Dear All, This is a friendly reminder that the RALOs have been asked to make their recommendations for membership to the At-Large new gTLD Review Group to the ALAC by Tuesday, 8 May 2012, so the ALAC can vote on these recommendations. The details of the requirements for membership are outlined in the message below. Regards, Heidi Ullrich, Silvia Vivanco, Matt Ashtiani, Gisella Gruber, and Nathalie Peregrine ICANN Policy Staff in support of ALAC E-mail: <mailto:staff@atlarge.icann.org> staff@atlarge.icann.org From: ICANN At-Large Staff [mailto:staff@atlarge.icann.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 3:58 PM To: alac-announce@atlarge-lists.icann.org; 'afri-discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org'; apralo; Discussion for At-Large Europe; 'LACRALO discussion list'; 'lac-discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org'; NARALO Discussion List Cc: 'Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond'; ICANN At-Large Staff Subject: Call for Membership in At-Large new gTLD Review Group Dear All, The following call for membership of the At-Large new gTLD Review Group is sent on behalf of Olivier Crépin-Leblond, Chair of the ALAC. ** Dear All, Background The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) has approved the procedure by which At-Large and ALAC can submit public comments on and file objections to new gTLD applications as proposed by the At- Large new gTLD Working Group (ANgWG - https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/New+GTLDs). This procedure forms the basis of the work of the At-Large new gTLD Review Group (gTLD RG - https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/At-Large+New+gTLD+Review+Group+W orkspace# <https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/At-Large+New+gTLD+Review+Group+ Workspace> ). The gTLD RG needs to be in place and ready to work by the date when applications are revealed and the comment period is set. Therefore, we are asking the RALOs to make their recommendations to the ALAC by 8 May 2012, so the ALAC can vote on these recommendations. The RG should be in place and up to speed by 14 May 2012 (being the approximate commencement date of the 60 day Application Comment Period and the 7 month Objection Period of the First Round). The gTLD RG is tasked with: * receiving the comments from At-Large either directly via email or indirectly via RALO conference calls; * creating/updating the new gTLD wiki comment pages; * giving status updates of which new gTLD received comments each week; * informing RALOs of deadlines for comments during the ACP, and for objection statements during the objection period; * reviewing the comments/objections received and giving ALAC its recommendations on them; * composing the final draft of the comments/objections agreed on in close cooperation with their original authors. gTLD RG term The gTLD RG term period finishes with the end of the objection period of the whole first round. gTLD RG Composition The ANgWG had determined that, at least initially, the gTLD RG be composed of: - 2 members to be recommended by each of the RALOs - 1 member volunteer from each region All members being determined by the ALAC. Should the work load require adding people to the gTLD RG at a later time, that decision can be made by the gTLD RG itself in consultation with the ANgWG. gTLD RG Requirements Members of the gTLD RG are required to: A. understand the approved ALAC procedure (https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/At-Large+Proposal+for+the+ALAC+ to+submit+public+comments+on+and+file+possible+objections+to+new+gTLD+Applic ations+2012+Workspace) by which At-Large and the ALAC can submit public comments on and file objections to new gTLD applications B. be able to use the At-Large wiki to create/edit/update wiki pages C. be able to work in English D. have an understanding of ICANN's Applicant Guidebook (AGB; http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb/guidebook-full-11jan12-en.pdf) which describes the application process for new gTLDs from start to finish E. be able to give a flexible commitment of time. It is estimated that on the average, 2-3 hours per week would be needed and there would be bi-weekly conference calls over the 7 month objection period. However, in such processes, it is typical that the majority of both comments and objection requests will occur towards the end of the 60 day comment period and 7 month objection period, so the workload will likely be heavier at those times. Presuming no changes to the Applicant Guidebook regarding comments and objections, it is anticipated that the duration of the gTLD RG tasks will be up to 1 year for this first round. F. make a Statement of Interest (SOI) in which they: a. declare that they have no Conflicts of Interest (COI); or b. disclose any possible or existing COI. A COI is defined as having an immediate past (previous 6 months), current or predetermined interest (being financial or other) in a New gTLD Applicant or any other party that is involved in any manner whatsoever with an applicant or the proposed registry. In determining COI, reference should be made to Section 2.4.3.1 at page 84 of the AGB which details some COI Guidelines. All members and RALOs will be informed of any changes in the gTLD RG's COI policy. Please note, the specific RALO the member belongs to will be asked to confirm this SOI to the best of its ALS representatives' knowledge, information and belief. Both the SOI and RALO confirmation will be reviewed by the ALAC to vet the declarations, with final approval to join the gTLD RG being determined by ALAC vote. In some instances it may be necessary for the ALAC to interview the member. SOIs of approved members of the gTLD RG will be posted on the Working Group's wiki page. It is recognized that during the course of the new gTLD Objection period, a COI possibly may occur and in such cases the member is required to promptly disclose such COIs to the gTLD RG. In any event, the SOI will be periodically reviewed by the gTLD RG, either monthly or prior to each gTLD RG call (whichever is more frequent). Kind regards, Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond, PhD http://www.gih.com/ocl.html ** Regards, Heidi Ullrich, Silvia Vivanco, Matt Ashtiani, Gisella Gruber, and Nathalie Peregrine ICANN Policy Staff in support of ALAC E-mail: staff@atlarge.icann.org