Hello all,
please find attached some fun week-end reading for all interested.
Alan & Hadia are developing a proposal for an ALAC Minority
Statement, to be presented on next week's CPWG. This will appear in
the relevant workspace on https://community.icann.org/x/FIJaCg in
due course.
Kindest regards,
Olivier
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Dear Philippe,
In my capacity as Chair of the EPDP 2A effort, I am pleased to
submit the attached Final Report to the GNSO Council for its
consideration. I would like to briefly share my observations and
assessment of our work, my consensus designations on the Final
Report, and my gratitude for the contributions of community
members and staff who supported this work.
1. The EPDP 2A work was chartered and launched following very
intense community work on EPDP Phase 1 and Phase 2, both of which
presented significant challenges and difficult negotiations. As
the new Chair, I had concerns at the outset of the 2A effort that
the team's recent experience would make reaching consensus in this
phase unlikely, at best. I am pleased to note that the EPDP 2A
Team was able to engage and work constructively, from very
different starting point and under challenging circumstances, to
reach consensus on the recommendations and guidance contained in
the Final Report.
2. While the Final Report and its recommendations have the
consensus support of the EPDP 2A Team, it's important to note that
certain groups feel that the work did not go as far as needed, or
did not include sufficient detail, while other groups feel that
certain recommendations were not necessary. Additionally, during
the final stage of our work, some groups would have preferred an
opportunity to assign more granular consensus-level designations
to component parts of the recommendations. In this context, I urge
all readers of the EPDP 2A Final Report to also read the minority
statements submitted by each group, which will be appended to the
Final Report and historical record of our work. This Final Report
constitutes a compromise that is the maximum that could be
achieved by the group at this time under our currently allocated
time and scope, and it should not be read as delivering results
that were fully satisfactory to everyone. This underscores the
importance of the minority statements in understanding the full
context of the Final Report recommendations.
3. Over the last eight months, the EPDP 2A team worked in
challenging circumstances, including fully remote engagement and
without the benefit of face-to-face interaction or dialogue. This
proved to be a real challenge, and one that should be acknowledged
in planning for future GNSO policy processes. In the experience of
EPDP Phase 1 and Phase 2, there is no doubt that face-to-face
engagement was crucial in constructively advancing the work of the
group. During Phase 2A, in lieu of in-person meetings, the
Leadership Team and Staff worked with Melissa Allgood of ICANN Org
to set up facilitated conversations, outside the plenary setting,
to try to replicate the less formal engagement of a face-to-face
meeting. I feel that effort was helpful in generating dialogue and
in bringing divergent perspectives and positions to a point where
consensus was possible, even if on a limited set of
recommendations.
4. In my assessment, the EPDP Phase 2A Final Report has consensus
of the EPDP Team, and each of its recommendations have secured
consensus. Over the last two weeks, we worked through and resolved
our "can't-live-with" items and I want to acknowledge and thank
all who contributed concrete suggestions and text edits that
helped us resolve remaining differences and come together. While I
believe we could have designated the recommendations as having
"Full Consensus," many groups indicated that they will submit
minority statements, which are typically used when there are
dissenting views. As such, I feel that a "Consensus" designation
is more appropriate, which will acknowledge and make room for
explanatory text to be submitted outside the four corners of the
Final Report body to provide important context around our
deliberations and recommendations.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all EPDP
Team members, alternates, support groups, and very importantly our
ICANN staff colleagues who contributed tirelessly to this EPDP
effort over the course of several years. Our Phase 2A work is the
culmination of the EPDP as originally chartered and made necessary
by the Temporary Specification. There may yet be future work
needed on these important issues, but I'm pleased to report that
we have concluded this phase and can be proud of our work to
deliver the current recommendations, even if the results were not
fully satisfactory to all. That is the nature of compromise and
consensus-building, and I am confident we achieved the most we
could under challenging circumstances.
Sincerest regards,
Keith