Dear Ai-chin, Jordan All,
Although other colleagues are silent, I note that at least two Councillors support the idea of having bilateral meeting with the Board on an ongoing basis.
Let me share with you my feelings and concerns, and then propose four options to move forward. I am looking forward to hearing from you (from all of you!) – ICANN70 and related sessions are quickly approaching.
I remember the time when meetings between the Board and the ccNSO were vibrant and had an impact: we asked uncomfortable questions, raised important issues for us, discussed or suggested improvements. However, since the Kobe meeting, when we discussed the composition of the IFRT with the Board, these meetings did not give the same feeling – maybe I got too used to those meetings, maybe there are no more important topics to raise because everything is solved (highly unlikely, I know), maybe… it is something else. I really don’t know. But I am worried that our meetings with the Board remain on our agenda just for the purpose of having a meeting without any real value than just having a meeting. And although I fully agree that having a good relation with the Board is very important for us as a community, I also believe that one can have good relations without meeting whenever there is an opportunity to meet.
I have concluded that meetings with the Board differ from our meetings with GNSO, ALAC and even GAC. With SOACs there is a dialogue. The Board, by its very nature, is and has been in a listening mode. It requires a different kind of approach to prepare for those meetings. And it is a real challenge to chair them if there is no support from other colleagues. Another issue – there is no possibility to follow-up with whatever is agreed. We raised that point in the past and asked for a mechanism to see the progress, we even reminded them about it several times but then we forgot to keep pushing or the points became moot (for example, the discussion on the composition of the IFRT).
Over the last couple of years, we have also had meetings with the ccTLD related Board members. This started with meetings with Chris and Mike and has grown into our meetings with all ccTLD-related directors of the Board (Nigel, Patricio, Becky, Danko and Lito). Have you also noticed that these meetings have completely different dynamics? Yes, as Board members they are also in a listening mode, but at the same time they are more willing to respond directly. I for one do not have the feeling that their responses are completely scripted. These meetings are topic driven and each and every Board member can share their view. In short, they are vibrant, interactive and far more informative.
So, hence my four alternative proposals:
Alternative A. We still have a meeting with ccTLD-related directors of the Board as before, but have no meeting with the full Board unless there are topics that need to be discussed and addressed.
Alternative B. We raise our (already meaningful and useful) meetings with ccTLD-related Board members to a new level: invite also the Chair and Vice-chair of the Board (but not all Board members) and prepare for that discussion.
Alternative C. We have both – the meeting with the full Board AND the meeting with ccTLD-related Board members. And we as a community prepare for BOTH discussions.
Alternative D: No change, we keep it as it is, with all ups and downs.
Please, let me know which alternative do you support? Maybe you have another idea (Alternative E, F…)?
During the last Council call I mentioned that one of the suggested topics for the upcoming Council workshop would be: how to organise the work of the Council to make sure that a) the workload is spread more evenly among Councillors and b) the Chair has all the necessary support. In my view this particular event, the meeting with the Board, is an illustrative example for spreading the burden. What if we do not wait until the workshop and try to involve more Councillors in preparation of bilateral meetings? No matter which alternative will choose, we could establish a group of Councillors who prepare topics for discussion, questions, think about the flow, etc.
Related, I also would like to remind us all that it is important that we do not ask the Board questions that are out of their scope, e.g. questions about ICANN org or operational questions, or topics under discussion by the community; such questions most likely will not be addressed by the Board because they will not be able to answer or will ask the CEO to respond and then the meeting will be dominated by the CEO, not the Board. I also would like to remind us that we have asked the Board about the new gTLD round before. I don’t remember the city but I do remember the room. The question was suggested by Peter Vergote and Cherine replied that it is up to the community, not the Board.
Thanks,
]{atrina
From: aclu <aclu@twnic.tw>
Reply-To: aclu <aclu@twnic.tw>
Date: Wednesday, 27 January 2021 at 08:47
To: ccnso-council <ccnso-council@icann.org>
Cc: Jordan Carter <jordan@internetnz.net.nz>, Kimberly Carlson <kimberly.carlson@icann.org>, Katrina Sataki <katrina@nic.lv>
Subject: Re: [ccnso-council] Topics for discussion?
Dear all,
Actually, I have same thoughts as Jorden, keep good relationship with other internet organization is very important things to us. No specific topic , and maybe we can talk about more broader issues. just like ,
1.how to enhance bilateral or ICANN org has some ideas that can corporate with cc community. (just for example- ICANN and APTLD Join Efforts to Promote Universal Acceptance in the APAC Region)
2.For ICANN: do you have planned to open second round Newgtld application? if answer is yes, before that , do you have some evalutation ? if you have , do you think it will have some benefits for cc coummunity?
the above is my rough idea.
