Hello all,

 

I am getting a fair few requests direct to me from people that want to get involved in ICANN work but don’t know where to start. Most, I would say, best fit into the ALAC/RALO system so I have been trying to find some good resources to send people to.

 

But I have hit a few snags:

 

  • The http://www.icannalac.org/ site is horribly out of date – it appears nothing new has been posted for 12 months
  • There’s no clear route or explanation for people to get involved in ALAC or a RALO
  • It’s very unclear about who to contact for what
  • It’s not clear what ALAC is actually discussing or how to provide input into that process
  • The ALS concept is not explained and the application process is very unclear; in some cases, invisible
  • There’s aren’t any lead-in resources i.e. simple explanations about what ICANN does, how it works, what it discusses etc etc

 

 

I know that Nick Ashton-Hart is working very hard on producing a new ALAC website. I hope you are working on new content and information for the launch of that. I also had a meeting with the RALO secretariats in Los Angeles where we discussed how ICANN can help provide more information so I hope to keep my end of that bargain.

 

But there is a big gap here: it’s really quite difficult for someone not already involved in the structure to have any idea how it works or how to get involved.

 

I’m happy to help. But first of all:

 

  • Who shall I forward requests to from Internet users that wish to participate in ICANN’s processes?
  • What do people believe is the current state of the various ALAC websites and wikis? i.e. where is it best to point people; is it a bad idea to point people to other places (such as icannalac.org)
  • Are there existing resources or pages that I have overlooked that explain how the system works?

 

I’m very keen on getting more people involved in ICANN, particularly through the ALAC system, so any and all information, help, suggestions, ideas, resources, pointers etc would be gratefully received.

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Kieren

 

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Kieren McCarthy

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General manager of public participation, ICANN

http://www.icann.org