[governance] curious note on nairobi and brussels...

[Carlos A. Afonso]

My notes aimed at just stressing the fact that certain organizations and
agencies from developed countries made a big fuss of the risks in Kenya,
scaring the hell out of would-be ICANN participants (as a result,
several did not go), and nothing is said about unsafe areas (like train
stations) when the event is in Europe or another "civilized" country.

Of course we all know every major city has similar problems regarding
personal safety. I recall that recently in Geneva, I woke up up at 05:00
in the morning to catch the bus to the airport, opened the room window
and saw a traveller being mugged in the street by a group two blocks
from the train station. I went to the bus thinking about the odds the
same thing would happen to me. This was Geneva, not Rio or Nairobi. And
I do not want to take your time with another story -- the terrible
treatment by Belgian officials when we tried to recover our tax refund
in the airport.

Not only the treatment in Kenya was far more friendly, but my group
several times skipped official transportation to get in touch with the
the real culture of the city -- and it was real great, as I am sure it
will be great in Cartagena as well.

frt rgds

--c.a.

Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <BB18CD4D-A7C4-4F65-88DD-C646BEE90469 at cafonso.ca>, at
> 11:04:00 on Mon, 5 Jul 2010, Carlos A. Afonso <ca at cafonso.ca> writes
>> Another note on the treatment of participants in Brussels: buses took
>> us from two hotels and the convention center to the "gala dinner". On
>> return nearly midnight the bus drivers stopped in a place near the
>> convention center, far from the hotels... And this was it. Walk, take
>> a taxi said the drivers
> 
> Were you in Paris - there we had to get the subway to and from the Gala
> dinner. And with the Brussels convention centre literally across the
> street from the Central Station, it's hardly in the middle of nowhere.
> 
> The disappointment, if any, was they way they collected (at registration
> and dinner ticket issue) a list of hotels, then pretty much ignored the
> results. If it had been clear from the start that shuttles were to/from
> the venue only, people's expectations would have been set.
> 
> One of my abiding memories of the IGF at Sharm was wandering around
> after the sessions and socials exclaiming "Golf" "Golf", while looking
> for the long suffering shuttle bus back to the Martim Jolie Ville Golf
> Resort. For those who weren't there, about half the hotels seemed to be
> called "Martim Jolie Ville <something>" and you soon got used to cutting
> out the redundant words.

-- 

Carlos A. Afonso
CGI.br (www.cgi.br)
Nupef (www.nupef.org.br)
====================================
new/nuevo/novo e-mail: ca at cafonso.ca
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