Regards
ai-chin
-----Original message-----
From:Katrina Sataki<katrina@nic.lv>
To:Jordan Carter<jordan@internetnz.net.nz>,Kimberly Carlson<kimberly.carlson@icann.org>
Cc:ccnso-council<ccnso-council@icann.org>
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2021 05:34:57
Subject: Re: [ccnso-council] Topics for discussion?
Hi Jordan,
Thank you for raising this! I suggested it on the Council call and nobody seemed to object.
I completely agree with you – the idea is to maintain the relationships and it is great to have meetings and meaningful discussions. There are absolutely no questions about that. But when we ask for a meeting and then nobody wants to discuss anything (or even come up with topics but when it comes to discussion, it turns out that nobody is really interested – let’s be fair, we’ve been there before) I am not sure it’s the best way forward. From my personal experience I can tell that it’s a real pain to chair a meeting and try to artificially come up with SOMETHING to make sure that a 60 minute meeting does not end 10 minutes after it starts because nobody from the ccNSO wants to talk about anything. I suspect it does not go unnoticed when we have nothing substantial to talk about.
I may not remember correctly but didn’t we ask what Board members find tricky (ok, perhaps, we did not use the same word) in this remote working mode last time when we met? We can, of course, ask it again – it’s still a valid question. But if that’s the only question we have, the meeting will be over in 10 minutes, I’m afraid. Maybe we can ask for 15-20 minutes and be clear that we only want to connect and make sure that everyone is fine? I am just generating ideas here.
Regards,
]{atrina
From: Ccnso-council <ccnso-council-bounces@icann.org> on behalf of Jordan Carter <jordan@internetnz.net.nz>
Date: Tuesday, 26 January 2021 at 22:20
To: Kimberly Carlson <kimberly.carlson@icann.org>
Cc: ccnso-council <ccnso-council@icann.org>
Subject: Re: [ccnso-council] Topics for discussion?
Hi everyone
I can't think of any specific agenda items, but I just want to question the "if no items, no conversation" idea.
Isn't part of the point of the meeting to maintain the important relationships between the various groups?
And we don't have the informal socialising chances to do that....
So would a low key topic about "what are you finding most tricky in this remote working mode" dialogue be useful, just to carry the conversation on, and let us connect as people?
Just curious about what you think of this idea.
cheers
Jordan
On Wed, 27 Jan 2021 at 05:29, Kimberly Carlson <kimberly.carlson@icann.org> wrote:
Dear Councilors,
As a reminder, please respond regarding bilateral meetings as outlined below – by Wednesday, 27 January.
If you do not feel a session is necessary at this time, let us know that as well.
Thank you,
Kim
From: Ccnso-council <ccnso-council-bounces@icann.org> on behalf of Katrina Sataki <katrina@nic.lv>
Date: Monday, January 25, 2021 at 2:45 AM
To: 'ccnso-council' <ccnso-council@icann.org>
Subject: [ccnso-council] Topics for discussion?
Dear Colleagues,
As agreed, I hope you had some time to think about topics for our bilateral meetings (if any, of course, i.e. if there are any topics we want to discuss with the respective groups).
Please share your thoughts on the following questions:
- Are there any pressing topics we would like to discuss with the Board?
- Are there any pressing topics we would like to discuss with the GAC? (there was a suggestion to provide an update on ccPDP3 and ccPDP4 but that could be done as webinars, not as a bilateral meeting)
If there are no topics we want to discuss, there is no need to schedule meetings and then artificially try to come up with something to fill in the slot. If there are things we need to discuss, however, then we need to schedule the meetings as soon as possible. Please let me know if there is anything by Wednesday, 27 January.
- Are there any topics you would like to raise/discuss with the GNSO Council (we have already received from them a request for a bilateral meeting)? For this we have more time, let’s say, by 5 February.
And, the most urgent question:
- Is there anything you would like me, Alejandra and Pablo to raise during our 1-2-1 call with ICANN CEO later today? (if there is anything, please let me know by 14 UTC today)
Thank you!
Kind regards
]{atrina
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Jordan Carter (he/him)
Group Chief Executive
InternetNZ | Ipurangi Aotearoa
Helping New Zealanders harness the power of the Internet
www.internetnz.nz
M +64 21 442 649 O +64 4 555 0123 
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By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.