Dear ALAC, Below please find a high level update of what transpired during the ccNSO sessions in KOBE. The same is available on the Wiki: Hope you enjoy reading :-) ccNSO PDP on Retirement Workshop 9th March 2019 The ccNSO PDP on retirement held its workshop on 9th March 2019. The workshop reviewed the progress made in preparing the draft policy since the last conference call in February. The objective of the sessions was to reach consensus on the core concepts of retirement in the document. A revised schedule detailing the PDP's milestones was presented during the workshop which showed that the work of the workshop was likely to be complete by the year 2022. ccNSO Council Workshop 10th March 2019 The ccNSO held a workshop for Council members on Sunday 10 March 2019. The main purpose of the workshop was to equip new and existing Councillors with knowledge that would enable them to participate efficiently and effectively in various council working groups such as the triage commitee. The workshop also sought to train Council members on how the Empowered Community Administration works. The workshop was executed using a series of role plays and focus group discussions. ccNSO Council members also took the opportunity to review and reflect on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Council and areas that require improvement. Strategic and Operational Standing Commitee (SOPC Workshop) 10 March 2019 The Strategic and Operational Standing Committee met with the ICANN Finance team and reviewed the comments that the commitee submitted to the Commitee with regard to the Strategic and Operational Plan and Budget. Highlights of the session was the fact that the ICANN organization was operating within its budget. The Commitee noted with satisfaction improved reporting from the ICANN Finance team following recommendations made in previous sessions. TLD OPS Standing Commitee workshop 10 March 2019 The TLD Ops standing commitee held its meeting on 10 March 2019 in which it reviewed latest security incidences that affected ccTLDs globally. The Standing Commitee also reviewed its membership communication strategies and noted the need for more outreach and a review of its Communication Strategies to ensure that they are able to reach ccTLD Managers whenever incidents affecting ccTLDs are observed. Joint Session ccNSO and ALAC 10 March 2019 The ccNSO had a session with the ALAC on 10 March 2019. During the Session a recent update of the ALAC and ccNSO work was presentation by Maureen Hilyard the ALAC Chair and Katrina Sataki the ccNSO Chair. The highlight of the session included a presentation by the ccNSO Strategic and Operating Plan Commitee through its Chair Giovanni made a presentation on its work to the ALAC. The ccNSO also introduced its new Liasion to the ALAC Segun Akano who will be replacing Wafa Dahmani ccNSO Members Meeting The ccNSO members meeting was redesigned to incorporate a new format that fosters more engagement among members. Bar stools were introduced to the meeting to encourage greater engagement between speakers and the audience. Session Chairs, under went a series of pre-meeting training and briefs and were encouraged to prepare for the meetings beforehand by engaging the presenters. This resulted in a high level of satisfaction based on the survey conducted at the end of the members meeting. ccNSO Council Elections 13 March 2019 Katrina Sataki was re-elected as Chair of the ccNSO Council. She will be assisted by two Vice Chair's Byron Holland and Alejandra Reynoso who were also elected in KOBE. Abibu Ntahigiye (tzNIC) and Debbie Monahan stepped down from the Council upon conclusion of their terms and were replaced by Adebiyi Oladipo (NIRA) and Nick Wenban Smith (Nominet). Updates from the independent Examiner During the members meeting, the Independent Examiner presented their initial findings to ccNSO members. Overall, they cited the fact that majority of the members (60 percent) were satisfied with the work of the ccNSO Secretariat. It was observed that the ccNSO had benefited a lot from long serving members a factor that contributed to availability of knowledge and expertise required for its ongoing work. The independent examiner also noted the observation from members on the over reliance of the ccNSO on the long serving members and the need to mentor new members for the future work of the ccNSO. Meetings Programme Commitee meeting 14 March 2019 The meetings programme commitee was formally launched thus replacing the meetings working group. During the meeting a revised charter was presented. After deliberations members were in agreement that the charter did not represent the needs and wishes of the commitee and had to be reviewed. The meeting reviewed the ccNSO sessions during the KOBE meeting. It was noted that the level of engagement with the audience was higher compared to previous meetings. The introduction of bar stools and insertion of questions in presentations as well as break out sessions were cited as factors that contributed to improved engagement with the audience. Members also discussed preparations for the Marrakech meeting. Suggestions included organizing a webinar for the prior to the Marrakech meeting to welcome new comers Thank you Best Regards