For what it is worth, I agree with you Amr, and I think it is important 
to stress how difficult this issue is, and how important it is to avoid 
one glib definition for the term.  We need a contextual analysis in each 
situation, and a framework to enable that, in my view.
Perhaps we could frame this as a multipoint discussion?  Mix up our 
board meetings a wee bit and make them less confrontational?  cheers SP
On 2015-02-02 7:37, Amr Elsadr wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I doubt that I’m the best person to present the public interest & human rights discussion to the board. For one thing, I only just subscribed to the human rights @ ICANN mailing list, so am not really as up-to-speed on the discussions as others probably are.
>
> Also, I don’t think my views on how the public interest issue should be handled by ICANN are representative of the NCSG. I cannot stress enough how bad an idea it is I believe it is to negotiate a definition for public interest within the ICANN context. I can see this becoming very problematic in gTLD policy development and the resultant contractual requirements of registries and registrars.
>
> Furthermore, from what I could tell, there was a significant amount of discussion on this list regarding the public interest within the ICANN context, and its importance to users. I don’t believe users’ rights in gTLD policy development is unimportant, but when I work on policies, I focus on the rights of non-commercial registrants (individuals or non-commercial orgs), not users. Balancing these rights along with those of commercial registrants and other stakeholders is very important to users, unless you believe the only thing Internet users do online is shop.
>
> I would appreciate the opportunity to weigh-in during the meeting, if there is time, but there are many others who could present the topic. I only suggested it, because I know there is considerable interest in the topic both within and outside of the NCSG. If there is a discussion that is going to take place, we should certainly be a part of it.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Amr
>
> On Feb 2, 2015, at 2:30 AM, Rafik Dammak <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> thanks for the suggestions and discussions, I think we got our 3 topics:
>> - ICANN & Content policy (lead discussant: Ed Morris)
>> - Public interest & Human Rights (Lead discussant: Amr)
>> - Privacy (lead discussant: Stephanie)
>>
>> I put the names of those who proposed the topic as lead discussed, their role will be to give briefing to the board for 2 and 3 minutes, to introduce the topic and summarize what was discussed here. for the case of privacy, we need more details and what we should talk about.
>>
>> the discussion should continue so the volunteers can capture the diversity of opinions within NCSG. of course during the meeting with board, the attendees in situ or online will be able to intervene. I would like that we are ready before Singapore meeting.
>>
>> I will send the proposal to the board so they can prepare.
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Rafik Dammak