Dear all, The ALAC has initiated the development of an ICANN Academy, which is aimed at educating people that are taking on leadership positions within the ICANN community. You can find a more detailed explanation of the ICANN Academy below. In order to gain ccTLD input, the ALAC is now looking for two ccNSO volunteers who will help designing the academic programme of the ICANN Academy. Should you be interested in this position, please, let me know by sending me an email by Friday, 27 April. Kind regards, Gabi Dear Lesley, During the ICANN meeting in San Jose, the ALAC presented the proposal for an ICANN Academy, a program for people selected by the various ICANN communities and the NomCom to be more effective when they take their position and that would complement other ICANN capacity building activities. As part of that presentation, I announced that we would be inviting all ICANN communities to participate in the further development of this proposal. The initiative for the ICANN Academy was initially conceived by At-Large members as a comprehensive stand-alone project, which would include a variety of educational offerings for all ICANN participants. On review of various options and based on the existence of the current ongoing other efforts such as Fellowship Program, Newcomers’ Tracks and Lounge, ICANN staff expressed an immediate need to provide a capacity building program for the future leaders of ICANN, those whose term starts at the end of 2012 AGM in Toronto. The ALAC formed a Working Group to develop a program to respond to this specific need and organized it as a pilot operation. The first draft of this pilot program for new ICANN leaders was presented recently at the ICANN meeting in San Jose. While the feedback was favorable, it also supported that there was a growing need for learning opportunities also among other constituencies The At-Large community views the ICANN Academy as an ICANN project initiated by At-Large that needs further community support in order to realize its full potential. As a result, we wish to invite members of other advisory committees, the supporting organizations and the various constituencies in the GNSO to join us in the Academy Working Group, to contribute actively in furthering the concept and curriculum. Therefore, I kindly invite you to consider the inclusion of some interested members of your community in the Academy Working Group to finalize a proposed curriculum and the faculty for this pilot operation, and to continue later on developing the aspects of the comprehensive project together with ICANN Staff. It is absolutely vital that at least one person from your constituency takes part in the designing of the academic program. Just as the best source of information about ALAC matters is an At-Large community member, we believe that the best source of information for your constituency's work is someone from your constituency. This will ensure a *fair and balanced point of view* expressed to Academy participants - a foundation feature of the ICANN Academy. I look forward to hearing from you about a volunteer from your community to take part in the working group as soon as possible, but certainly before 30 April 2012. Warmest regards, Olivier Crépin-Leblond, ALAC Chair