Hello All,

Here are the notes from today’s ccNSO Council Workshop, held on 16 March 16, 2021

NOTES | ccNSO Council Workshop

Tuesday, 16 March 2021 | 18 UTC

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Welcome by the Chair. This session is not recorded. Notes will be taken under Chatham House Rules: discussions will not be attributed to individuals.

Today’s agenda: 2 brief updates, and then proper workshop part

1. Joint meeting | ccNSO & GNSO Councils

Wednesday, 17 March 2021 at 19:00 UTC for 60 minutes (14:00-15:00 Chetumal)

On Wednesday, there will be a joint meeting between ccNSO and GNSO Councils. Agenda was suggested by the respective liaisons to the Councils, Sebastien (GNSO appointed) and Maarten (ccNSO appointed).

Katrina runs through the agenda, and assigns topics to Councillors:

1. Welcome
2. IDN ccPDP4 - Ai-Chin
3. IDN ccTLD membership - Ai-chin
4. SubPro
5. SCBO & SOPC - Giovanni
6. NIS-2 and DSA - Peter (CENTR), or Councillors from EU region
7. PTI / Empowered Community
8. Reviews of reviews - Jordan (Message: Pointing out there is an issue is obvious, but also start to look at a way forward.)

2. Roles and Responsibilities

Table being displayed in the zoom room. Updated version to follow, to separate Councillors from ccTLD Community.

Action item #1:

Councillors are invited to review the table (Secretariat will share via mailing list). Google doc will be shared as well, where you are able to add your name next to the various roles. (except for the positions of Chair and Vice-Chairs. Those appointments will be done separately)

3. Effectiveness and efficiency of the ccNSO Council

Colourful hats - exercise: The six thinking hats is a tool to boost the productivity of creative thinking by dividing up the different styles of thinking into six "hats": logic, emotion, caution, optimism, creativity, and control. Each person, or team, takes on the role of a hat, ensuring that all viewpoints and styles are covered. We will cover 5 hats today (skip the yellow hat).

⇒ White hat

facts about the ccNSO Council 

⇒ Red hat (feelings)

What do you feel is working well for the ccNSO Council Team? What is not working well?

>>> Group 1

Difficult to talk about feelings. People were very factual. Emotions of the black hat came up.

• Participation not working well, voting neither

Not all understand the topic

Concerned: lack of interest? Frustration by the lack of participation

• Lack of understanding about ECA. frustration. What if the ccNSO cannot live up to its current role? 
• Scary if you do not understand the process.
• It is a challenge, which is exciting. 
• Over-fatigue. Mood gets worse.

>>> Group 2

• We know each other, because we are ccTLDs. 
• We are very diverse, which is positive. 
• We respect each other and feel relaxed
• Discussions in smaller groups work well for us
• Too many emails. Hard to keep track
• Quality of discussions depends on how well-prepared we are
• Some individuals do not feel comfortable in the group
• Very responsive team
• Sad about departing
• English is challenging to some councillors

⇒ Black hat (risks)

>>> Group 2

• Burnout
• Too many things we are asked to do, not good at multitasking
• Too many topics we need to cover. Fragmented knowledge
• Language is a challenge
• Time Zone challenges
• Training: we may not be able to train councillors quickly enough. Time for chair to get up to speed and to feel comfortable within ICANN as a whole
• Continuity. What if we cannot ensure continuity?
• We do not sufficiently document our activities
• Coordination with other SO/ACs. We need them to support us, for instance in our quest to change the bylaws. 

>>> Group 1

• ccNSO is becoming too top down, instead of reflecting on the needs of the community
• Too efficient. Not enough discussions. Treadmill
• Lack of participation by Councillors in meetings. 
• Fatigue
• Diminishing participation, also by councilors
• Responsibilities to ECA. risk that ccNSO will not live up to its current status, is seen as a general risk for the broader community.
• Dependent on overwhelmed people, like the chairs
• Dependency on few councillors who put in a lot of effort
• The more long-term: what will happen post pandemic? Hybrid meeting environment. Less people attending, more people remote. This will disadvantage a larger group to date
• Post-pandemic, personal relations, due to lack of attendance, might drift away. Sense of collaboration that grew organically might fade away too
• How to incorporate the remote participants?

⇒ Green hat (creativity)

>>> Group 1

• Create environment to learn
• Talentshow
• Dinner with councillors
• In-person tips and tricks, how it is in the virtual world
• Provide training, especially for new chairs. How to interact with other SO/ACs and Board
• Mentoring for newcomers in Council

>>> Group 2

• Other communication channel than mailing list if quick feedback is needed. E.g. skype, whatsapp
• Informal gatherings are important. Virtual coffee breaks
• Mentorship for incoming Councillors
• NomCom appointed councillors need more introduction to community
• Quick guide to ccNSO Council with current topics under discussion
• Training for native english speakers, understood by non-natives. Friendly kick for native speakers when for instance they do not speak slowly or clear. 

⇒ Blue hat (Process)

Plus/Delta exercise

Plus: what do we like and want to keep? (out of what we currently have)

Delta: What do we want to change?

Notes were taken in the jamboard

Was this a valuable way of conducting virtual workshops?

Majority said yes. 

Workshops work too in a virtual environment

Joke Braeken

ccNSO Policy Advisor

joke.braeken@icann.org