Hello All, Here is a draft agenda for the meeting of the Committee on new gTLDs. Feedback is most welcome! The terms of reference is available here: http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-06dec05.htm Friday 24 Feb (1) 9:00 - 10:00 am - Review ICANN mission and core values - identify core values that are relevant to introducing new gTLDs [From ICANN bylaws: Any ICANN body making a recommendation or decision shall exercise its judgment to determine which core values are most relevant and how they apply to the specific circumstances of the case at hand, and to determine, if necessary, an appropriate and defensible balance among competing values.] (2) 10:00 am - 12:00 noon - Review papers submitted (around 10) (see http://www.gnso.icann.org/issues/new-gtlds/new-gtld-pdp-input.htm) - Invite authors to make a short 10 mins presentation if they wish (must supply a A4 summary of presentation in advance), followed by 5 minutes of questions (3) 12:00 noon - 1:30pm lunchbreak onsite (4) 1:30pm - 3:30pm - PART 1 Should we have new gTLDs? THE AIM OF PART ONE IS TO TAKE AN OPEN MIND ABOUT NEW IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES ON THIS ISSUE. THIS IS NOT THE PHASE TO CRITIQUE THE INPUT. - review impact of tlds added since 2000 - review constituency papers and compare with positions prior to 2000 - have the constituency position statements changed in any way based on the experience of the past 5 years? - review information from submitted papers plus public comments relevant to this question - review external influences - e.g alternative roots (both ASCII and IDN based), search engines, tld (cctld and gtld) registry competition, growth in Internet users that are non-English speaking and users that use different character sets - identify advantages and disadvantages (5) 3:30pm to 4:00pm - Afternoon tea break (6) 4pm to 6pm - PART 2 Should we have new gTLDs? - Yes or no? - Attempt to draft an initial policy position that has some level of consensus support from the GNSO constituencies - if consensus can't be reached - then see if there is a clear majority/minority position that can be developed. If so, identify clearly the reasons for each of these positions. - any output from this meeting will become part of an initial report for further feedback from constituencies and the public (7) 6pm - identify a local place for dinner for those that want to attend (assuming that participants are still on speaking terms after the debate above!) Saturday 25 Feb (1) 9am to 9:30am - review outcomes from Friday (note if the clear consensus on Friday is to have no new TLDs - whether ASCII or IDN based - then we can go home at this point :-)) (2) 9:30am to 12:00noon PART 1 Selection Criteria for new tlds - review selection criteria from the first round (Aug 2000) http://www.icann.org/tlds/tld-criteria-15aug00.htm - review selection criteria from the second round (Dec 2003) http://www.icann.org/tlds/new-stld-rfp/new-stld-application-parta-15dec0 3.htm - review constituency statements - compare with those prior to 2000 - review information from submitted papers plus public comments relevant to this question - identify list of possible criteria - categorise these criteria - e.g technical, financial, market (purpose of TLD) (3) 12:00noon to 1pm - lunch break (4) 1pm to 3pm - PART 2 Selection Criteria for new tlds - analyse possible selection criteria - Attempt to identify which criteria have a degree of consensus support from the GNSO constituencies - For criteria that don't have clear consensus - attempt to identify which criteria have support from more than one interest group - any output from this meeting will become part of an initial report for further feedback from constituencies and the public (5) 3pm onwards - volunteers who don't need to rush to catch flights - to assist in tidying the venue Regards, Bruce Tonkin