so that they become clickable
in HTML-aware email clients.

BTW, http://www.icannwatch.org/ is saying that the ICANN servers are
congested and may not be reachable.

I got this message when I tried to register:
   We are sorry. The database is currently overloaded.
   Please try again when the system is less busy.

Also, the total number of registered Indian voters is 1709 which means
that this message is at least a few days old and that it worked.

For some more reading on this:

A proposal to replace ICANN with a substitute is at
http://www.pfir.org/statements/policies

http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dg071700.htm
has some more convincing arguments for registering as an ICANN voter.

Regards,
- 'shal
harshal@mumbai-central.com




----- Forwarded message from Shrikant -----

IMPORTANT PRESS RELEASE
INDIA'S  FUTURE ON THE INTERNET.
TIME-SENSITIVE INFORMATION.


Dear Editor,

We are writing to draw your attention to a story of great importance for
India's future role in the internet economy and society. As you may
know, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
will be holding elections to its first governing board this October. This
board will represent a de facto internet government. Although the scope
of the board's authority remains unclear--it will, among other things,
determine the allocation of new top-level domain names and set a range of
technical standards--these elections will in many ways decide the future
of the internet.

Anyone over the age of 16 with a valid email address can register to
vote at  the ICANN web site (http://www.icann.org). Yet so far, the vast
majority of registered voters are from the West--North America and 
Germany in particular. A lack of awareness and information in this 
country means that only some 215 Indians are registered (updated voter
statistics are available at http://members.icann.org/pubstats.html

Time is running out: the deadline for voter registration is July 31, 2000. 
Unless something is done soon, the future of the internet will repeat 
its history, and will largely represent western interests.

We believe that this would be deeply unfortunate for the developing
world  as a whole, and in particular for India, which has such a wealth
of IT talent.

Many in this country feel that the internet represents a chance for
India to become a global economic superpower. For that vision to come true,
however, we must begin by ensuring that India has a voice in the
emerging global internet government.

The Indian media has a major role to play in fostering the nation's
cyber-vote. (Indeed, the large number of registered German voters
can be attributed to a national information campaign conducted by two of
the country's leading magazines.) We therefore request you to help us in
our campaign to generate awareness among Indian netizens about their
historic opportunity to participate in these elections. We have already
started this process by disseminating information through internet
postings and posters at cybercafes around the country. You can help us 
in our efforts by running an article on this important topic. As we mention 
above, time is running out; we hope that you can print something as 
soon as possible.

We have listed a number of sources below for further information.

You can also email us at ICANNelections@india.com, or join an online
discussion on the issue by sending an email to
ICANNIndia-subscribe@egroups.com.

Thank you for reading this letter, and for helping to give India a voice
in the future of the internet.

Yours Sincerely,
Vijay Chandru, Professor, Computer Science & Automation,
Indian Institute of Science

Siddharth Dube, Author ("Words Like Freedom") and Development Expert

Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor and Head, Electrical Engineering
Department, IIT Madras

Akash Kapur, Oxford Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy,
Journalist

Arun Mehta, President of the Society for Telecom Empowerment

Sevanti Ninan, Author and Columnist for The Hindu

S. Sadagopan, Director, Indian Institute of Information Technology,
 Bangalore

P.S. Please also ensure that you take a first step in the campaign by
registering yourself to vote at ICANN's site.
For more information:

1. Join an online discussion by sending a message to
ICANNIndia-subscribe@egroups.com.
2. Send an email to ICANNelections@india.com
3. http://www.icann.org: The official ICANN site is a good place to begin for
background on the election schedule and regulations.
4. http://www.icannwatch.org: ICANNwatch is a good source of information and
public  discussion on the (often controversial) steps being taken by
ICANN.
5. http://www.cdt.org: The Center for Democracy and Technology has been a
vocal critic of ICANN's proposals. Note, in particular, its "Letter to
Esther Dyson" (Dyson is the Chairperson of ICANN).
6. http://www.msnbc.com/news/428654.asp: A brief but informative article that
ran recently on MSNBC.
 7. For those with access to either the print or internet version of
The Economist (http://www.economist.com), the June 10, 2000 issue contains an
informative article on ICANN and internet governance in general.


----- End of forwarded message from Shrikant -----

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