Hello everyone!
I hope you have had a great Festive break and New Years celebrations.
As so many regions are accelerating their work towards forming RALOs, an
effort which has sped up in many regions following the launch of LACRALO in
Sao Paulo, I thought I would make a few comments about how we could move
forward in Europe.
Firstly, On the incorporation of a legal entity for EURALO:
As you all know, it has proven somewhat contentious to agree the country of
incorporation. During the public forum in Sao Paulo, Paul Twomey, ICANN CEO,
may have made this issue slightly easier to resolve by the following
statement:
...I WOULD JUST MAKE ONE OTHER OBSERVATION ON THE ONE LANGUAGE ISSUE.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT -- AND I THINK THIS IS TRUE IN MANY INTERNATIONAL
ENTITIES.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE MAINTAIN A SINGLE LANGUAGE FOR BUSINESS.
THAT SORT OF FOR THE ACTUAL DOING OF BUSINESS AND FOR THE CONDUCTING OF
LEGAL AFFAIRS, IT IS ACTUALLY VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THAT IN ONE
LANGUAGE.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T TRANSLATE DOCUMENTS.
BUT THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE -- THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE IN THAT ONE
LANGUAGE...
This is excerpted from the scribe of the session on Thursday - you can see
the whole notes of the session at:
http://sp.icann.org/transcript/7dec06/public-forum
It had already been the subject of consensus that the country of
incorporation would be determined by:
1) legal documents could be filed in English
2) The cost of incorporation is low
3) The cost of operating the company is low
There are only two countries we had explored incorporating in which allow
ALL legal documents to be filed in English: The United Kingdom, and
Switzerland.
As a result, these are the two countries we must choose between.
Secondly, on completing work on the Bylaws:
There are still open points on the Bylaws as you know. Some of these can
likely be resolved via online debate and discussion, but some of them may
require a face-to-face discussion.
Thirdly, the ALS community needs to agree on the contents of a Memorandum of
Understanding
As previously stated, I will produce a draft text incorporating the ideas
from Africa, Latin America/Caribbean Islands, and Asia-Pacific, for review;
this should be done in the next 10 days or so at most.
Process to conclude work:
What I suggested on the ALAC monthly teleconference yesterday was that we
should borrow from the LAC region's experience on how to conclude these
discussions. The model they used was as follows:
1) Work in advance had produced an MoU and Operating Principles which had a
high degree of consensus, with only a few areas which were still the subject
of discussion.
2) Arrangements were made for the ALS community to come to the ICANN
International Meeting in Sao Paulo and meet for several hours to conclude
work, over three separate sessions. ICANN staff prepared draft agendas and
put forward proposals for discussion in relation to the remaining open
areas, with the participants completely free to go in other directions with
respect to those points, but with the staff proposals as a place to start
3) Agreement was reached on a text, which was reviewed onsite by the ICANN
General Counsel's office to make sure that there were no problems with the
MoU in that respect. After that was concluded, the regional ALS
representatives elected the two representatives from the region to the ALAC.
4) A signing ceremony involving the press, and Vint Cerf and Paul Twomey,
were conducted in the plenary hall, and a resolution of the board was
adopted accepting the MoU subject to completion of a public comment period.
If the region is willing, we can proceed on this basis, replacing Sao Paulo
with the Lisbon ICANN meeting scheduled for 26-30 March 2007 (
http://www.icann.org/meetings/lisbon/) Part of the benefit of this approach
is it also allows the ALS community to attend the ICANN international
meeting and engage with other constituencies and policy development
discussions.
--
Regards,
Nick Ashton-Hart
PO Box 32160
London N4 2XY
United Kingdom
UK Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011
USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460
Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135
mobile: +44 (7774) 932798
Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype:
nashtonhart
Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart
FESTIVE GREETINGS! As per usual, in lieu of cards for friends and
colleagues, I have made a donation in your name to Medecins Sans Frontieres,
to help them provide medical care to those much less fortunate than
ourselves.
Hello everybody and a happy new year!
I hope you all had nice holidays. Here is something to start the new year with:
One european ALAC seat is vacant and the ALAC wants to have it filled with a smart and energetic person ;-) - even if it might be only for a very short time as we are going to build the EURALO and will then have elections of ALAC members.
The ALAC discussed, that the best is, that those preparing the EURALO come up with proposals and that it could be helpful to find someone from a region not well presented yet like eastern europe. The ALAC then will give a recommendation to the Board who will appoint the new member.
