I am rather conservative on this idea of rotating chair. I think we should first define/agree on the division of labor of the whole committee's works, who is going to work on which areas. After that, we can agree on how much the Chair should do, either with the current model, or with the proposed rotating Chair model. In case we adopt to the rotation, perhaps the term may be longer than one meeting. I think 3 to 5 months are too short to become effective. izumi 2007/7/8, RJGlass | America@Large <jipshida@gmail.com>:
I like the idea.
Randy Glass A@L
On 7/6/07, Bret Fausett <bfausett@internet.law.pro> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
A few years ago, before the RALOs were formed, I proposed an idea to the then-ALAC that I think is worth reconsidering.
It occurred to me at ICANN's meeting in Mar del Plata, Argentina, while listening to our very good and very Italian Chair, Vittorio Bertola, address the Board, that it would have been a nice thing had our *Argentinean* ALAC member, Sebastian Ricciardi, been the Chair and ALAC spokesperson for the Mar del Plata meeting *in Argentina.* This was nothing at all against Vittorio, who was a very good Chair for us at that time, but more a feeling that we could be doing more to highlight the international nature of the ALAC by rotating the Chair among the five regions, in step with ICANN's meeting calendar. In recent discussions with ALAC members, I proposed the idea again, and because it was well received, I wanted to propose it formally on the list. As long as we are revising our internal working rules, this is worth discussing.
Here's the idea. At the end of every ICANN meeting, the members of the region that will host the *next* ICANN meeting select one of them to act as Chair from that point through the last day of the next meeting. This will have a couple of positive effects. First, it will take the burden of acting as Chair off of a single individual and allow the ALAC to share the work among its members. Second, it will give each region a chance to have one of its members serve as Chair, providing greater perspective and diversity to our work. It also will assist us in our outreach efforts, as this rotation will highlight for the regions the international nature of the ALAC.
The downside of the proposal, as I presented it in Argentina, was that we would lose some continuity at a time when we were trying to get the RALOs formed and get the ALAC up and running. Even though we are past the formational stages of the ALAC, I can still see the continuity issue. Fortunately, one of my North American colleagues told me about the way the European Union handles *its* rotating Chair, and I immediately knew we had found our solution.
If we follow the EU model of rotation, the ALAC would have an Executive Committee consisting of the immediate Past Chair, the Current Chair, and the Prospective Chair. At the end of every ICANN meeting, the Past Chair would drop off the Executive Committee, the Current Chair would become the Past Chair, the Prospective Chair would become the Chair, and a new Prospective Chair would be selected. The "Prospective Chair" would act as Vice-Chair of the ALAC.
If applied to our current ALAC at the present time, the Executive Committee would consist of Jacqueline Morris as Past Chair (she was Chair in Puerto Rico), a Chair from among the three North Americans (NA hosts the October, 2007 meeting), and a Prospective Chair from among the Asia Pacific representatives (AP hosts the February, 2008 meeting). When the ICANN meeting in Los Angeles closes, Jacqueline would drop off the Executive Committee, the North American would become the Past Chair, an Asian-Pacific Islander would become Chair, and a European would be selected as the Prospective Chair (Europe will host the June, 2008 meeting).
The nice thing about the EU-style rotation is that it ensures we have, at all times, a multinational Executive Committee, and it keeps continuity in our leadership, as every person selected will serve a year on the Executive Committee.
I think this would work very well, and I hope you will consider it.
Bret Fausett
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