Meaningful participation in international fora does indeed come at a hefty price in terms of human time as well as financial costs. However, the cost of disengagement, apathy and ignorance can be even higher for Caribbean society. When one considers what is ultimately at stake, the individual sacrifice is well worth the collective gain.

Still, the press for greater Caribbean involvement in shaping the future of the Internet can only benefit from wider awareness, appreciation and understanding of the complex issues – at the institutional as well as individual level.

This puts a double responsibility upon persons already involved to represent internationally, whilst reaching out and educating regionally. It’s the safest way to protect our common dwellings from the brewing global storm.

We soldier on.

The key attribute is that participation in policy development in almost all of these institutions is voluntary; meaning you do not get paid for as much as 15 hours of time commitment in a week, usually in virtual meetings and studying complex policy proposals with their voluminous supporting documentation. That aside, too few of us from the region are engaged. And too few of us are in the room when decisions that impact all of us are made. For those of us now engaged, we’re thinly spread and approaching burnout.

Policy development in ICANN is a multi-stakeholder affair. And at every level, civil society, business and government, the region is disadvantaged. There are businesses – not just those in the Internet ecosystem – with paid staff members whose sole responsibility is to follow and influence internet policy development. The situation is the same with certain governments, particularly OECD and BRIC members. Some institutions, like ICANN, offer competitive fellowships and bursaries for interested individuals to attend and participate in meetings. And in the past few years a few persons from the region have been supported that way. But we are yet to see a critical mass develop from that initiative.

We soldier on.