All the best
Annette
Here, the announcement:
ICANN At-Large Advisory Committee Announces Vacancy
Volunteer Needed From Europe for the interim period of time until European Regional At-Large Organisation is set up
**Individuals from these regions interested in serving on the ALAC are encouraged to contact the Committee by 16th January 2007.**
ICANN's Board will appoint an individual from Europe to fill this vacancy, after receiving recommendation from the ALAC.
As the European At-Large Structures are in the state of finalizing bylaws for the European Regional At-Large Organisation, it is likely that the EURALO will be in place soon (the next ICANN meeting end of March 2007 or the following one in summer). Candidates must consider that they might serve only for this very short interim period as each RALO is expected to elect two ALAC members which former were appointed by the ICANN's Board.
The current european ALAC members are Vittorio Bertola from Italy (appointed by ICANN Board) and Annette Muehlberg from Germany (NomCom appointed) one ICANN Board appointed seat is currently vacant.
Applicants with these strengths will be particularly welcome:
* Experience with At-Large Structures or groups that address one or more issues affecting individual Internet users, and past involvement in an ICANN issue relevant to At-Large;
* A basic understanding of the DNS and the Internet's infrastructure, and ICANN's policy-setting role;
* Successful experience with group decision-making and consensus development;
* Demonstrated commitment to the goals and bylaws of ICANN and the ALAC;
* Ability to expend the time and resources necessary to perform the requisite tasks; and
* Contribution to the ALAC's diversity in terms of culture, region, gender, and social and professional experience.
Statements of interest containing the following information should be emailed to <committee(a)alac.icann.org> by 16th January 2006:
1) Name, country, profession, email address:
2) Experience with At-Large Structures/groups addressing user issues:
3) Involvement in ICANN issues relevant to individual Internet users:
4) Involvement in activities relating to the DNS and the Internet's infrastructure:
5) Experience with group decision-making and consensus development:
6) Demonstrated commitment to the goals and bylaws of ICANN and the ALAC:
7) Other relevant social, professional experience:
ALAC members' responsibilities include working with colleagues and staff to:
* Solicit input, develop proposed positions, and provide advice on the activities of ICANN that are relevant to individual Internet users;
* Conduct outreach on At-Large advocacy and organizing efforts;
* Foster the formation of At-Large Structures and the creation of Regional At-Large Organizations, including considering applications for "At-Large Structure" designation; and
* Selecting At-Large delegates for the Nominating Committee, and selecting/serving as At-Large liaisons for the Board, GNSO Council, ccNSO Council, policy development task forces and other entities.
Terms of ALAC members appointed by the Board start upon their appointment and end when a Regional At-Large Organization (RALO) is established in their region and the RALO selects individuals to replace them on the ALAC. ALAC members receive no compensation for their services as a member of the committee. The Board may, however, authorize the reimbursement of the actual and necessary expenses incurred by ALAC members in performance of their duties. Approximately 7 hours per week is required of ALAC members to fulfill their duties in this role. This includes participating in online (e-mail) discussions, commenting on/contributing to documents/proposed actions (drafted in English), participating in monthly ALAC telephone conferences (in English), and meeting with/making presentations to, local and regional organizations.
The ALAC, which includes 3 members from each of ICANN's five geographic regions, drives At-Large advocacy and organizing efforts by:
1) working with At-Large groups to consider and provide advice on the activities, decisions, and policies of ICANN that relate to the interests of individual Internet users (the "At-Large" community); and
2) helping the At-Large community throughout the world organize for structured involvement and informed participation in ICANN. ICANN relies on the ALAC and its supporting infrastructure to involve and represent a broad set of individual user interests, thus helping to ensure that ICANN's policies reflect the needs, interests and rights of a full range of stakeholders. Information on the ALAC's activities and members is posted at <www.icannalac.org> and <www.alac.icann.org>.
Ultimately, ICANN's objective is to have the ALAC supported by a worldwide network of self-organized, self-supported groups designated as At-Large Structures. These groups (either existing organizations or newly formed for this purpose) are expected to organize into five Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs) (one in each ICANN region - Africa, Asia/Australia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America).
After being formalized through an MOU with ICANN, each RALO is expected to manage outreach and public involvement and be the main forum and coordination point in each region for public input to ICANN. The RALOs also are expected to elect a majority of ALAC members and contribute five delegates to ICANN's Nominating Committee. The Latin America/Carribean RALO has just been formed and elected two members of ALAC.
As the European At-Large Structures are in the state of finalizing bylaws for the European Regional At-Large Organisation, it is likely that the EURALO will be in place soon (the next ICANN meeting end of March 2007 or the following one in summer). Candidates must consider that they might serve only for this very short interim period.
Questions regarding this announcement should be emailed to <committee(a)alac.icann.org>.
