Thank you for the kind recognition of the work of At-Large staff, Olivier. You are correct in noting that in Costa Rica the combination of a significant increase in the number of At-Large meetings as well as a smaller and more spread-out venue, posed a particular challenge to At-Large staff as well as to the Meetings and Technical support staff and interpreters. In order to continue to provide the At-Large community with excellent support during ICANN Meetings, At-Large staff are already discussing ways in which we can work more effectively as a team as well as with all the behind-the-scenes personnel that are involved in providing you with excellent meeting support. In scheduling At-Large sessions during future ICANN Meetings, avoiding overlapping At-Large sessions would be a very useful way in which to ensure you have the full support of all At-Large staff. Similarly, trying to not schedule back-to-back sessions would allow both At-Large community members and staff to have time to move to another meeting room if required. However, I realize that scheduling challenges are often due not only to the number of At-Large meetings but also to the size and layout of the venue as well as the number of other meetings. We very much welcome any suggestions on how At-Large staff could provide you with improved support! Kind regards, Heidi Heidi Ullrich Director for At-Large Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Telephone: + 1 (310) 578 - 8647 Fax: +1 (310) 823 - 8649 Cell/Mobile: +1 (310) 437 - 3956 -----Original Message----- From: alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 7:13 AM To: alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: Re: [ALAC] ICANN meeting on Fridays/staff demands Dear Beau, yes, with 33 sessions to run, there were times when staff had to run 2 sessions in parallel. Furthermore, the topology of the place made it sometimes hard for staff to close one meeting in one place and run across to the other end of the campus for the next. The scheduling Team was definitely not attentive to this fact. That said, considering all of the work our At-Large staff had to do, I think that they did a heck of a job and am more than impressed by the work they did. In fact, I was awed that they were in the main ALAC room daily at 6:50am and still there, still working at 6:30pm daily. And in the evenings too, preparing the next day, they were working away in the staff room whilst some of us were at the Music night or Gala. Top marks from me. That said - I am definitely sensitive to not repeating this again. Kind regards, Olivier On 28/03/2012 14:28, Beau Brendler wrote :
Another aspect of this I forgot to mention was: I, too, have seen the at-large ICANN staff overburdened. Costa Rica seemed to be the worst, for whatever reason. The support was just not as smooth, and staff kept leaving meetings early or coming in late in order to run other meetings -- seemed like there were too many meetings run concurrently. The NA RALO meeting was particularly unfortunate in this regard. This is not a criticism of staff, but of the current arrangements as they are.
-----Original Message-----
From: tijani.benjemaa@fmai.org Sent: Mar 28, 2012 5:57 AM To: 'Beau Brendler' <beaubrendler@earthlink.net>, 'Evan Leibovitch' <evan@telly.org> Cc: 'ALAC Working List' <alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org> Subject: RE: [ALAC] ICANN meeting on Fridays
I disagree with Evan on the Board Theater.
If I follow your way of thinking, I would say everything can be done virtually, and there is no need for ICANN meetings. I remember the room was full in San Francisco on Friday, in Nairobi too. It's true that in our At-Large community, only the ExCom members are funded to leave on Saturday, and most of our people can't attend the Friday session because they would be between the hotel and the Airport while the session is held.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Tijani BEN JEMAA Executive Director Mediterranean Federation of Internet Associations Phone : + 216 70 825 231 Mobile : + 216 98 330 114 Fax : + 216 70 825 231 ---------------------------------------------------------------
-----Message d'origine----- De : Beau Brendler [mailto:beaubrendler@earthlink.net] Envoyé : mercredi 28 mars 2012 01:47 À : Evan Leibovitch; tijani.benjemaa@fmai.org Cc : ALAC Working List Objet : Re: [ALAC] ICANN meeting on Fridays
I haven't been funded to attend Fridays for years -- even going back to when I was in ALAC. As a regional leader, I agree with Evan, I don't care about board theatre, but I do think the extra time would be valuable. The one time I attended an ALAC ex com meeting (was in San Francisco and my homebound flight didn't leave until late) I thought the experience was worthwhile.
-----Original Message-----
From: Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org> Sent: Mar 27, 2012 3:46 PM To: tijani.benjemaa@fmai.org Cc: ALAC Working List <alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org> Subject: Re: [ALAC] ICANN meeting on Fridays
I disagree with removing Friday, but for far different reasons than Tijani.
I may be well known for having zero interest in what I call the miserable "Board Theatre" that takes place Fridays. In Costa Rica I attended out of support for Olivier, who presented the ALAC report to a generally empty room early in the morning. I personally have little interest in events that are, by design, non-interactive, with the Board taking final votes (and speeches) on matters already decided previously. Real conflict rarely happens in the open meetings. The reports (and comments accompanying dissenting votes) could/should be done in the form of pre-recorded slideshows or videos which could be easily seen by anyone in the community at any time.
Having said that, I see first hand the absolute panic that At-Large staff has in advance of all meetings, cramming our various meetings into every possible available space. So I would argue that we still need the Friday -- but we need it for something more than Board threatre, we need it to reduce pressure on the rest of the week.
If I had my way I would have the Thursday At-Large "wrap up" meeting take place Friday morning, freeing Thursday up for other things, such as At-Large working groups which could use the time to write proposals for ALAC consideration on Friday and/or the public forum. These proposals could then be accepted or referred back to RALOs as necessary.
The tradition of an open ALAC executive meeting Friday afternoons works well and is worth preserving. And to those who want to blow off Friday afternoon for tourism after an exhausting week (and don't have to be at the ExCom meeting), you earned it. (Well, most of you ;-) .)
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-- Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond, PhD http://www.gih.com/ocl.html _______________________________________________ ALAC mailing list ALAC@atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac At-Large Online: http://www.atlarge.icann.org ALAC Working Wiki: https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/At-Large+Advisory+Committee+(ALA...)