[council] Webcasting?

[DannyYounger@cs.com]

[Posted to the GA list.]

To date, I have not received a request from Philip Sheppard, in his capacity
of chair of the Names Council, for the GA and NC sessions to be webcast,
though I believe that Phil is aware of this issue.  I understand that Philip
and the Names Council are likely evaluating the possibility of a webcast
here, but I can't speak to the specifics; perhaps they'll jump in to
explain.

In addition to the need for a request from the NC, there's also an issue of
funding: As many on this list may already know, the Names Council ordinarily
provides ICANN with funding to defray a portion of webcast expenses.  So far
as I know, from briefly reviewing the Names Council's mailing list archives
(<http://www.dnso.org/dnso/ncarchives.html>), the Names Council has to date
neither allocated such funds, nor arranged an outside sponsor for this
purpose.

If Berkman Center staff is not asked by the responsible person or entity --
Philip and the Names Council, in this case -- to webcast the sessions and to
facilitate remote participation, archival, and other services, it's doubtful
that we'll do so.  Furthermore, if the DNSO does not provide funding to
ICANN to defray these expenses, as has been the case at prior ICANN
meetings, it's uncertain that we'll be able to do the work even if asked.


So, Joanna, to answer your first specific question: At this time, I cannot
confirm that the GA and NC sessions will be webcast.  So far as I know, no
decision has yet been reached, one way or the other, on this subject.  Of
course, I remain hopeful that this will work out for the best, as it has at
the past eleven meetings at which the Berkman Center has provided meeting
support services (<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/>).


I can, however, confirm that the November 12 Public Forum on At Large
Participation will be webcast.  Note its inclusion on
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/mdr2001/> (first row of the meeting
table).


Regards,


Ben Edelman
Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Harvard Law School