Dear all, first of all, I would like to thank Jean-Jacques for this excellent idea and input regarding the upcoming Dakar meeting with the ICANN Board. Let me suggest to add this initiative (and text below for review) to our today's call agenda under point 4. Dakar preparations. Hope to hear many of you at our call later today! Kind regards, Wolf _______ JJS wrote Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:08:

*Dear Olivier & All,* * * *as suggested in a previous message, chances are that the Board will have a hefty agenda well into 2012 (new gTLDs, search for a new CEO, etc), and their priorities will probably not include some of the matters the ALAC considers important.* * * *Dakar provides the opportunity of an informal exchange of views. We should make the most of it, not by repeating all the agenda items which will be dealt with in public (report by the Chairs of the ACs and SOs), but by focusing on a higher-level message to the Board. With this in mind, I submit the following draft of a letter from Olivier to the Chair of the Board, with the hope that you will accept the idea, and suggest improvements. The idea would be to distribute this to all the Board members when we have our informal exchange of views.* * * * Mr. Chair of the Board, Dear Steve,

my colleagues in the ALAC asked me to convey to you and the other Board members our appreciation for the initiative you have taken in inviting us for an exchange of views. At this stage in the development of the Internet, when ICANN is faced with several important challenges, we think it is useful to provide to the Board our own view on where the ALAC stands today, and on how we envisage our duty of representing the general Internet user in the coming year or two.

1) The ALAC has come a long way in a short time

Three stages proved decisive in bringing the ALAC to maturity: - the ALAC Review, whose recommendations are being implemented; - the ALAC Summit (Mexico, March 2009) which enhanced the solidarity within our community, and provided a new visibility; - the Board's decision asking the At-Large community to designate a voting member for the Board of Directors. During this period (roughly 2008-2010), the ALAC has adopted more efficient working methods, so that the advice it presents can be better taken into account by the Board.

2) The ALAC agenda: from reactive to forward-looking

In the first years of its existence, the ALAC was mainly reactive, providing advice when asked to do so, and generally adding commentary to points being discussed in other parts of ICANN. Naturally, the ALAC will continue to provide advice on matters which are brought up elsewhere and have the potential of affecting the general Internet user. But in addition to this traditional role, and thanks to the progress accomplished over the past 3 years, we look forward with confidence and are determined to play our role more fully. In order to better discharge our duties in the interest of the general Internet user, we shall be - identifying and analyzing developments which have the potential to impact our community of users (privacy concerns, financial consequences, legal implications, governance, technical constraints) - examining the process by which the ACs and SOs contribute to the overall task of ICANN, and how the ALAC can both improve its contribution and enhance its impact, e.g. by suggesting changes to the By-laws, if required. We shall do this in full cooperation with the Board and Staff. As you know, the ALAC has set up a Future Challenges Working Group, which deals with such topics.

In presenting to you and your Board colleagues this brief résumé of where the ALAC stands today and how it faces future challenges, we wish to underline the public interest which is and must remain our guiding principle. The inadequacies of self-regulation in the financial sector, and other global phenomena which are shaping society, require us, more than ever, to contribute to an open and fair Internet.

Best regards, ... * _______________________________________________ ALAC-Internal mailing list ALAC-Internal@atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac-internal

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