Dear Colleagues within APRALO, Happy Lunar New Year! We have just concluded our first ALAC meeting of 2012. Cheryl, Rinalia and I were present at the meeting. The link for the Agenda which also has a link to the Summary Minutes and Transcripts (I am not sure whether transcripts will be provided though) is accessible via https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/ALAC+24.01.12+-+Monthly+Teleconf... There were many things discussed as you can see from the Agenda but matters that are relevant in my view that were raised that would be of interest to APRALO are as follows: 1. *Review of Current ALS Applications* - We were asked about the Application from the Internet Society of the Armenian Chapter. I advised the ALAC via chat that the matter was still subject to due diligence and that the Application was received by APRALO on January 19, 2012. I also advised ALAC that the APRALO call would follow the ALAC call. EURALO through Oksana has also expressed their support of this application. [APRALO Chair has advised that Save is conducting the due diligence which will be then sent to us. 2. *Policy Forums and Developments*- Status of the development of the Policies are available on the wiki and you can access each from the links provided for in the Agenda item and bookmark it. [Please feel free to interact on the wiki and paste your comments and questions on the wikis. If you feel that you would like something translated, clarified or explained we can work towards getting people who have expertise on the matter to clarify. I know Holly has organised a Whois briefing for APRALO which I strongly urge APRALO members to attend.If you would like to get involved in any of the Working Groups and are currently not actively engaged in any WGs please let us know how we can facilitate introductions in the area of interest to you.] Aside from these there are Statements which have been drafted that are also up on the Wiki and open for comments etc. 3. *Budget Requests*- Hurrah! Fingers crossed we may get to convene APRALO General Assembly subject to approval by ICANN Finance. This will be no doubt an important first step. Gratitude goes to Charles for putting together our Budget Proposal for this and to the Finance/Budgetary Team who were on the call and advocated and pushed this through. We were informed that the budgetary requests would be categorised into either "High, Medium or Low" Priority and that the General Assembly Proposals were on the "High Priority". There were substantial discussions on resource and financial constraints and challenges with getting requests granted. there was also discussions on the General Assembly cycle etc. I expressed support for the General Assembly as we had actively submitted to the Budget Sub Committee. The issue of Road maps and strategies were brought up which is up on the wiki. I siezed the opportunity to remind the ALAC that we should also consider parallel sustainable options for outreach etc. 4. *At Large Outreach Working Group* - The support to establish this Group was unanimous and enthusiastically received by the ALAC. I raised the issue of the Web based learning and remote learning platforms and highlighted the enormous transportation costs that are barriers and the need to maximise the use of the internet to increase outreach to compliment current Face to Face enagements such as ICANN Meetings, NOG and IGF meetings. I emphasised the RALO penetration rate in terms of the number of accredited ALS structures within the RALO and that penetration rate was below 30%. I had made submissions in the wiki as well, see: https://community.icann.org/display/Improve/Recommendation+4 5. * ICANN Academy* - We have had good meetings to discuss this and for now it is limited to 20 hours face to face learnings. This is important Face to Face Training and the WG has been heavily involved pre-Christmas in discussions involving the training and this includes curriculum development which has been taking place on the etherpad. The Budget proposal has been submitted and factors in real costs. Cheryl advised that the ccNSO may have resource material which can be used in the development of the curriculum. I also requested ALAC Chair Olivier to clarify which specific forum within At Large would look after the web based learning and remote learning so that as a RALO we could make submissions. This is yet to be determined whether it is the At Large Outreach Working Group or ICANN Academy. Olivier has advised to initiate discussions via the mailing list to gather feedback and interactions on the matter. [I also note from the last APRALO call that there were requests made by Hong to have the curriculum placed on the wiki. We are due to have an ICANN Academy call soon and either Hong or I will raise this as Hong has joined the Group] If there are any matters within the Agenda that you would like clarification on, please do not hesitate to ask. Those that were present in the call will be able to give feedback and respond. Prior to any ALAC meeting, I will in the future try to post the Agenda on the list and ask for contributions and comments and Charles can coordinate based on the general consensus from APRALO and any of us can raise matters of interest or concern to APRALO. Kind Regards -- Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala Asian Pacific Regional At Large Organization Representative to the At Large Advisory Committee Tweeter: @SalanietaT Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro Cell: +679 998 2851