Dear APRALO, The proposal for the APRALO-ICANN joint workshop at IGF 2013 in Bali has been approved by the IGF MAG. See the draft program below. As the workshop organizer, I am seeking 2 individuals from the APRALO community/Asia Pacific region to present the views of language and user communities related to the workshop topic. The participation of the selected individuals in the workshop and at IGF 2013 will be supported by ICANN as per ICANN's travel support policies. *Eligibility criteria:* 1. Individual is from a developing country in the Asia Pacific region. 2. Ability to represent language community or user views and concerns on the topic. *If you are interested, please send me an email with the following information:* 1. Your full name as per your passport. 2. Your country of citizenship and residence. 3. A written thought-piece (1 - 2 pages maximum and not more than 800 words) on language community and / or user views on the topic (i.e., the introduction of IDN Variant TLDs in general and / or the Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone Process). Note: the workshop covers a set of scripts (i.e., Han, Indic, Arabic, Latin/Cyrillic/Greek). User views may touch on these scripts, but they may also go beyond them. *Decision-Making * A small committee comprising the following individuals will review and decide on the applications: APRALO Chair (Holly Raiche), the At-Large IDN Policy Liaison (Edmon Chung) and Workshop Organizer (Rinalia Abdul Rahim). Deadline for submission: 12 June 2013 Best regards, Rinalia *APRALO-ICANN Joint Workshop at IGF 2013 (#32)*** *Workshop Title* Next in IDNs: Linguistic Diversity in the Internet Root *IGF Theme* The Internet as Engine of Growth and Development; Critical Internet Resources *Organizers* APRALO – Asia Pacific Australasia Regional At-Large Organization ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers *Workshop Description* The introduction of IDN variants in the root zone serves to enhance the Internet’s multilingualism and cultural diversity at the level of Top Level Domains (TLDs). The ICANN community has studied the viability of this introduction and has developed a process that will make it a reality. This process has implications for language communities. Language communities that share a script (e.g., Chinese, Japanese and Korean, which share the Han script) must agree on rules related to variant script characters in order to proceed. Furthermore, while allowing language communities to self-mobilize and proceed at their own pace, there are advantages to being an early participant or first mover. This process of allocating Variant TLDs in the Internet root* *requires language communities to collaborate and will require effective facilitation. This joint APRALO-ICANN workshop will provide an overview of the ICANN process, discuss the issues implicating language communities and outline the way forward. *Key Discussion Questions* *Process* – What is the process and what are the structural constraints of the process? How was the multistakeholder model deployed in the development of the process and how will it evolve in moving forward? How will language and technical communities be engaged? *Variants *– What are the key variant issues for scripts such as Arabic, Han, Indic, Latin and Cyrillic that have a large community of users worldwide and whose script is shared across different language communities and across national borders? What variant issues can realistically be addressed within the structural constraints of the process? *Community* - How can the readiness of language communities for IDN Variant TLDs be supported? How can the disadvantage to late entrants be minimized? What models of engagement can be used to support the collaboration of language communities that transcend national borders? What best practice models of dispute resolution can be deployed to address disputes among language communities that span the globe? *Workshop Role-Players* Moderator – *Rinalia Abdul Rahim* (ICANN At-Large Advisory Committee & APRALO Representative, Malaysia) Remote Moderator – *Maureen Hilyard* (Board Chair, Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society & APRALO Representative, Cook Islands) *Expert Panel* [Overview on ICANN Process for Developing Root Zone Label Generation Rules] *Ram Mohan* (Chair, ICANN Board IDN Variants Working Group & Executive Vice President, & Chief Technology Officer, Afilias Limited) [Arabic Script Variants] *Sarmad Hussain* (Professor of Computer Science and Head of the Center of Language Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan) [Han Script Variants] *Edmon Chung* (CEO, dotAsia & Vice-Chair, Internet Society Hong Kong) [Indic Script Variants] *R. Doctor* (Consultant, GIST Group, Center for Development of Advanced Computing, India) – via remote participation [Latin/Cyrillic/Greek Script Variants] *Patrik** Fältström* (Head of Research and Development, Netnod; Chair, ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee; and Adviser to the Swedish IT Minister) * * *Workshop Format and Flow* This workshop features a 90-minute interactive panel discussion with remote participation. Workshop flow: · Moderator’s welcome and introduction (5 mins) · Rapid montage of user community views on IDN variants issues from developing regions – Asia Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle-East & Africa, Latin America & Caribbean (8 mins) – user community representatives to be determined and they may participate in person or via remote participation · Overview of the ICANN Process for Developing Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone (10 mins) · Arabic script presentation (8 mins) · Han script presentation (8 mins) · Indic script presentation (8 mins) · Latin/Cyrillic/Greek script presentation (8 mins) · Discussion involving panelists and participants (30 mins) · Wrap up (5 mins) *Workshop Contact* *Rinalia Abdul Rahim*, Managing Director, Compass Rose Sdn Bhd ( rinalia@compassrose.my or rinalia.abdulrahim@gmail.com) * * *Baher Esmat*, Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement – Middle East, ICANN ( baher.esmat@icann.org)