Elsa Saade as temp alternate to Arsene on GNSO Council

[Olévié Kouami]

Greetings everyone !
 + @Dorothy.
I was denied visa to participe in intersessional meetings in LA by four (4)
times during four (4) years successively.The last time was this year 2018.
Despite the assistance of an Immigration specialist mandate by ICANN to
assist me, 3 months before my appointment for the interview with the local
US consulats officer in the preparation of travel, I was deny the visa.

Until now, I can't explain they why.

My 2 XOF
Olévié KOUAMI

Le mar. 26 juin 2018 11:34, Mike <mkaranicolas at gmail.com> a écrit :

> Hi all,
>
> Fully concur with the need to take this conversation forward to try and
> level the playing field for developing world participation at ICANN.
>
> It may be of interest that, for next month’s Open Government Partnership
> Summit in Tbilisi, the government of Georgia passed a special decree
> allowing for visa-free travel for all OGP Summit attendees. Granted, the
> OGP operates with a high level of official government buy-in, but perhaps
> ICANN’s situation may be somewhat analogous, given that these meetings are
> often planned in partnership with senior government figures? It may be
> worth exploring...
>
> Best,
>
> Michael Karanicolas
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 26, 2018, at 1:27 AM, dorothy g <dgdorothydg at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> When I say escalate I mean beyond conversation.  Every bid should explain
> by region how they will facilitate visas and smooth entry.  If they cannot
> guarantee equal access then they should not be considered.
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 4:59 PM, Onica Makwakwa <nmakwakwa at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Greetings,
>>
>> I second that suggestion from Dorothy as I suspect this will be a greater
>> challenge for Barcelona (based on past experience dealing with their
>> embassies in this region). Beyond just escalating this, we need to have a
>> conversation on how ease of visa issuance should be a big part when
>> considering meeting locations.
>>
>> Onica
>>
>> Onica N. Makwakwa
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: dorothy g <dgdorothydg at GMAIL.COM>
>> To: NCSG-DISCUSS <NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
>> Sent: Mon, Jun 25, 2018 6:50 pm
>> Subject: Re: Elsa Saade as temp alternate to Arsene on GNSO Council
>>
>> Is it possible for us to document all those who could not attend due to
>> visa issues and escalate this concern? We need Africans to be at the table.
>>
>> best
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 4:29 PM, Adeel Sadiq <11beeasadiq at seecs.edu.pk>
>> wrote:
>>
>> One part of the bigger picture is, most of the ICANN staff are from
>> developed countries who don't face strict visa issues like people from
>> developing countries do. I have been denied visa to attend a similar
>> conferences (not ICANN though) more than once. I even tried to raise the
>> same issue in Public Forum at Copenhagen, but was politically turned down
>> with almost a null response by the so-called 'meeting team'. You never
>> realize the true measure of a problem unless it is at your personal
>> doorstep.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Adeel
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 9:12 PM, dorothy g <dgdorothydg at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> This is an extremely important point Arsene. There is no justification
>> for choosing such a location without making special arrangements.
>> Glad at least you can listen in.
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 3:29 PM, Arsène Tungali <arsenebaguma at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks Elsa, everyone!
>>
>> It is unfortunate that the gov of Panama could not grant visa on arrival
>> while they are aware that their visa process is very complicated.
>>
>> Think: they only have two consulates in the whole African continent!!!
>>
>> I hope ICANN Org will be able to negociate things like these beforehand
>> when they select host countries.
>>
>> Thanks Elsa for willing to help and thanks Farzaneh and the EC for
>> working out this very quickly!
>>
>> -----------------
>> Arsène Tungali,
>> about.me/ArseneTungali
>> +243 993810967
>> GPG: 523644A0
>> Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone (excuse typos)
>>
>> On Jun 25, 2018, at 5:11 PM, Elsa S <elsa.saade at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>
>> It really saddens me that some of us haven't been able to make it because
>> of Visa issues. But happy to help and make myself available anytime!
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Elsa
>> --
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 9:31 AM, dorothy g <dgdorothydg at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> So I guess this is a last minute thing given the visa issue. Thank you
>> Elsa for stepping in.  When will this discrimination against Africans stop!
>> Arsene glad you can listen in and hopefully next time you will not
>> encounter this problem.
>>
>> best
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 1:25 PM, farzaneh badii <farzaneh.badii at gmail.com
>> > wrote:
>>
>> She still takes on some of my tasks. She was not going to replace me. But
>> because we found out last minute that Arsene cannot make it, thought it's
>> better to have an alternate for Arsene because this is an important
>> meeting.
>>
>> Farzaneh
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 8:23 AM Farell FOLLY <farell at benin2point0.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hello Mrs Chair,
>>
>> Thanks for the info, but I thought Elsa was going to replace you instead?
>> What happened?
>>
>> @__f_f__
>>
>> Best Regards
>> ____________________________________
>>
>> Ekue (Farell) FOLLY
>> Technology Champion & Chapter Head
>> Africa 2.0 Foundation.
>> www.africa2point0.org
>> linkedin.com/in/farellf
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 24 Jun 2018, at 07:49, farzaneh badii <farzaneh.badii at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> Unfortunately, Arsene cannot make it to Panama. Arsene will be
>> participating remotely in the Council meetings but we decided that for an
>> in-person presence, Elsa Saade can be his temp alternate.
>>
>> This was a last minute decision which we had to take because we were
>> still hopeful that Arsene could make it.
>>
>> Will see you and Arsene remotely in virtual meeting rooms.
>>
>> Best
>>
>>
>>
>> Farzaneh
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> --
>>
>> Elsa Saade
>> Consultant
>> Gulf Centre for Human Rights
>> Twitter: @Elsa_Saade
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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